[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of the Town of Casco 1-13-2001 by Art. 3; amended in its entirety 6-12-2013 by Art. 31. Subsequent amendments
noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known and cited as the "Mooring Regulations
of Casco, Maine."
This chapter is adopted pursuant to the enabling provisions
of Article VIII, Part 2, Section 1 of the Maine Constitution and the
provisions of 12 M.R.S.A. § 13072, 30-A M.R.S.A. § 3001,
and 38 M.R.S.A. §§ 1 to 13.
These standards are designed to ensure that mooring installation,
use and maintenance does not impair the health, safety, and welfare
or result in lower water quality, loss of aquatic habitat, or interference
with navigation, or infringe on the rights of property owners.
This chapter shall apply to the installation, use and maintenance
of moorings for the purposes of securing a watercraft or float plane
in a great pond, river or stream.
A.
Conflict with other ordinances. Whenever a provision of this regulation
conflicts with or is inconsistent with any other ordinances, regulations
or statute, the more restrictive provision shall apply.
B.
Severability. The invalidity of any part of this regulation shall
not invalidate any other part of this regulation.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A cluster of moorings in an area designated and approved
by the Town of Casco Harbor Master so as not to create a hazard to
navigation. Such common mooring areas may result from, but are not
limited to, abutting nonconforming shorefront lots with narrow frontage
width, shoreline topography such as a cove that constrains the navigation
fairway, and common shorefront access areas where multiple inland
landowners share deeded rights-of-way to the water body.
The area of water from 100 feet to 200 feet off the shore
normal high-water line in which all moorings require the Harbor Master's
approval before registration and installation.
A navigable channel in a water body which may, but need not,
be marked with channel markers.
A commercial establishment having frontage on navigable water
and, as its principal use, providing for hire offshore moorings or
docking facilities for boats, and which may also provide accessory
services such as boat and related sales, boat repair and construction,
indoor and outdoor storage of boats and marine equipment, boat, fishing,
bait and tackle shops and marine fuel and sewage service facilities.
[Amended 6-14-2017 by
Art. 27]
Any device designed to float and attached to the anchoring
device that secures a watercraft, as defined herein, to the bottom
of a water body.
Refers to a deeded right-of-way or easement of nonshorefront
landowners over a designated portion of a shorefront property for
waterfront access.
A rectilinear area on a body of water which is defined as
the shorefront width of a property held in common or individually
and extending a distance of 100 feet from shore into a body of water.
Any craft meeting the definition set forth in 12 M.R.S.A.
§ 13001. For purposes of this chapter a swimming platform
will be considered a watercraft.
A.
General mooring requirements.
(1)
Conformance. Moorings must conform to all the specifications and
permits required by this chapter, as well as all applicable federal
and state regulations and laws.
(2)
Anchorage. This chapter shall not preclude those individuals who
wish to anchor a boat temporarily for a period of time not to exceed
24 hours within the two-hundred-foot water safety zone.
(3)
Mooring location. Any mooring location in all areas must not create
a navigation hazard adversely affecting aquatic vegetation, wildlife
or habitat or interfere with other duly registered moorings, established
swim areas, or access to a fairway.
(4)
Mooring registration. All moorings shall be recorded at the Town
office and registered annually subject to the following requirements,
fees, and deadlines:
(a)
Eligible shorefront owners can self-locate their moorings in
the shorefront mooring area per conditions of this chapter.
(b)
Moorings requested in the designated mooring area and common
mooring areas require prior mooring location plan review before registration
approval by the Harbor Master.
(c)
When mooring availability in the designated and common mooring
areas is limited, registration shall be granted on a first-come-first-served
basis prior to the registration deadline.
(e)
Mooring registration shall include proof of shorefront ownership
or access by deed or written permission of the owner of the lot adjacent
to the mooring location, as well as address for vehicular access and
parking availability and permission(s).
(f)
The annual registration shall include the name and address of
the shorefront lot owner, the name and address of the mooring registration
holder, or holders in the case of a common mooring area, and the map
and lot number of the shorefront or deeded access lot(s).
(g)
Initial registration of an existing or new mooring shall include
a mooring location plan as described next. Annual registration renewals
do not require a mooring location plan unless the mooring location,
number of moorings, or any shorefront lot boundary changes, or other
affecting differences occur.
(5)
Mooring location plan. The mooring location plan required at initial registration or for renewals with changes as defined above in Subsection A(4)(g) shall include the following:
(a)
A scaled drawing of the shorefront lot or deeded access showing
the lot with frontage shape and direct length between shorefront property
markers; the lot's side property lines; the mooring location within
the one-hundred-foot line of the shorefront mooring area; and other
moorings requested. If it is not possible to locate in the shorefront
mooring area then include the same information for a position requested
in the designated mooring area.
(b)
All plans must show the location of the requested mooring and
demonstrate the diameter area the watercraft shall need swinging about
the mooring. The plan shall also include nearby mooring location(s),
existing docks, shoreline topography and any natural features, such
as a cove, rocks, shallow water, or navigational fairway channel,
that may hinder navigation or access to the owner's shore lot or deeded
access and abutting properties.
(6)
Registration rejection. The Harbor Master may delay the acceptance of an annual mooring registration if the initial mooring location plan is incomplete until further details are requested or locational or mooring design alterations have occurred. Complex mooring issues such as common mooring areas may require the submission of a professionally developed location plan and association bylaws for shared mooring use if required by the Harbor Master to determine applicable limitations or requirements. See § 98-8C of this chapter for common mooring area requirements.
[Amended 6-14-2017 by
Art. 27]
(7)
Registration fee. An annual mooring fee established by the Selectboard
shall be charged for each annual mooring registration of watercraft
as defined in this chapter. Mooring registration shall apply to all
mooring zones. Annual mooring fees include the initial registration
and continuous annual renewals. The fee is due at the time of registration.
(8)
Registration deadline. The deadline for annual mooring registration
at the Town office is June 15 by office close. A late fee of $10 per
mooring will be assessed for registrations submitted after the deadline.
The Town will publish notice of the annual registration deadline two
weeks in advance in area newspapers and on the Town website.
(9)
Designation of fees, penalties and removal costs. The Selectboard
shall have the authority under this chapter to establish and revise
a schedule of mooring fees, penalties and mooring removal costs.
(10)
Registration restrictions. No mooring may be rented, sold, or transferred
by the party receiving the registration. This does not include use
of a mooring by seasonal rental tenants, immediate family, or temporary
guests of the mooring registration holder.
(11)
Abandonment. Any mooring which has not been occupied in the shorefront,
designated or common mooring areas with a watercraft for one boating
season will lose its registration. Notice of the loss of the registration
shall be sent to the mooring registration holder by certified and
regular United States mail. If the mooring is not removed within 14
days, the Harbor Master may cause the mooring ball to be removed and
a fee of $50 will be assessed to the owner as well as any incidental
expenses. The status of previously existing moorings shall not be
considered grandfathered.
(12)
Parking. Proposed vehicle parking associated with access to a mooring
in all mooring areas on private property, especially designated or
common access areas, must be documented as part of the mooring registration.
Proof of any easement or written permission shall be provided. Parking
in private roads shall not be allowed for registered moorings without
private road association approval.
(13)
Prohibited mooring locations. Moorings are prohibited in the body
of water commonly known as the "Crooked River." No moorings are allowed
beyond 200 feet off the shore's mean normal high-water line or in
any areas deemed a navigational hazard or blocking shorefront access
as determined by the Harbor Master or the Maine Department of Inland
Fisheries and Wildlife or Department of Agriculture, Conservation
and Forestry or other state agencies with designated authority.
[Amended 6-14-2017 by
Art. 27]
B.
Mooring specifications.
(1)
Anchors shall all be of suitable construction, such as stone, granite,
cured reinforced concrete or mushroom anchor, to adequately hold a
watercraft in any anticipated storm and allowing the watercraft to
swing without going into the mooring circle of any other watercraft
or over or into abutting mooring areas.
(2)
Metal drums, engine blocks and other materials which may release
contaminants shall not be used in the construction of anchoring structures.
The anchoring device shall not extend up or out onto the ice zone
or otherwise be subject to ice action.
(3)
The anchor line between the anchor and the buoy shall be chain of
a size to fit boat exposure and water depth. Bolts, screws, rods,
pads and other metallic fixtures shall be of adequate strength for
mooring the intended watercraft. Mooring registration holders are
responsible for managing mooring anchor lines and tether lines from
the buoy to the watercraft to adjust for changing water levels in
order to minimize an increased drift and swing radius by the watercraft
around the mooring. This may especially be necessary during low water
levels to avoid collision with nearby watercraft moorings, navigational
hazard, restriction of shorefront access, or other issues.
(4)
Mooring gear and tackle shall meet or exceed those specified in the
current edition of Chapman's Piloting & Seamanship.
(5)
The mooring registration holder is responsible for the adequacy and
performance of all mooring gear, tackle and maintenance thereof. Moorings
shall be inspected every two years by the mooring registration holder
or contracted professional agent for safe condition. Such inspection
shall be noted on the registration renewal form and shall demonstrate
that the mooring continues to meet the requirements of this chapter.
(6)
The location of the anchoring device shall be mapped, attached to
a submerged buoy, tied off to shore, or marked in some way so that
it can be found the following season.
(7)
The summer buoy specifications, as set by the Maine Department of
Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, shall be colored white with
a single blue horizontal band clearly visible above the water line.
The buoy must be removed by December 1 each year.
[Amended 6-14-2017 by
Art. 27]
(8)
A winter buoy, if used instead of a submerged rope line to shorefront
for retrieval, may be made of polyball, plastic bottles or plastic
material. The buoy must be white and have the mooring holder's annual
registration number affixed to it.
(9)
The mooring registration holder must affix the Town-provided registration
waterproof decal to the buoy or otherwise display the assigned annual
mooring registration number marked in at least three-inch letters
of contrasting color.
(10)
If a mooring buoy does not display the annual mooring registration
numbers for identification it shall be considered in violation of
this chapter. If the annual registration number is not displayed within
10 days of written notice of violation by the Harbor Master, the mooring
may be removed by the Harbor Master at the owner's expense and a penalty
of $50 will be assessed before the mooring buoy can be recovered.
[Amended 6-14-2017 by
Art. 27]
A.
Shorefront mooring area. Mooring placement for watercraft shall be
the responsibility of the property owner subject to the following
conditions:
(1)
All new or existing shorefront area moorings shall be registered
initially accompanied by a mooring location plan and thereafter by
annual renewal for continuous use.
(2)
A mooring may be placed in conformance with this chapter by a shorefront
property owner or with the shorefront property owner's written permission
granting such use.
(3)
A mooring may be located without the Harbor Master's initial approval
only in the mooring area directly adjacent to the owner's shoreline
property. The shorefront mooring area is defined as the water body
area out 100 feet from the shoreline and bounded on the sides by extending
out the bearing direction of the side lot lines.
(4)
In all cases, the owner-located mooring shall be restricted to the
water within 100 feet of the shore, specifically 100 feet from shore,
or 1/3 the distance to the opposite shore, whichever is less. If the
property owner can prove he/she cannot establish a mooring area within
100 feet from shore, the Harbor Master may allow one established as
near to the one-hundred-foot mark within the designated mooring area
as possible provided it does not create a hazard to navigation.
[Amended 6-14-2017 by
Art. 27]
(5)
If a mooring is deemed to create a navigation hazard or restrict
abutting shorefront access, the Harbor Master shall notify the owner
to move its location or remove it as necessary. Failure to remove
a mooring upon order of the Harbor Master is a violation under this
chapter.
(6)
A mooring shall not be allowed if watercraft will swing over into
abutting mooring areas.
(7)
There shall be no more than one mooring for every 50 feet of shoreline
of each lot. In cases where the lot has less than 50 feet of shoreline,
the Harbor Master shall determine where a safe mooring can be installed.
(8)
The number of moorings for existing campgrounds, summer children's
camps, motels and marinas shall be one per 25 feet of shoreline frontage.
B.
Designated mooring area. All moorings in the area of water from 100
feet to 200 feet off the shore's normal high-water line shall require
the Harbor Master's approval before registration and installation.
The conditions for mooring approval in this area by the Harbor Master
include:
(1)
A shorefront property owner must prove that a mooring cannot be established
within his/her one-hundred-foot shoreline mooring area. The Harbor
Master may allow one mooring to be established as near to the one-hundred-foot
mark within the designated mooring area as possible provided it does
not create a hazard to navigation. No more than one mooring per 80
feet of shore lot frontage shall be allowed in the designated mooring
area.
(2)
The Harbor Master may choose to consult with the Maine Department
of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and other state agencies with designated
jurisdiction prior to granting mooring registration approval in this
designated mooring area.
(3)
The Harbor Master may utilize the designated mooring area for abutters'
moorings only when necessary in order to resolve navigational and
shorefront access issues for abutters. Abutter moorings shall not
supersede the immediate shorefront lot owner's use of the designated
mooring area should that owner need use of this area to resolve lack
of a mooring location within his/her one-hundred-foot shorefront mooring
area.
(4)
Prohibited. Swim floats and watercraft for similar use shall not
be allowed in the designated mooring area.
(5)
Waiting list. When the number of applications exceeds the number of available mooring spaces as determined by the Harbor Master, the Harbor Master shall maintain a waiting list of all applicants who have not been issued a mooring registration. This waiting list shall be maintained and available at the Town office. The list shall be used by the Harbor Master in issuing mooring permits as mooring spaces become available, as the first person on the list will get the next available mooring space, except as set forth in Subsection C below.
C.
Common mooring area.
(1)
The Harbor Master shall determine the number and placement of moorings
in the common mooring area and those moorings shall be subject to
the following restrictions:
(a)
The Harbor Master shall require that a designated representative
of the property owners or association, appointed by those individuals
with deeded water access rights, solely coordinate for the group location,
registration and other applicable matters for moorings in the common
mooring area with the Harbor Master.
(b)
Moorings within a common mooring area shall be registered in
the name of the mooring registration holder(s), and annual registration
identification numbers must be affixed to the mooring buoy(s).
(c)
Moorings shall be placed, and if necessary limited in total,
by Harbor Master approval so as to prevent collision between adjacent
watercraft as well as meet the other requirements of this chapter.
(d)
When the number of moorings approved in the common mooring areas
exceeds those requested, the appointed group representative shall
provide the Harbor Master the procedure for shared usage.
(e)
Moorings shall not be located in water safety areas beyond 200
feet offshore or where they may pose a navigational hazard at any
distance.
(f)
Moorings shall be located a sufficient distance from existing
piers or docks so as to permit safe passage of a watercraft to its
mooring or to a docking facility.
(g)
Swim floats and watercraft for similar use shall not be allowed
in the common mooring area unless requested by the common access owners
and incorporated in the mooring location plan approved by the Harbor
Master.
(2)
Where the number of watercraft to be moored in a common mooring area
exceeds the number of potentially available mooring sites, provision
may be made for securing watercraft to piers or docks, provided that:
A.
To enhance the safety of the residents and visitors to the Town of Casco and its surrounding waters, the mooring of watercraft in marinas is regulated by this chapter. Chapter 215, Zoning, shall regulate the establishment and construction of marinas.
B.
All marina moorings shall be considered commercial moorings and the
total registered number allowed by the Harbor Master shall not exceed
a number equal to each 25 feet of the marina's shorefront as determined
by direct survey lines along the shore between parcel side lines.
A.
The Selectboard shall appoint a Harbor Master to carry out and enforce
provisions of this chapter. The Harbor Master shall be appointed for
a term of no less than one year in accordance with the requirements
of 12 M.R.S.A. § 13072 and this chapter.
B.
The Selectboard shall establish the Harbor Master's compensation.
The Selectboard may remove the Harbor Master for cause, after notice
and hearing, and appoint a replacement.
C.
Subject to prior approval of the Selectboard, the Harbor Master may
appoint deputies who, under his/her direction, shall aid in enforcing
and carrying out the provisions of this chapter.
D.
The Harbor Master may refuse to assign mooring privileges to any
applicant who has not paid any fee, charge for services, forfeiture,
or penalty levied.
A.
The Harbor Master shall determine whether provisions of this chapter
have been violated. The Selectboard, together with the Harbor Master,
shall assess the nature and severity of the violation and shall take
the necessary course of corrective action, which may include assessment
of a penalty or loss of mooring privileges. If an illegally placed
mooring is not removed within 14 days after a notice of violation
has been sent by certified mail and regular United States mail to
the address listed on the most recent mooring registration, the Harbor
Master may remove the mooring. The mooring registration holder shall
be responsible for all expenses incurred in the removal, including
legal fees.
B.
Any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall be subject
to a civil penalty of not less than $100 and not more than $2,500
for a first violation. The violator may be ordered to correct or abate
the violation unless the court finds that such action will create
a threat or hazard to public health or safety, substantial environmental
damage, or substantial injustice. Each day that such a violation continues
to exist shall be considered a separate violation. This chapter shall
be enforced pursuant to 30-A M.R.S.A. § 4452. The failure
to obey the lawful order of a Harbor Master shall be punished as a
Class E crime pursuant to 38 M.R.S.A. § 13.
Appeals by any person aggrieved by a decision, act, or failure
to act by the Harbor Master as it relates to the implementation and
enforcement of this chapter shall be made to the Appeals Board. In
all cases, a person aggrieved by an order or decision made or failure
to act by the Harbor Master shall file his appeal within 14 days of
receipt of notice of the decision or order appealed. The appeal shall
specifically describe the grounds for such action. The Town Clerk
shall notify the Selectboard, the Town Manager, the Harbor Master
and the Appeals Board of the appeal.
