[Adopted 3-4-1997 by Ord. No. 77]
The Town Meeting of the Town of Old Saybrook hereby establishes a Harbor Management Commission pursuant to C.G.S. § 22a-113k.
A. 
The Harbor Management Commission shall consist of five members who must be electors and residents of the Town of Old Saybrook. No more than three of the members shall be the members of the same political party. The Harbor Master shall serve as an ex officio member of the Commission, without vote.
B. 
No regular member of the Harbor Management Commission shall receive compensation for service, but may be reimbursed for any necessary expenses. The Harbor Master, and/or Deputy Harbor Master, may receive compensation for any prescribed duties.
Commencing on the effective date of this article, all present members of the Town of Old Saybrook Waterfront Commission are hereby designated as members of the new Old Saybrook Harbor Management Commission. The Commission members' terms of office on the new Harbor Management Commission shall be the same as would have been the case if the Old Saybrook Waterfront Commission had continued in existence. Thereafter, the terms of office and method of election of members of the new Harbor Management Commission shall be in accordance with the procedure set forth in Chapter 12, Section 11, of the Charter of the Town of Old Saybrook.
The area of the Town of Old Saybrook within the jurisdiction of its Harbor Management Commission shall be the waters within the territorial boundaries of the Town of Old Saybrook below mean high water, with the exception of the waters within the jurisdiction of the Fenwick Harbor Management Commission. Said Commission is directed, in preparing a Harbor Management Plan in accordance with the duties and responsibilities under the provisions of C.G.S. § 22a-113m, to consult and take into consideration any Harbor Management Plan or policies developed by any political subdivision of the Town of Old Saybrook with respect to those waters of the Town of Old Saybrook within or adjacent to the geographical boundaries of said political subdivision. Any such political subdivision of the Town of Old Saybrook, pursuant to the rights granted to it under this section, shall, upon its request, have the right to a hearing before the Old Saybrook Harbor Management Commission, at which time it may present relevant testimony, materials, and exhibits in support of its plan or policies with regard to management of the waters of the jurisdiction. The rights granted to the political subdivision of the Town of Old Saybrook in this section shall be in addition to and not in lieu of any other rights that they may have under the General Statutes with regard to participation in the preparation and adoption of a Harbor Management Plan for the waters of the Town of Old Saybrook.
[Amended 3-13-2002]
The purpose of the Harbor Management Commission shall be to prepare a Harbor Management Plan for the harbor in accordance with C.G.S. §§ 22a-113m through 22a-113o. The Commission may hire staff and consultants for the preparation of a Plan and to assist with any subsequent powers, duties, and responsibilities pursuant to the Plan. Upon adoption of the Plan, the Commission shall provide for the annual review of the Harbor Management Plan and shall make any additions that may be deemed appropriate subject to the process set forth in C.G.S. §§ 22a-113m through 22a-113o or other subsequent harbor management legislation enacted by the General Assembly. In addition, the Commission may exercise any of the following powers, duties, and responsibilities:
A. 
To recommend ordinances for adoption by the Town Meeting which implement the Harbor Management Plan and which may specify fines for violation of those ordinances, in accordance with C.G.S. § 22a-113m;
B. 
To assist the Harbor Master in the assignment of moorings, the management of mooring and anchorage areas, and the collection of mooring fees;
C. 
To prepare an operating budget for the Commission using funds from sources which may include, but are not limited to, local appropriations, mooring fees, violation fines or a Harbor Management Fund established by Town ordinances;
D. 
To assist in the coordination of all public and private agencies, commissions and other organizations which have interest or jurisdiction within the harbor area;
E. 
To review and make recommendations or proposed land and water use activities contiguous to the waterfront and within the waters delineated in § 8-56 of this article that are received by other municipal agencies in accordance with the procedure described in § 8-54 of this article;
F. 
To review for consistency with the Harbor Management Plan any public notice of and application for a local, state or federal permit for an activity taking place within the Commission's jurisdiction as described in § 8-54 of this article, and to respond in timely fashion with the recommendations to the regulating agencies;
G. 
To conduct or cause to be conducted, studies of the conditions and operations in and adjacent to Old Saybrook waters and to present to the Board of Selectmen proposals for the harbor's efficient operation; and
H. 
To request, when appropriate, a general permit from the United States Army Corps of Engineers and/or delegation of state enforcement authority pursuant to C.G.S. § 22a-2a.
I. 
To manage, control, and regulate those waterfront facilities set forth in Chapter 209 of the Old Saybrook Code, entitled "Waterways," and any additional such waterfront facilities assigned to it by the Town of Old Saybrook or the Board of Selectmen.
[Added 11-25-2019]
A. 
Pursuant to C.G.S. § 22a-113p, the Commission shall review and make recommendations, consistent with the adopted Harbor Management Plan, or any proposal affecting the real property on, in, or contiguous to the area within the jurisdiction of the Commission submitted to the Planning Commission, the Zoning Commission, the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Water Pollution Control Agency, the Inland Wetlands Commission, the Conservation Commission, the Parks and Recreation Commission, the North Cove Historical District Commission, and the Shellfish Commission. The Harbor Management Commission shall be notified in writing of any such proposal at least 35 days prior to the commencement of the hearing thereon or where no hearing is held, at least 35 days prior to the taking of any final action on the proposal. The respective municipal agency shall send a copy of the application/proposal to the Commission.
B. 
The primary reviewing agency authorized to act on the proposal shall consider the recommendations of the Commission. A two-thirds vote of all the members of the agency having authority to act on the proposal shall be required to approve a proposal which has not received a favorable recommendation from the Commission, provided that the provisions of this section shall not be deemed to alter the authority of the agency having the proposal. Failure of the Commission to submit recommendations on or before the date of the hearing or action on such a proposal shall be deemed an approval.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Section 7, Termination of Old Saybrook Waterfront Commission, which immediately followed this section, was deleted 3-13-2002.