[Ord. of 3-19-2004, § 9-41; Ord. of 12-19-2005, § 9-41; Ord. of 5-1-2007, § 9-41; Ord. of 6-2-2008, § 9-41; Ord. No. 2013-13, December 18, 2013, § 9-41; amended 11-17-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-10]
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Means any weather condition which could cause damage to vessels, impede the operation of vessels or pose a hazard to the operation of a vessel. Adverse weather includes, but is not limited to, tropical depressions, tropical storms and instances of adverse wind conditions.
Means to secure a vessel temporarily to the bottom of a water body by dropping an anchor from a vessel.
Means any town harbor department employee or designee.
Includes ship, vessel, or any other type of watercraft or seaplane.
Includes any water areas that are federally maintained and reserved for unobstructed movement of vessels.
Means any type of vessel used primarily for carrying passengers for hire.
Means all waters bordering the town from the shore to a distance of 600 feet seaward not included in the designation "harbor waters."
Means any type of vessel used primarily for any type of commercial venture, including but not limited to fishing, towage, salvage and the carrying of passengers for hire.
Means any dock which poses an immediate danger to navigation, the environment, or public or private property, or is deposited upon a beach, public right-of-way, or in state waters without authorization from the harbormaster, or pursuant to a permit issued by the coastal resources management council.
Means any of the following:
Any vessel not properly numbered, registered or documented, pursuant to the provisions of G.L. 1956, Title 46, Ch. 22, or pursuant to applicable federal or state law;
Any vessel which poses an immediate danger to navigation, the environment, or public or private property;
Any motorized vessel over 12 feet which has been left unattended on a beach or public right-of-way for 24 hours or more;
Any vessel which is left unattended in state waters for 72 hours, except for those vessels located in the designated mooring and/or anchorage areas in the Great Salt Pond/New Harbor during the period of May 1 through November 1;
Any vessel not in a location the harbormaster has designated for mooring or anchorage; during the period of May 1 through November 1, any vessel left on a mooring to which the vessel is not assigned will be deemed derelict;
Any vessel which is abandoned, forsaken, deserted or cast away by the owner; or
Any vessel which is disabled, drifting, sinking, or otherwise unfit to be in the waters, or which, in the opinion of the harbormaster, is unsound, unseaworthy, or unfit, the basis of which determination shall include but is not limited to a vessel which is:
Deteriorated, rotten, damaged, dismantled, or otherwise in a state of disrepair so as to admit water where designed to be watertight, or otherwise not seaworthy as it was originally designed and built;
Not capable of navigating under its own power; or
Not capable of being lawfully operated in the waters of the state.
Means a vessel with a maximum length of 14 feet and is a tender to a larger vessel that is moored or anchored in a town harbor or coastal water area.
Means any float, floating dock, or permanent structure such as a pier, pile or wharf, which is designated for in-water, short-term dinghy tie-up.
Means any float, floating dock, or permanent structure such as a pier, pile or wharf, which is used for the purpose of securing or berthing an in-water vessel.
Means the person charged with the overall management and control of the Old Harbor docks and anchorage and the collection of all fees established by the town council. The dockmaster reports directly to the harbormaster.
Means the navigable portion of a body of water specifically designated for the ingress and egress of vessels within the harbor waters.
Means a building constructed on a raft or hull that is represented as a place of business, including, but not limited to, waterborne hotels, restaurants, marinas or marina-related businesses.
Means Old Harbor, inner and outer basin, and New Harbor which shall include Great Salt Pond, Cormorant Cove, Inner Harbor (Hog Pen), and Trims Pond, and shall also include the approaches and harbor entrances.
Means a harbor offering a safe haven to private and commercial vessels and their operators during times of adverse weather. Rules, regulations and procedures for mooring and anchoring in a harbor of refuge shall be consistent with United States Army Corps of Engineers' policy of "open-to-all on equal terms."
Means the harbormaster of the town as appointed by the town council and shall refer to the appointed assistant or assistants where applicable. The harbormaster's authority shall include the enforcement of the provisions of the town harbor ordinances and any additional regulations subsequently required for the implementation of this harbor management plan.
Means a committee appointed by the town council and charged with providing advice to the town council regarding the Old Harbor, Great Salt Pond, harbor facilities and areas.
Means the slowest possible speed, or no more than 5 miles per hour, that a vessel can be operated and maintain steerage way.
Means a building constructed on a raft, barge, or hull that is used primarily for single or multiple family habitation; use for transportation or recreation is secondary.
Means persons intending to sleep on board a vessel for more than three consecutive days or more than six days in any given month shall be considered to have lived on board a vessel.
Means the securing of a vessel by anchoring, attachment to a mooring, rafting to another vessel, and/or tying to a pier, pile or wharf.
Means a semi-permanent anchorage installation consisting of a heavy anchor or block, mooring buoy, and a pennant used for securing a vessel.
Means a license granted by the town on an annual basis to place a mooring in the waters. This license may be revoked at any time for failure to comply with the provisions of this article.
Means a permit issued annually by the Harbormaster to residents and non-residents which is assigned to a vessel where the mooring tackle associated with the mooring permit is used by the mooring holder.
Means a permit issued annually by the Harbormaster to a riparian property owner which is assigned to a vessel where the mooring tackle associated with the mooring permit is used by the permit holder. Mooring permit, Yacht Club means a permit issued annually by the Harbormaster to a yacht club which is assigned to vessels where the mooring tackle associated with the mooring permit is used by the permit holder.
Means the water space assigned to a permit holder by the Harbormaster where the mooring tackle associated with the mooring permit is placed.
Means the hardware used to secure a vessel at a mooring and which is kept in place seasonally or semi-permanently.
Means a mooring which is rented or leased to resident's and non-residents annually which is assigned to a vessel within a designated mooring area.
Means a mooring which is rented or leased by the Harbormaster on a first-come, first-served basis for transient vessel use within the Town mooring area.
Means a mooring held by a riparian property owner under a permit granted by the Town of New Shoreham which is located within sufficient coastal waters bordering that property as bounded by the seaward extension of that property's lateral lot lines.
Means a mooring which is rented or leased to a yacht club which is registered in the corporate, business or club name and used by members of said private yacht or boat club.
Means vessels that are supported by the dynamic lift of hydrofoils or other lifting surfaces such as planning hulls.
Means any vessel registered to a local, state or federal governmental entity and utilized by official government personnel.
Means the waters of Old Harbor inside the granite breakwater as designated on NOAA nautical charts and as designated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Means a recreational boating facility that consist of an anchoring device, for the purpose of securing a boat in tidal waters and retrieving it from shore.
Means a license issued by the town, on authority granted by CRMC, on annual basis to locate or maintain an outhaul(s).
Includes individuals, corporations, societies, associations and partnerships.
Means a vessel which uses an inboard motor powering a water jet pump as its primary source of motive power and which is designed to be operated by a person sitting, standing, or kneeling on the vessel, rather than the conventional method of sitting or standing inside the vessel.
Includes outhauls, marinas, launching ramps, residential boating facilities, recreational wharves, piers and slips, floats or floating docks, and recreational mooring areas.
Means any vessel designed for navigation on the water and used primarily for pleasure.
Means the person owning the vessel assigned to a mooring permit at the time of issue.
Means any real property taxpayer of the town or a resident as defined in § 2-2.
Means unobstructed path, corridor or access way from land to shore leading to or along the coastal waters and shoreline areas below the high water mark.
Means aircraft equipped for landing and taking off on the water.
Means locations having adequate water depth and barrier-free access for the purpose of mooring vessels.
Means any vessel which seeks to moor and/or anchor in, on a temporary basis.
Means those areas indicated as "type 1" waters on the maps of the Great Salt Pond and the Old Harbor as designated by the Rhode Island Coastal Resource Management Council.
Means any vessel whose operator, captain, crew, or owner is not made available to the vessel or town harbors department personnel.
Means the fee established and charged on a daily basis for use of a harbor of refuge.
Includes every description of watercraft, including non-displacement craft and seaplanes, used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water.
Means water area over which the town hereby asserts jurisdiction are classified as follows:
Harbor waters.
Mooring zones. Those areas primarily designated for placement of moorings.
Transient anchorage zone. Those areas designated for the short-term use of vessels and seaplanes and any vessels seeking emergency shelter.
No anchoring zone. Those waters exclusively designed for the protection of water quality, recreation, shell fishing, wildlife and plant habitat values. Transient anchorage and moorings are prohibited.
Navigational channel. That area specifically designated for the navigational ingress and egress of vessels and seaplanes to the harbor waters.
Areas under jurisdiction.
All waters surrounding the island out to a distance of 600 feet from the mean high water line for the purpose of implementing the provisions of G.L. 1956, § 46-4-6.10.
Harbors. The Old Harbor, inner basin, within the confines of the sandstone breakwater, and outer basin, within the confines of the granite breakwater; Great Salt Pond, which shall Include Cormorant Cove, Inner Harbor (Hog Pen), Trim's Pond and Harbor Pond, shall also include the approaches and harbor entrance.
New Harbor closure line. All harbor water enclosed within the bounds of a straight line across the northerly extension of the New Harbor breakwaters, and based upon the physical configuration of the harbor in 1989.