[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of the Town of Norwell
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 5-9-2006 ATM,
Art. 37 (formerly designated Art. XIX)]
Town landings for the purpose of this bylaw are defined as the
landings to the east of the Union Street Bridge and at the end of
Chittenden Lane.
A.Â
The proper usage of the Town launching ramps shall be determined
by the Select Board. This shall include the proper parking of trailers
and motor vehicles at the approach to the ramp.
[Amended 5-8-2021 ATM by Art. 11]
B.Â
Persons using Town ramps for hauling of larger boats requiring cradles
shall apply to the Select Board for permission. Such cradles and/or
boats shall not remain on the Town ramps for more than one tide.
[Amended 5-8-2021 ATM by Art. 11]
C.Â
No major boat repairs or complete maintenance work shall be done
at Town ramps or docks. Ramps and walkways shall be kept clear at
all times. After 24 hours, equipment stored in violation of this section
will be considered abandoned and removed at the owner's expense.
D.Â
The Town is not responsible for any loss or damage to boats at Town
ramps and docks. Owners will be held responsible for damage to structures
and pilings owned by the Town.
E.Â
Open alcoholic beverages are prohibited from the landings and the
adjacent parking areas.
F.Â
No person shall swim or dive from Town-owned ramps or docks.
G.Â
Minor children shall not be allowed the use of Town launch ramps
without adult supervision unless age 16 or 17 and in possession of
a boating safety certificate.
[Amended 5-8-2021 ATM by Art. 11]
Parking at the Union Street Bridge and Chittenden Landing is
restricted to Norwell residents and property owners. All vehicles
parked on these properties must purchase and visibly display a current
Norwell Town Landing Permit (available from the Select Board) or a
Norwell Recycling Permit (available from the Board of Health). Unauthorized
parking in all roadways and fire lanes approaching the parking lot
is prohibited at all times. Fines for such unauthorized parking will
be determined by the Select Board. All parking is on a first come,
first serve basis. When parking capacities are reached, vehicle access
restrictions will be imposed.
The landings shall be closed to all use daily from sunset to
sunrise.
[Amended 5-8-2021 ATM by Art. 11]
Whoever violates any provision of this bylaw or any rule or
regulation adopted under this bylaw will be fined and/or may have
their use privileges revoked. Fines will be determined by the Select
Board. This bylaw shall be enforced by the Select Board or their designees.
In addition to the foregoing, and as an alternative to such methods
of enforcement, the Select Board or their designees may, at their
discretion, enforce the provisions of this bylaw using the noncriminal
disposition manner provided for under MGL c. 40, § 21D.
In the event that any provision, section or clause of the bylaw
is hereinafter judicially found to be invalid, such invalidity shall
not affect the validity of the remaining portions of the bylaw.
[Adopted 5-15-2007 ATM,
Art. 47 (formerly designated Art. XX)]
[Amended 5-9-2022 ATM, Art. 12]
This bylaw is adopted to protect the public health, safety and
welfare; to preserve and protect boats and vessels, their occupants
and members of the public in, around, and otherwise on or near the
North River, a waterway located within the Town of Norwell, designated
as a scenic river by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; and to preserve
and protect the natural, scenic and marine resources, their use and
enjoyment, in, around and on the North River, a tidal estuary with
a substantial current and tidal range and its tributaries, In accordance
with, but not limited to, the following chapters in the General Laws
of Massachusetts: c. 90B, § 15; c. 91, § 10A;
c. 43B, § 13; c. 40, §§ 21D and 57; 310 CMR
9.07; and all other applicable laws and regulations.
[Amended 5-9-2022 ATM, Art. 12]
The purpose of this bylaw is to ensure that all moorings, floats,
docks or slips that are placed in the waters of the North River, under
the jurisdiction of the Town of Norwell, do not individually or in
any combination impede the safety of vessels navigating in the waters
of that river. The placement of such moorings, floats, docks or slips
shall not interfere, individually or collectively, with any abutting
property owner's right of free access to the waters of the North
River.
In construing this bylaw, the following words shall have the
meaning herein given, unless a contrary intent clearly appears:
A resident of the Town, a nonresident, the owner of real
estate in the Town or the owner of a boat or vessel proposed to be
moored or berthed within the Town.
[Added 5-9-2022 ATM, Art. 12]
The owner of land (the land) that is contiguous to the North
River and provides reasonable and convenient access to a proposed,
an existing or an approved mooring location.
[Added 5-9-2022 ATM, Art. 12]
The form approved by the board of Select Board for obtaining
a mooring or berthing permit from the Town.
[Added 5-9-2022 ATM, Art. 12]
Any space wherein a boat is confined by a mooring, wet slip,
pier, dock, float, or any other type of docking facility.
Includes every description of watercraft, used or capable
of being used as a means of transportation on the water, including
seaplanes, amphibious vehicles, and any other variable use craft when
navigating, moored, or berthed on the water, excluding canoes, kayaks,
and boats 12 feet in length and under used as tenders to access other
vessels.
[Amended 5-9-2022 ATM, Art. 12]
A facility whose function is the construction, repair, or
maintenance of boats, which may include provisions for boat storage
and docking while awaiting service.
[1]A berthing area with docking facilities under common ownership
or control and with berths for 10 or more vessels, including commercial
marinas, boat basins, and yacht clubs. A marina may be an independent
facility or may be associated with a boatyard.
A place where buoyant vessels, lobster-cars, floats, or rafts
are secured to the bottom of a water body and the mooring tackle,
including the block, chain, buoy, pennant, and any other equipment,
used to secure the boat or vessel. he block, chain, buoy, pennant,
and any other equipment, used to secure the boat or vessel. For a
free-floating mooring unit, requiring more than one mooring block,
it shall be considered a mooring for each boat or vessel moored thereto,
for the purpose of registration and mooring fees for such boats or
vessels.
[Amended 5-9-2022 ATM, Art. 12]
The person appointed from time to time by the Select Board, to enforce this Mooring Bylaw, the regulations adopted hereunder or to implement or enforce the operational and administrative objectives established from time to time by the Board. The primary duties of the Mooring Compliance Officer shall be to administer, issue and record the issuance of mooring permits, inspect moorings and enforce § 64-10 of this bylaw to ensure that moorings do not impede or otherwise adversely affect the waterways within the Town of Norwell.
[Added 5-9-2022 ATM, Art. 12]
A fee that is paid by the applicant for the granting of a
mooring permit, to be recommended by the Mooring Compliance Officer
and approved by the Select Board.
[Amended 5-9-2022 ATM, Art. 12]
Written authorization issued by the Town of Norwell to place
a mooring within the North River or to berth a boat upon a wet slip,
pier, dock, or float within the North River.
The waters and areas of the North River within the Town of
Norwell, as they exist and are generally defined in the most recent
NOAA map.
[Amended 5-9-2022 ATM, Art. 12]
Include individuals, corporations, cooperatives, societies,
associations, partnerships and limited liability companies.
[Amended 5-9-2022 ATM, Art. 12]
A marina, docking or berthing facility, under private ownership
by an individual, association, corporation, society, partnership or
cooperative, that has facilities for its members, and their guests,
for the docking, berthing or mooring of their boats and vessels for
which no commercial or rental fee is charged.
[Added 5-9-2022 ATM, Art. 12]
Reasonable and convenient access means such access that will
allow the applicant/holder of a mooring or berthing permit access
to a permitted mooring, and any boat or vessel moored or berthed thereon
in all conditions, within reasonable time limits, so that appropriate
action can be taken to preserve and protect such facility, boat or
vessel, and the natural resources in, around and on the North River
in all conditions.
[Added 5-9-2022 ATM, Art. 12]
The Town of Norwell, Massachusetts, a municipal corporation,
with any and all payment to be made to the Town of Norwell Treasurer/Collector
and pursuant to MGL c. 91, § 10A, and c. 40 § 5G,
deposited into a fund for the maintenance of the waterways within
its jurisdiction.
[Added 5-9-2022 ATM, Art. 12
[Amended 5-8-2021 ATM, Art. 11; 5-9-2022 ATM, Art. 12]
A.Â
No person shall place any block, chain, pennant or other anchoring
or mooring device within the North River, or moor or berth any boat
or vessel in any wet slip or secured to a pier, dock or float within
the North River, without first obtaining a mooring permit under this
bylaw.
B.Â
A mooring permit, for each calendar year, must be obtained for each
mooring placed or to be placed and for each boat or vessel moored
or berthed, or to be moored or berthed within the North River. The
annual fee for each such permit, established by the Select Board,
shall be paid to the Town of Norwell Treasurer/Collector, together
with a completed copy of the annual application form approved by the
Mooring Compliance Officer. The holder of a mooring permit may, during
the calendar year for which it is issued, transfer the permit to an
immediate family member without the requirement of payment of an additional
fee.
C.Â
The Mooring Compliance Officer shall prepare, and may amend from
time to time, after reasonable public notice and hearing and approval
of the Select Board, regulations governing: the fees and types of
fees; the application process for mooring permits; the size, specifications
and standards for moorings and their use, upkeep, maintenance, inspection
and replacement and, as an alternative or supplement to any one or
more of the foregoing, in the discretion of the Mooring Compliance
Officer, a certification process by an appropriately designated and
approved mooring service provider or providers.
D.Â
All such regulations shall be submitted to the Select Board for review
and approval. Upon approval, the regulations shall be published once
in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town and shall be posted
on the Town's bulletin board and at the Town Clerk's office
for seven consecutive days. They shall become effective upon the expiration
of the last seven-day cycle for such posting. The regulations may
be amended from time to time in the same manner.
E.Â
The Select Board may appoint a Mooring Compliance Officer, and support
personnel, when considered necessary or desirable, and when funding
is necessary subject to a funding authorization, to implement or to
enforce this bylaw, the regulations adopted hereunder and the operational
and administrative objectives established from time to time by the
Select Board.
F.Â
Any hazard to navigation or property, or any mooring placed or boat berthed within the territorial limits of the North River in the Town of Norwell in violation of the foregoing provisions, or any regulations authorized and adopted under Subsection C, above, may be removed at the direction of the Mooring Compliance Officer. The general expense of such removal shall be the responsibility of the owner, operator or the person who caused such hazard or violation.
[Amended 5-8-2021 ATM, Art. 11; 5-9-2022 ATM, Art. 12]
A.Â
Whoever violates any provision of this bylaw, or any rule or regulation
adopted hereunder, may be subject to a fine of $50 for each such offense.
The enforcement of this bylaw shall be under the direction of the
Mooring Administrator.
B.Â
Whoever violates any provision of this bylaw or any rule or regulation adopted hereunder, may be subject, as an alternative to Subsection A, above, to a noncriminal disposition pursuant to MGL, c. 40, Subsection A, 21D, subject to a penalty of $50 for each such violation. The enforcement of this bylaw shall be under the direction of the Mooring Administrator.
C.Â
A violation of of each specific bylaw, rule or regulation shall be
deemed a separate offense, and each day on which a violation occurs
shall be deemed a separate offense and subject to the penalties stated
herein.
D.Â
The Town shall have the additional right pursuant to this bylaw to
bring actions in equity or contract to recover fines or to compel
the removal of a boat or vessel.
[Added 5-9-2022 ATM, Art. 12]
If any section, paragraph or provision of this bylaw is determined
to be invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of the bylaw.
