I. Enforcement by Harbor Patrol. The following provisions of this Subarticle I shall be enforced by the Harbor Patrol as part of law enforcement activities.
A. 
Vessels towing water-skiers and aquaplanes. There shall be no waterskiing in congested mooring areas, anchorage areas or in speed-limit areas. No person shall operate a vessel while towing water-skiers, aquaplanes or similar devices unless there is present in said vessel, in addition to the vessel operator, another person in a position to observe and assist the person or appurtenance being towed. The operator of such a vessel will be held responsible for compliance with the navigating rules for both the vessel and the person or appurtenance being towed. Except in connection with water carnivals and exhibitions authorized by the City Council, no such activity may be conducted during the period between 1/2 hour after sunset and 1/2 hour before sunrise. Special waterskiing areas will be designated by the City Council.
B. 
Water-ski jumps. No person shall locate or use on the public waters under the jurisdiction of this City a water-ski jump without first obtaining the approval of the City Council or its duly authorized representative.
C. 
Aircraft. Aircraft shall be governed by the appropriate rules and regulations of the Maine Aeronautics Commission, excepting that they shall observe the same mooring and anchorage rules and regulations that apply to vessels.
A. 
The owner, captain or operator of a vessel involved in a collision with another vessel, a wharf, pier, landing, dock or other fixed object within the harbor; a fire on-board; or an accident as defined by the United States Coast Guard, must report such incident to local law enforcement or the Harbor Master by quickest means.
B. 
Failing to report such collision, fire or accident, regardless of visible damage or injury, constitutes a violation of this section.
A. 
A person is guilty of endangerment of life or property if that person:
(1) 
Operates a vessel and fails to have a proper lookout while towing a water-skier; or
(2) 
Operates a vessel and fails to require a water-skier to wear a personal flotation device (PFD); or
(3) 
Operates a vessel and permits a passenger to ride on the swim platform or bow while underway; or
(4) 
Operates a vessel and engages in "teak surfing," "drag surfing" or otherwise allows someone to physically hang onto the stern, transom, swim platform or gunnels of a vessel; or
(5) 
Water-skis without wearing a personal flotation device (PFD); or
(6) 
Rides or physically hangs onto the stern, bow, transom, swim platform or gunnels of a vessel while underway.
B. 
The provisions of this section do not apply to emergency personnel in the performance of their duties; emergency situations in which this activity could not be avoided; or the use of approved recreational equipment designed to be towed behind a vessel as long as the distance behind the vessel is adequate to prevent injury from moving parts, fuels and/or carbon monoxide gases.
A. 
Alcoholic beverages. The consumption or possession of alcoholic beverages is prohibited on any beach. For the purposes of this section, any person found within reasonable reach of an alcoholic beverage is deemed to be in possession.
B. 
Vehicles prohibited on beach. No motorized or vehicular traffic of any kind may enter or use the beach for any purpose, with the exception of public safety vehicles and those City vehicles designated for public works purposes.
C. 
Overnight camping on beaches prohibited. No person or group may camp or otherwise set up temporary, overnight shelter on a beach for any purpose. "Overnight" is defined as any time following sunset and before sunrise.
D. 
Camp fires or burning on beaches prohibited. No person or group may have a camp fire or otherwise burn on a beach for any purpose.
A. 
Headway speed only zones shall be established by the Coastal Waters Commission for the tidal areas of the Saco River and Saco Bay.
B. 
Designated headway speed only zones will be marked appropriately with buoys, signs or other reasonable markers likely to come to the attention of boaters. All types and locations of markers or buoys placed into the river or harbor will be approved by the authority having jurisdiction over navigable waters.
C. 
Once approved, buoys will be placed in the designated areas by the Harbor Master or by an independent contractor hired by the City with the recommendation of the Harbor Master and Coastal Waters Commission. Placement of buoys or markers within the areas shall be at the discretion of the Harbor Master.
D. 
These zones will be reviewed periodically to ensure that they do not conflict with state or City law and reflect the needs of the citizens of Saco.
E. 
Pursuant to 38 M.R.S.A. § 281, whoever operates any watercraft, vessel, water skis, surfboard, similar device or motorboat, however propelled, upon the tidewaters of Saco or upon the offshore waters within the jurisdiction of the State of Maine at a speed greater than is reasonable and proper, having due regard for traffic, proximity to wharves, docks, moorings or shores, and for any other conditions then existing shall be guilty of a Class E crime. Further pursuant to 38 M.R.S.A. § 285, every law enforcement officer in the State of Maine, including harbor masters and their deputies, shall have the authority to enforce these laws, and in the exercise thereof shall have the authority to stop and board any such watercraft, vessel, or motorboat found in violation. It shall be unlawful for the operator of any such watercraft, vessel or motorboat to fail to stop upon hail from any such officer, and a violation of the same shall be punished as a Class E crime.
A. 
No traffic of any kind, vehicular or pedestrian, may enter or use any area of the beach wherein so-called dune grass is growing. It shall also be a violation of this section to burn, crush, uproot, poison or in any other manner kill, injure or remove any dune grass or any other vegetation growing on the beach.
B. 
For the purposes of this section, subsequent violations will have been committed for each square foot of dune grass damaged, injured or destroyed.
II. Enforcement by Harbor Patrol or the Harbor Master.
No person or vessel shall discharge, deposit, throw, sweep or cause to be deposited or swept into or upon the waters of Saco or into waters adjacent thereto any gas, fuel, coolant, oil, bilge water, human waste, ashes, dirt, stone, gravel, mud, logs, planks or any object or substance tending to pollute or obstruct the harbor or waters adjacent thereto or to shoal the depth of said waters. No person or vessel shall discharge, dump or dispose of any refuse, garbage, offal, gas, oil, fuel, coolant, waste, fish waste, or any other object or substance tending to pollute upon any shore of the City of Saco.
No person shall conduct him or herself in a threatening, disorderly or aggressive manner that disrupts the peace, or the use and enjoyment of the pier and its facilities by other pier users. Such conduct may result in the forfeiture of pier use permission.
A. 
First instance, a verbal warning by the Harbor Master;
B. 
Second instance, a written warning by the Harbor Master; and
C. 
Third instance, immediate suspension of pier use permit.
D. 
If, in the sole opinion of the Harbor Master, a party's action is so violent or disruptive to public use and enjoyment of the public facilities as to pose risk to a third person or the community itself, the Harbor Master may request the immediate removal of the party by the Saco Police Department and that party's use will be suspended until such time as a hearing is held before the Coastal Waters Commission as set forth in § 118-28E.
III . Enforcement by the Harbor Master.
An owner, captain or operator of a vessel allows that vessel to become derelict if:
A. 
The vessel lacks any license or registration, the prerequisite of which is required by state or local authority to allow operation of such vessel in the harbor;
B. 
The vessel is submerged to a level substantially above its normal waterline and remains so for a period greater than 48 hours;
C. 
The vessel is damaged to the extent that it cannot be moved under its own power; or
D. 
The owner, captain or operator of the vessel has failed or refused to comply with the lawful orders of the Harbor Master, Assistant Harbor Master or a law enforcement officer. A violation of this section will have a mandatory minimum fine of $250 that may not be suspended;
E. 
The owner of the vessel has failed or refuses to pay any applicable license fee, excise tax, harbor usage fee, mooring fee, dock or landing fee or any other service fee imposed by the City or Harbor Master. A violation of this section will have a mandatory minimum fine of $250 that may not be suspended.
F. 
Disclosure of vessel ownership. This section requires the disclosure of ownership of any vessel operating within the statutory limits of the City of Saco and further requires all corporate, partnerships, trusts and any other nonindividual, including those persons undisclosed, anonymous or otherwise unidentifiable principals, responsible for the maintenance of property and vessels and accountable with respect to violations of this chapter.
G. 
Order of disposal; abatement of violation by the City and recovery of costs.
(1) 
When the Harbor Master, after notice in writing to the owner of any derelict vessel by regular mail or by publication in a newspaper in the county three weeks successively, and after a hearing on such matter, adjudges that such vessel was or is derelict, dangerous or a nuisance, they may make and record an order prescribing what disposal shall be made thereof. The City Clerk shall deliver a copy of such order to a constable or deputy sheriff, who shall serve such owner, if the owner is a resident of the state, with an attested copy thereof, and make return of his or her actions thereon to the Clerk forthwith. If the owner or part owner is unknown or resides outside this state, such notice shall be given by publication in a paper published in the county for three successive weeks.
(2) 
If no application is made to the superior court, as is provided in this section, the City Council shall cause such vessel to be abated, removed or altered in compliance with its order, and all expenses thereof shall be repaid to the City within 30 days after demand, or may be recovered of such person by an action for money paid.
(3) 
Any owner aggrieved by an order made pursuant to this section may, within 30 days after such order is so made and filed, apply to the superior court which shall forthwith, after notice and hearing, affirm, annul or alter such order.
(4) 
If the court affirms an order made pursuant to this section, costs shall be recovered by the City; if it wholly annuls such order, the applicant shall recover costs; and if it alters it in part, the court may render such judgment as to costs as justice requires.
No person shall obstruct a wharf, dock, landing or pier by intentionally or knowingly:
A. 
Obstructing, by any means whatsoever, the free use of any public wharf, dock, landing or pier and is not actively engaged in the loading or unloading of persons, product or cargo; or
B. 
Allowing a vessel under that person's control or ownership to remain tied, moored or affixed to a public wharf, dock, landing or pier without legal authorization from the City or payment of docking fees.
A. 
No person shall dive from or swim within 50 feet of any public wharf, dock, landing or pier. This restriction does not govern or limit special events sanctioned by the City, nor commercial divers and emergency personnel or others who have been granted special permission by the Harbor Master. At no time, other than for emergency purposes, may anyone swim within the channel.
B. 
No person shall fish from City wharves.
No person, firm, or organization may intentionally, knowingly or recklessly obstruct a channel or the inner harbor by:
A. 
Setting any commercial fishing gear within the inner harbor or a channel; or
B. 
Place or set any lobster traps, including buoys, within 100 feet of a mooring; or
C. 
Place, stop, or anchor any vessel within a channel without providing for adequate room for a vessel of any reasonable size to navigate safely around in both directions simultaneously; or
D. 
Knowingly or willfully obstruct the free use of any channel or waterway within the harbor.
No person shall operate a vessel without meeting current state law. Operation of a vessel without proper safety equipment, a violation of this section, shall have a mandatory minimum fine of $150 that may not be suspended, and a citation may be issued for each piece of equipment that is missing, not in proper working order or in poor condition.
Personal property, such as lobster pots, automobiles, cradles, boats, etc., shall not be stored on City wharves or landings or within the Camp Ellis parking lot. Exemptions to this rule shall be considered on an individual basis when submitted, in writing, to the Harbor Master. The hauling-out area at Camp Ellis will be under the jurisdiction of the Harbor Master.
Permission for the construction of any new wharf or pier within the jurisdictional limits of the City shall require review by the Harbor Master. In addition to any federal, state or other City of Saco permits or approvals, an applicant must provide to the Harbor Master the following information:
A. 
A copy of the boundary survey showing the littoral zone established by extending property lines from land.
B. 
A location map from a portion of a USGS topographic map of the coastal chart.
C. 
Distance to navigable channels or any Federal Navigation Project.
D. 
Mean high and low water boundary.
E. 
A plan view of the drawing(s) that shows the location and dimensions of the applicant's structure(s) in relation to the applicant's property lines.
F. 
A typical cross section/side view of the applicant's structures on the drawing(s).
G. 
Evidence that owners of the abutting properties have been notified of the applicant's intended project.
H. 
Evidence that the 1) Maine Historic Preservation Commission, 2) Aroostook Band of Micmac, 3) Passamaquoddy Tribe of Indian: Pleasant Point Indians Township, 4) Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians and 5) Penobscot Indian Nation have been notified of the applicant's intended project.
I. 
Completed applications submitted to the Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Environmental Protection and Saco Code Enforcement. A regulatory permit obtained from the Saco River Corridor Commission may also be required in some instances.
The Harbor Master shall assist all applicants with understanding the approval process, but all federal, state and local requirements remain the burden and responsibility of the applicant themselves, and not of the Harbor Master. The Harbor Master is not permitted to prepare or sign any forms or paperwork for an applicant unless the form or application expressly requires the signature of the Harbor Master. No work shall be authorized by the Harbor Master, or undertaken by the applicant, until the Harbor Master determines all required permits or approvals have been secured by the applicant.