(A) General. It is the policy of the city that the moorages in the harbor are to be used for the purpose of accommodating vessels operating in conformance with the rules and regulations of the city and full and timely payment of moorage fees and charges.
(B) Use permits required. No person shall moor a vessel at harbor facilities without having first entered into a written moorage use permit agreement with the city in the form and in the manner required by the city.
(C) Vessel must be licensed or documented. As required by state or federal law, all vessels shall be licensed or documented at all times during the period of a moorage use permit.
(D) Period of validity and renewal of use permit.
(1) A reserved or an unreserved moorage use permit shall be issued for one year or for such time as provided by division (D)(3) below. Upon expiration of the period stated therein, the moorage use permit and all rights of the permittee thereunder shall automatically terminate. No moorage use permit, reserved or unreserved, shall be renewed unless the conditions of issuance are met and all fees and charges due and payable have been paid.
(2) A transient vessel moorage use permit may be issued for any period of time at the daily rate, or for a period of 30 days at the monthly rate, as provided by the then current resolution of the City Council.
(3) For purposes of division (D)(1) above, the referenced one-year period shall begin on July 1 and end June 30 of the following calendar year, except for the first year of reserved or unreserved moorage (which is for a 365-day period, terminating on the same day of the next year following the commencement of the reserved or unreserved moorage use permit). For purposes of the first year of reserved or unreserved moorage, the beginning date shall be the first day such use is permitted and shall extend for one year. In the event the moorage is renewed in a timely manner, the moorage fee for the second year shall be prorated from the renewal date through the following June 30. To determine the prorated moorage fee for the second year’s moorage, the appropriate annual fee shall be divided by 12 and the result multiplied by the number of months or any portion of a month of permitted use. In the event the moorage use permit holder wishes to terminate the moorage use permit and seek a refund of a portion of moorage paid, the determination of a refund, if any, shall be as follows: the difference between the annual moorage amount paid and the transient daily rate multiplied by the number of days from the prior renewal date to the date of termination. If the moorage amount paid by permit holder exceeds the calculated figure, the city shall refund the difference.
(E) Uses permitted. The use permit agreement and use permit emanating therefrom shall allow the use of the boat launch and of the moorage facilities for moorage purposes only and shall grant no further right privilege or use. Additional or varying uses shall not be allowed, except as provided in the following divisions in this section.
(F) Live-aboard. Live-aboard shall mean any person sleeping overnight or any other activity normally connected with temporary lodging. Residing aboard a moored vessel for more than 18 days during any consecutive 30-day period is prohibited.
(G) Non-transferability of permits. Reserved or unreserved moorage use permits may not be sublet or in any other way beneficially assigned. Reserved or unreserved moorage use permits are non-transferable, except when authorized by the City Council under the following conditions:
(1) If a vessel is sold as the result of the death or disability or illness of the permit holder, the permit may be transferred with the vessel when sold. Only one transfer under this provision per part-owner or owner/operator shall be allowed;
(2) If two or more vessels are being traded between boat owners so the net result does not change the moorage configuration within the harbor;
(3) If a vessel owner sells a vessel and replaces it with another vessel that may, in the judgment of the harbormaster, be safely moored in the same berth or in a suitable, available berth on the public docks when no one is on the waiting list for such berth;
(4) If a vessel owner transfers title to a corporation in which the vessel owner owns and maintains ownership of not less than 51% of the issued and outstanding stock;
(5) Upon the sale of a working charter boat with a valid city business license to an individual who shall continue working in the harbor as an active licensed charter boat, the purchaser of said vessel shall have the first right of refusal on said vessel’s existing moorage space at the time of the sale;
(6) Upon the sale of a licensed actively working commercial fishing boat to an individual who shall continue working in the harbor as a licensed active commercial fishing boat, the purchaser of said vessel shall have the first right of refusal on said vessel’s existing moorage space at the time of the sale. For the purposes of this exception, “commercial fishing boat” is defined as one that holds a valid resident or non-resident commercial fishing boat license and a valid commercial fishing license which authorizes the activity of selling his or her own catch directly from the vessel from which the catch was made and only to the ultimate consumer; or
(7) If a vessel owner/moorage use permit holder of a reserved moorage space removes the permitted vessel from the assigned moorage space to conduct repairs on said vessel, the vessel owner/moorage use permit holder may use the assigned moorage space for a same class size, or smaller class size, vessel owned or controlled by the vessel owner/moorage use permit holder until the permitted vessel is repaired. Prior to mooring the alternate vessel, the vessel owner/moorage use permit holder shall obtain and maintain a valid use permit for the alternate vessel pursuant to division (I) below.
(H) Grace period. In the event the holder of a reserved moorage use permit sells or involuntarily loses the vessel, except by foreclosure by the city, the reserved moorage use permit shall remain with the original permittee, providing that the permittee has purchased or purchases within one year of the date of the sale or loss, another vessel that is compatible to the size of the berth previously occupied and pays the reserved moorage use permit fees at time of renewal. Prior to mooring the new vessel, permittee shall obtain a valid moorage use permit for the new vessel pursuant to the requirements of this chapter.
(I) Acquisition of moorage use permits.
(1) All reserved moorages will be assigned by the harbormaster at such time as appropriate moorage space is available. Except as provided by division (G) above, reserved moorage use permits will be granted to the applicant who is the highest on priority (determined by time) on the waiting list and who owns a vessel that is compatible to the berth that is available. Any person refusing to accept an assigned reserved moorage berth without good cause as determined by the harbormaster, may be dropped from the waiting list.
(2) All unreserved moorage and transient moorage use permits for a period exceeding three days shall be granted upon proof of insurance and payment of charges provided there is no violation of any city ordinance and there is sufficient unreserved moorage space available, on a first come basis. There is no waiting list for unreserved or transient moorage use permits.
(3) Applicants for the waiting list for a reserved moorage use permit shall certify the following information: true dimensions (overall length and overall width); applicant’s name, address, telephone number, document, or certificate number and name or proposed name of vessel. The application must bear the signature of the applicant and signature of the city employee receiving the application. At the time of assignment of reserved moorage, pursuant to divisions (D)(1), (D)(3), (I)(4) of this section and § 92.13(C) of this subchapter, a reserved moorage use permit shall be granted upon proof of insurance and payment of charges provided there is no violation of any city ordinance. Signatures of both the applicant and the city employee will be required for a valid application on all new and yearly renewals of moorage use permits.
(4) All applicants for new or renewed reserved, unreserved, and transient moorage use permits for a period exceeding three days shall have in force and effect watercraft liability-protection and indemnity insurance and pollution liability insurance in an amount not less than $500,000 for the term of the moorage use permit. All such insurance policies required under this section shall name the city as additional insured and shall include a provision governing notifying the city prior to any early cancellation of the policy. Proof of all such insurance policies required under this section shall be provided to the city as a condition of issuance of a moorage use permit. The certificate of insurance provided as proof shall clearly identity the insurance coverage and name the city as “additional insured” on the policy. Non-motorized vessels are excluded from the requirement to carry pollution liability insurance, all other requirements of this section shall apply.
(5) All unreserved moorage and transient moorage use permits for a period of three days or less shall be granted upon receipt by the city of applicant’s signed indemnification and hold harmless agreement (incorporated by reference herein and attached to Ordinance 292) and payment of charges provided there is no violation of any city ordinance and there is sufficient unreserved moorage space available, on a first come basis. There is no waiting list for unreserved or transient moorage use permits.
(J) Additional rights not implied. The issuance of an unreserved moorage use permit does not grant any rights or privileges to a holder of an unreserved moorage use permit with regard to consideration for the granting of a reserved moorage use permit. Holders of an unreserved moorage use permit must apply for a position on the waiting list for a reserved moorage use permit in the same manner as those not having an unreserved moorage use permit.
(K) Waiting list. The city shall maintain a waiting list of applications for reserved moorage use permits. The waiting list shall be divided into categories determined by the city, based upon the various sizes of berths or moorages available in the harbor. All new and renewing waiting list applications shall be subject to payment of such fee as may be determined by the City Council by resolution from time to time.
(L) Applicability of moorage use permits.
(1) Reserved moorage use permits shall be issued to a named owner/operator of a vessel and shall be valid only for a specific vessel in a designated moorage.
(2) Unreserved moorage use permits shall be issued to the named owner/operator of a vessel. The unreserved moorage use permits are valid only for a specific vessel.
(3) Transient moorage use permits shall be issued to the owner/operator and are valid only for a specific vessel.
(M) Reassignment. Any moorage space may be reassigned at the option of the harbormaster if the orderly administration of the moorage facility so requires, notwithstanding the prior designation of a specific moorage berth in the moorage use permit. Permittees may apply for reassignment, however granting reassignment is at the option of the harbormaster. A reassignment determination by the harbormaster may be appealed to the Harbor Commission. A written appeal shall be filed with the city no later than within five business days of the date of reassignment determination. An appeal, timely filed, will be presented to the Harbor Commission at the first regular Harbor Commission meeting following filing of the appeal. Appeals are de-novo. Moorage reassignment may also be made by the Harbor Commission or the harbormaster if a vessel’s size in relationship to the size of the assigned berth does not permit maximum and efficient public utilization of harbor facilities or if a reassignment will in any other manner increase the efficient public utilization of moorage facilities.
(N) Temporary assignment and reassignment. Holders of moorage use permits may be temporarily assigned or reassigned to other berths or spaces to accommodate repairs, improvements, maintenance, construction, emergencies, or special events.
(O) Permittee’s mailing address. The permittee shall at all times keep the city informed of his or her current mailing address and telephone number, and an alternate telephone number. Permittee shall notify the city immediately upon any change of ownership of the vessel and further shall notify the city immediately upon vacating the moorage assigned by the city. Failure to keep the city informed is a breach of covenant of use permit and grounds for revocation of the permit.
(P) Cancellation of use permit for berth repair or elimination. The city may deny the application for moorage space or the reissuance of a reserved moorage use permit when a berth is unusable, modified, eliminated, or in need of repairs.
(Q) Revocation of use permit. If after notice, the permittee fails to remedy any breach of the duties, covenants, or conditions of the permit or to cease and desist from violating or permitting the violation of these rules and regulations, the city may revoke the permittee’s use permit and take appropriate enforcement procedures. In addition to the foregoing, the city may revoke a use permit for a deliberate misstatement or willful failure to disclose any material fact in an application for any of the permits specified in this chapter.
(Ord. 292, passed 12-18-2012; Ord. 298, passed 9-20-2013) Penalty, see § 11.99