§ 9-41. Definitions

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Adverse weather means any weather condition which could cause damage to vessels, impede the operation of vessels or pose a hazard to the operation of a vessel. Adverse weather includes, but is not limited to, tropical depressions, tropical storms and instances of adverse wind conditions.

Anchoring means to secure a vessel temporarily to the bottom of a water body by dropping an anchor from a vessel.

Assistants means any town harbor department employee or designee.

Boat includes ship, vessel, or any other type of watercraft or seaplane.

Channel includes any water areas that are federally maintained and reserved for unobstructed movement of vessels.

Coastal waters means all waters bordering the town from the shore to a distance of 600 feet seaward not included in the designation "harbor waters."

Commercial vessel means any type of vessel used primarily for any type of commercial venture, including but not limited to towage, salvage and the carrying of passengers for hire.

Derelict dock means any dock which poses an immediate danger to navigation, the environment, or public or private property, or is deposited upon a beach, public right-of-way, or in the waters of the town without authorization from the harbormaster, private property owner, or pursuant to a permit issued by the coastal resources management council.

Derelict vessel means any of the following:

(1) Any vessel not properly numbered, registered or documented, pursuant to the provisions of G.L. 1956, title 46, ch. 22, or pursuant to applicable federal or state law;

(2) Any vessel which poses an immediate danger to navigation, the environment, or public or private property;

(3) Any motorized vessel over 16 feet which has been left unattended on a beach or public right-of-way for 24 hours or more;

(4) Any vessel which is left unattended for 72 hours in the waters of the town, except for those vessels located in the designated mooring and/or anchorage areas in the Great Salt Pond/New Harbor during the period of May 1 through November 1;

(5) Any vessel which is not registered with the harbormaster;

(6) Any vessel not in a location the harbormaster has designated for mooring or anchorage; during the period of May 1 through November 1, any vessel left on a mooring to which the vessel is not assigned will be deemed derelict;

(7) Any vessel which is or appears to be abandoned, forsaken, deserted or cast away by the owner; or

(8) Any vessel which is or appears to be disabled, drifting, sinking, or otherwise unfit to be in the waters of the town, or which, in the opinion of the harbormaster, is unsound, unseaworthy, or unfit, the basis of which determination shall include but is not limited to a vessel which is:

a. Deteriorated, rotten, damaged, dismantled, or otherwise in a state of disrepair so as to admit water where designed to be watertight, or otherwise not seaworthy as it was originally designed and built;

b. Not capable of navigating under its own power; or

c. Not capable of being lawfully operated in the waters of the state.

Dock means any float, floating dock, or permanent structure such as a pier, pile or wharf, which is used for the purpose of securing or berthing an in-water vessel.

Dockmaster means the person charged with the overall management and control of the Old Harbor docks and anchorage and the collection of all fees established by the town council. The dockmaster reports directly to the harbormaster.

Fairway means the navigable portion of a body of water specifically designated for the ingress and egress of vessels within the harbor waters.

Floating business means a building constructed on a raft or hull that is represented as a place of business, including, but not limited to, waterborne hotels, restaurants, marinas or marina-related businesses.

Harbor means Old Harbor, inner and outer basin, and New Harbor which shall include Great Salt Pond , Cormorant Cove, Inner Harbor (Hog Pen), and Trims Pond, and shall also include the approaches and harbor entrances.

Harbor of refuge means a harbor offering a safe haven to private and commercial vessels and their operators during times of adverse weather. Rules, regulations and procedures for mooring and anchoring in a harbor of refuge shall be consistent with United States Army Corps of Engineers' policy of "open-to-all on equal terms."

Harbormaster means the harbormaster of the town as appointed by the town council and shall refer to the appointed assistant or assistants where applicable. The harbormaster's authority shall include the enforcement of the provisions of the town harbor ordinances and any additional regulations subsequently required for the implementation of this harbor management plan.

Harbors committee means a committee appointed by the town council and charged with providing advice to the town council regarding the Old Harbor, Great Salt Pond, harbor facilities and areas.

Houseboat means a building constructed on a raft, barge, or hull that is used primarily for single or multiple family habitation; use for transportation or recreation is secondary.

Live-on-board. Persons intending to sleep on board a vessel for more than three consecutive days or more than six days in any given month shall be considered to have lived on board a vessel.

Moor means the securing of a vessel by anchoring, attachment to a mooring, rafting to another vessel, and/or tying to a pier, pile or wharf.

Mooring means a semi-permanent anchorage installation consisting of a heavy anchor or block, mooring buoy, and a pennant used for securing a vessel. For the purposes of this article, a mooring is considered either town or private, which are defined as follows:

(1) Town mooring means any mooring which is rented or leased by the town in a mooring area.

(2) Private mooring.

a. Resident mooring means any private mooring, permitted annually by the town, which is assigned to a vessel, owned by a resident of the town and registered in the state or documented with a home port of Block Island.

b. Nonresident mooring means any private mooring, permitted annually by the town, which is assigned to a vessel not owned by a resident of the town.

c. Club mooring means any mooring, permitted annually by the town, which is owned or used by a private yacht or boat club which is registered in the corporate, business or club name. It shall be at the discretion of the harbormaster to determine whether or not a private mooring is indeed a private mooring or a club mooring.

Mooring permit means a license granted by the town on an annual basis to place a mooring in the waters of the town. This license may be revoked at any time for failure to comply with the provisions of this article.

Official government vessel means any vessel registered to a local, state or federal governmental entity and utilized by official government personnel.

Old Harbor harbor of refuge means the waters of Old Harbor inside the granite breakwater as designated on NAOA nautical charts and as designated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Open to all on equal basis means that the town makes no arbitrary distinction or requirement of any kind in allocating use of the mooring areas, ancillary facilities and services to the public except as may be consistent with the purpose for which the project was created. The town will impose no arbitrary fees or arbitrary variations in fees among users. The cost of providing necessary management, ancillary facilities and services may be offset through equitable user fees based on the actual costs incurred.

Outhaul permit means a license granted by the town on annual basis to locate or maintain an outhaul in the waters of the town. This license may be revoked at any time for failure to comply with any provision of this article or the state coastal resources management program (RICRMP).

Outhauls means a non-single-point anchoring device, for the purpose of securing a boat in tidal waters and retrieving it from shore.

Person includes individuals, corporations, societies, associations and partnerships.

Personal watercraft means a vessel which uses an inboard motor powering a water jet pump as its primary source of motive power and which is designed to be operated by a person sitting, standing, or kneeling on the vessel, rather than the conventional method of sitting or standing inside the vessel.

Recreational boating facilities includes outhauls, marinas, launching ramps, residential boating facilities, recreational wharves, piers and slips, floats or floating docks, and recreational mooring areas.

Recreational vessel means any vessel designed for navigation on the water and used primarily for pleasure.

Resident means any real property taxpayer of the town or a resident as defined in section 2-2.

(1) For the purposes of this article and all licenses, permits and regulations issued by the town, a resident is defined as one who resides fulltime in the town.

(2) Fulltime Block Island residency status is not affected by absence due to enrollment at an educational institution or fulfilling a military obligation providing that the resident is also a registered Block Island voter.

(3) Fulltime Block Island residency status is not affected by absence, whatever the reason, of up to three months in any calendar year providing that the resident is also a registered Block Island voter.

(4) The town council may, for cause shown, waive the fulltime residency requirements for such reasons, including but not limited to family obligations, illness or unusual work circumstances, upon appeal within 30 days from a decision of any board, commission or licensing authority.

Seaplane means aircraft equipped for landing on the water.

Transient vessel means any vessel which seeks to moor and/or anchor in the waters of the town on a temporary basis.

Type 1 waters means those areas indicated as "type 1" waters on the maps of the Great Salt Pond and the Old Harbor as designated by the Rhode Island Coastal Resource Management Council.

Unattended vessel means any vessel whose operator, captain, crew, or owner is not made available to the vessel or town harbors department personnel.

User fee means the fee established and charged on a daily basis for use of a harbor of refuge.

Vessel includes every description of watercraft, including nondisplacement craft and seaplanes, used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water.

Waters of the town means water area over which the town hereby asserts jurisdiction. Town waters are classified as follows:

(1) Harbor waters.

a. Mooring zones. Those areas primarily designated for placement of moorings.

b. Transient anchorage zone. Those areas designated for the short-term use of vessels and seaplanes and any vessels seeking emergency shelter.

c. No anchoring zone. Those waters exclusively designed for the protection of water quality, recreation, shellfishing, wildlife and plant habitat values. Transient anchorage and moorings are prohibited.

d. Navigational channel. That area specifically designated for the navigational ingress and egress of vessels and seaplanes to the harbor waters.

(2) Areas under jurisdiction.

a. All waters surrounding the island out to a distance of 600 feet from the mean high water line for the purpose of implementing the provisions of G.L. 1956, § 46-4-6.10.

b. Harbors. The Old Harbor, inner basin, within the confines of the sandstone breakwater, and outer basin, within the confines of the granite breakwater; Great Salt Pond, which shall include Cormorant Cove, Inner Harbor (Hog Pen), Trim's Pond and Harbor Pond, shall also include the approaches and harbor entrance.

c. New Harbor closure line. All harbor water enclosed within the bounds of a straight line across the northerly extension of the New Harbor breakwaters, and based upon the physical configuration of the harbor in 1989.

(Ord. of 3-19-2004, § 9-41; Ord. of 12-19-2005, § 9-41; Ord. of 5-1-2007, § 9-41; Ord. of 6-2-2008, § 9-41)

refcross

Definitions generally, § 1-2.