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It shall be unlawful for any person to take possession of or make use of for any purpose, alter, deface, destroy, move, injure, obstruct by fastening a boat or vessel thereto or otherwise tie a boat or vessel to, or in any manner whatever impair the usefulness of, any bridge, any special purpose buoy or any marine navigational aid established and maintained by the City of Chicago, Chicago Park District, or any subdivision of said governments.
(Prior code § 38-29.1)
All vessels, craft, or floats lying in or navigating the harbor shall be respectively governed by the following further provisions:
(a) Every vessel using steam shall have its smoke pipe or pipes so constructed and managed as to prevent sparks or coals of fire escaping therefrom, and shall be moved slowly at a speed not exceeding four miles per hour under a low head of steam. Every tugboat or steam vessel used chiefly for towing shall have a joint in its smoke pipe or pipes, and shall be constructed in all respects in such a manner as to be able to pass under any bridge which is not less than 13 feet above the surface of the water.
(b) No master or other person owning or having charge of any vessel, craft, or float shall leave the same in the harbor without having on board or in charge thereof some competent person to control, manage and secure the same, without first obtaining permission of the harbormaster.
(c) All vessels, craft, or floats, whether using steam or otherwise, while lying in the harbor, shall have and keep their anchors on board, and their lower yards cockbilled, and the upper yards braced up sharp.
They shall likewise have and keep out on board during the night time a conspicuous white light, and shall have extinguished or safely secured at dark all fires which may be kept on board.
(d) No vessel, craft, or float shall be suffered to lie in the harbor adrift or insecurely fastened.
(e) Vessels, craft, or floats moving with the current shall have the right-of-way.
(f) In case one vessel desires to pass another going in the same direction in the harbor the pilot of the vessel astern shall give the proper signal, indicating the side upon which he wishes to pass. Upon the pilot of one vessel astern of another giving such signal, the pilot of the vessel ahead shall immediately answer by giving the same signal; but if he does think it safe for the vessel astern to attempt to pass at that point he shall immediately signify the same by giving several short and rapid blasts of the whistle, and under no circumstances shall the steamer astern attempt to pass the steamer ahead until such time as they have reached a point where it can be safely done, when such vessel ahead shall signify her willingness by blowing the proper signals and the vessel astern shall pass the overtaken vessel, giving the overtaken vessel as wide a berth as possible.
(g) The vessel dispatcher shall keep a record of the movements of all vessels and through the bridge telephone operators give such directions to the bridge tenders or persons in charge of the bridges in regard to the opening of bridges that the provisions of this Code may be carried out.
(h) Vessels exceeding 200 tons navigating the harbor shall not proceed at a speed greater than four miles per hour.
(Prior code § 38-030)
(a) For purposes of this section the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(1) "Advertising sign" means any sign displayed on a watercraft, other than:
(A) The name of the watercraft and any required licensing, registration or identification markings displayed on the watercraft; or
(B) A sign identifying the owner of the watercraft and the principal business, occupation, service, commodity or entertainment conducted, sold or offered on the watercraft.
(2) "Advertising vessel" means any boat, barge, raft or other watercraft designed or used for the display of one or more advertising signs.
(3) "Chicago Harbor" means the harbor defined in Section 10-40-010 of this Code.
(b) No person shall operate or cause to be operated any advertising vessel within the Chicago Harbor. Violation of this section shall constitute a nuisance, and the corporation counsel is authorized to prosecute an action in the appropriate court for injunction against continuation thereof. In addition, any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be fined not less than $200.00 and not more than $500.00 for each offense. Each day that a violation shall continue shall constitute a separate and distinct offense.
(Added Coun. J. 10-31-90, p. 22657)
No person shall occupy any vessel, craft, or float upon the waters of the harbor as a residence, or for the purpose of engaging in any business, trade, or traffic for any purpose whatsoever, without first obtaining a license so to do. The license shall be posted and remain at all times in a conspicuous place in or on the vessel, craft, or float.
Any person violating this section shall be fined $200.00, and each and every day on which such violation shall continue shall constitute a separate and distinct offense.
(Prior code § 38-31; Amend Coun. J. 11-24-20, p. 24619, Art. III, § 1)
Every person performing or undertaking the work of tunnel construction under the water of Lake Michigan and within the jurisdiction of the city, and maintaining a crib in connection with such work, shall, whenever such person shall have persons employed on or about such crib or in any portion of the tunnel which is so connected with such crib that persons employed therein may pass therefrom in or onto such crib, provide on or at such crib a sufficient number of boats, of adequate and suitable design, to safely transport and convey all persons engaged in working in and about such tunnel construction to the mainland. Any person violating this section shall be fined $1,000.00 for each offense, and a separate and distinct offense shall be regarded as committed each day that such violation shall continue.
(Prior code § 38-32; Amend Coun. J. 11-24-20, p. 24619, Art. III, § 1)
ARTICLE III. WHARVES AND DOCKS (10-40-310 et seq.)
Every owner of premises abutting on the harbor, or any portion thereof, shall at all times keep and maintain in a state of good repair and in a safe condition all wharves, docks, piers, seawalls, slips, riverbank retaining walls, riverbank bulkheads, dolphins, booms, bulkheads, jetties, mooring facilities, pilings, sheetings and other similar structures on or appurtenant to such premises. Every violation of this section shall constitute a separate and distinct offense for every day such violation shall continue. The commissioner of transportation shall notify in writing such owner of any violation of this section and direct him to restore or repair such structure within a reasonable time. In addition, any nuisance now existing or which may hereafter result from an owner's failure to keep and maintain such wharves, docks, piers, seawalls, slips, riverbank retaining walls, riverbank bulkheads, dolphins, booms, bulkheads, jetties, mooring facilities, pilings, sheetings and other similar structures on or appurtenant to such premises in a state of good repair and in a safe condition shall also be subject to abatement as provided in Chapter 7-28 of this Code.
(Prior code § 38-34; Amend Coun. J. 12-11-91, p. 10832)
No person shall drive or place, or cause to be driven or placed, any pile or piles, stone, timber, earth, or other obstruction of any kind whatsoever, in the harbor, or build, construct, or repair any dock therein, or build or cause to be built any bridge or other structure across any part of the harbor, or drive or place, or cause to be driven or placed, any pile or piles of timber, or make any excavation for the purpose of furnishing or laying foundations for any building or structure, at any point within 40 feet of any part of the harbor, without obtaining a special permit in writing from the Commissioner of Transportation so to do. Application for said permission shall be made in writing to the Commissioner, and shall be accompanied by a sketch, a plat, and plans showing the nature of the work to be done. Upon such application being made and such sketch, plat, and plans being furnished as herein required, the Commissioner shall solicit input from relevant aldermen and departments, including but not limited to, the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, the Department of Police, the Department of Fire, and the Office of Emergency Management and Communications, and may consult with the Army Corps of Engineers, the United States Coast Guard, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and the Chicago Park District, and may also solicit input from stakeholders, including operators of vessels in the harbor, as to the factors the Commissioner considers in determining whether to grant the permit. The Commissioner shall issue the permit desired, upon payment of the permit fees hereinafter provided, unless it shall appear that the work to be done will result in unduly obstructing the harbor or endanger the users or the navigability of the harbor or in endangering the safety of any dock, pier, breakwater, or other structure located upon or along the harbor or pollute the harbor or is inconsistent with the Chicago River Design Guidelines.
It shall be the duty of the Commissioner to require all persons who may be engaged in repairing, renewing, altering, or constructing any dock within the City to produce a permit from the Department of Transportation, which permit shall specify the character and location of such repairing, renewal, alteration, or construction, and in default of the production of such permit, the Commissioner shall at once stop all work on such dock, and shall cause the arrest of any such persons engaged in such unlawful repairing, renewal, alteration, or construction. Any such person so arrested shall be fined not less than $1,000.00 nor more than $1,500.00 for each offense. Each day that a violation occurs or persists shall constitute a separate and distinct offense. In the event of any such dock having been repaired, renewed, altered, or constructed in or upon the water area of the harbor of the City, the person thus convicted of a violation of this section, in addition to the fine hereinbefore specified, shall be required at once, and at his own expense, or cost, to remove such dock back to its former location; and, in default of such removal of such dock, the Commissioner is hereby authorized to cause such dock to be removed, to such location as he deems best and to recover, from the person so convicted, the cost or expense of such removal.
(Prior code § 38-35; Amend Coun. J. 12-11-91, p. 10832; Amend Coun. J. 10-16-19, p. 7341, § 3)
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