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)