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The Board of Harbor Commissioners shall consist of five members appointed and removed as provided in Section 502. The board shall include at least one member who resides within San Pedro and one member who resides within Wilmington, as those areas are defined by ordinance.
SECTION HISTORY
Amended by: Charter Amendment HH, approved November 5, 2024, effective January 8, 2025.
(a) The Board of Harbor Commissioners shall have the possession, management and control of all navigable waters and all tidelands and submerged lands, whether filled or unfilled, situated below the line of mean high tide northerly and easterly of the United States government breakwater at Los Angeles Harbor and within the limits of the City of Los Angeles; and all harbor and port improvements, works, utilities, facilities and watercraft owned, controlled or operated by the department, as well as those properties referred to in Section 602(b) and (c).
The lands and waters, and interests therein, under the possession, management and control of the Board of Harbor Commissioners shall be known as the Harbor District. The Harbor District and all harbor and port improvements, works, utilities, facilities and watercraft owned, controlled, or operated by the department shall be known as the Harbor Assets.
(b) Prohibition of Sale. The City of Los Angeles and the Harbor Department shall not grant, sell, convey, alienate, transfer or otherwise dispose of any of the right, title or interest of the City in and to the tidelands and submerged lands of the Harbor District, or any part thereof; except that grants of these lands may be made to the State of California or to the United States for public purposes, when approved by a majority vote of the registered voters of the City voting upon the question.
(c) Public Use of Water Frontage.
(1) Reserved Space. Not less than ten thousand feet of the water frontage of Los Angeles Harbor, linear measurement, measured along the United States harbor lines, together with the necessary coterminous and adjacent tidelands and submerged lands as may be determined by the board and approved by the Council by ordinance, owned or controlled by the City, are hereby forever reserved for public use to be improved, controlled, maintained and operated by the City.
(2) Included Public Uses. The following uses are considered consistent with the public use requirement of subsection (c)(1) above:
(A) The assignment of berths or landings for the use of vessels at any wharf located in the reserved portion of the Harbor District if the assignment reserves to the City the right to use the wharf or other facility when the assigned space is not required for the use of the permittee or licensee.
(B) The assignment of space in any warehouse, elevator, or like facility operated by the City, located in the Harbor District at the established rates for the use of these facilities.
The board shall have the power and duty to:
(a) Rules and Regulations. Make and enforce all necessary rules and regulations governing the maintenance, operation and use of the Harbor District, and enforce penalties for the violation of those rules and regulations.
(b) Harbor Traffic. Regulate and control the piloting, anchoring, mooring, towing and docking of all vessels and watercraft in the Harbor District.
(c) Control Over Harbor Facilities. Regulate and control the construction, maintenance, operation and use of any railroad, wharf, warehouse or other facility, utility, structure or improvement used in connection with the Harbor District.
(d) Dredging. Regulate and control all dredging, filling and excavating in the Harbor District.
(e) Rates. Fix and collect rates and charges for the use of the Harbor Assets, pilotage and towage, and any other service provided by the department.
(f) Development of the Harbor District. Acquire, provide for, construct, maintain and operate all improvements, utilities, structures, watercraft, facilities and services for Departmental Purposes and to acquire and take, by purchase, lease, condemnation or otherwise, in the name of the City, any property, real or personal, or any interest therein, and to designate the site for any public buildings, structures or facilities in the Harbor District. The power of condemnation shall only be exercised with the approval of Council.
(a) Council Approval. The board, by order, shall make and enforce rules and regulations of general application, and fix, regulate and collect rates and charges. These orders must be approved by the Council by ordinance before they become effective.
(b) Temporary Rules or Rates. Notwithstanding subsection (a), the board shall have the power to enact, suspend or modify any rule, regulation, rate or charge, without Council approval, for a period not to exceed 90 days.
(c) Penalties. The Council shall, by ordinance, prescribe penalties for violation of the provisions of a rule or regulation adopted under this section. The Council may provide that violation constitutes a misdemeanor, and may declare penalties that include a fine not to exceed the maximum amount provided by the general laws of the state or imprisonment not exceeding six months or both.
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