The text
Sec. 82-101. - Goals of this article.#
The goals of the town in the adoption of this article are to: (1)
Manage the coastal waters and harbor areas of the town, as described in this article, by establishing regulations that balance and manage the diverse uses of the waters, harbor areas and waterfront and to minimize user conflicts.
(2)
Provide a mechanism to ensure the administration and operational costs of provisions of this article and the harbor management plan are shared by the town, mooring owners and other groups or individuals as may be identified by the harbor management commission, described in this article.
(3)
Provide a mechanism to ensure that all waterway activities are occurring in a safe, efficient and controlled manner so as to prevent accidents and unnecessary losses.
(4)
Remain consistent with the goals and regulations of the town comprehensive plan, the state coastal resource management program, the state department of the environment, the state guide plan, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
(5)
Provide for harbormaster authority and duties.
(Ch. 1054, § 1, 8-20-2018)
Sec. 82-102. - 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:
Abode means the principal, non-water dependent use of a structure or vessel as a dwelling or home.
Anchoring means to secure a vessel temporarily to the bottom of a waterbody by dropping an anchor from a vessel.
Commercial vessel means any type of vessel used primarily for any type of commercial venture including, but not limited to, fishing, towage, salvage and the carriage of passengers for hire.
Fairway means any locally designated and/or maintained water areas reserved for unobstructed movement of vessels.
Guest privilege means a mooring may be occupied by a guest of the permitted mooring owner for a period not to exceed ten days. Guest moorings may not be rented, leased or used by the same vessel on a continuous basis.
Harbor management commission means the body appointed by the town council to prepare the harbor management plan, develop policies for implementation of the plan, develop appeals procedures, and to provide other recommendations regarding harbor and coastal resource issues as specified within this article.
Harbormaster means the individual appointed by the town manager in accordance with the provisions of the town Charter to enforce the provisions of this article and any additional regulations subsequently required for the implementation of this article.
Lateral access means movement along the shore by individuals on foot.
Launching ramp means any natural or manmade facility used for the launching and hauling of boats.
Marina means any dock, pier, wharf, float, floating businesses, or combination of such facilities that service five or more recreational boats as a commercial enterprise or in association with a club (section 300.4 RI CRMP).
Mean high water (MHW) means the average height of the high tides over an 18.6-year period of time.
Mooring means a semi-permanent anchorage installation that consists of a mushroom anchor, granite or cement block, a mooring buoy, and a pennant used for securing a recreational or commercial vessel. For the purposes of this article, a mooring is considered private or reserved. (1)
Private: Any mooring owned and used by a private individual in the littoral waters or mooring zones.
(2)
Commercial: Any mooring which is rented by the mooring permit holder. Moorings are available on a limited basis upon approval of the harbor management commission. The same information as required of private mooring applicants must be completed by each mooring lessee.
(3)
Town moorings: Available through the harbor master.
Mooring-fairway means a path through or immediately adjacent to a mooring field, the purpose of which is to provide ingress and egress to and from moorings.
Mooring float means a structure similar to a dock float in construction and design, usually constructed with wood that is secured to mooring tackle.
Mooring post means an upright post of wood, stone, cast iron, or any other material fixed in the ground/bottom for securing vessels by line or chain.
Mooring space means that water space assigned to an applicant by the harbormaster.
Mooring tackle means the hardware used to secure a vessel at a mooring and which is kept in place seasonally.
Nonresident means any individual, business or corporation which does not meet the definition of the term "resident."
Personal watercraft means a vessel which uses an in-board motor powering a water jet pump as its primary source of motor power and designed to be operated by a person sitting or kneeling on the vessel rather than the conventional method of sitting or standing inside the vessel.
Recreational boating facility includes marinas, launching ramps, residential boating facilities, recreational wharfs, piers and slips, floats or floating docks and recreational mooring areas, section 300.4 of the coastal resources management program, as amended.
Registered owner means that person owning the specified vessel at the time and date of signing the initial registration. The harbormaster is authorized to request a bill of sale testifying to ownership or vessel registration and documentation forms.
Registered vessel means that vessel registered initially by the registered owner.
Registration means that contract between the town and the boat owner granting the boat owner the privilege of using a mooring space within the town's waters for a specified season.
Resident means any person who has established legal residence in the town or any person owning property and paying local taxes of at least $250.00 to the town.
Right-of-way means an unobstructed path or corridor from a public thoroughfare or facility leading to or along the waters of the town and shoreline areas below the mean high water mark.
Vessel means every description of watercraft including seaplanes used on the water, used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water.
Water-dependent use means those waterfront activities solely dependent upon the water for their use (i.e., commercial fishing, marinas, boats, yards, docks and boats).
Waters of the Town of Narragansett means the water area over which the town hereby assumes management authority for the purposes of this article, consistent with the powers, duties and authorities granted under G.L. 1956, § 46-4-6.8 (see section 82-103). (1)
Designated waters. Designated water are as follows:
a.
Mooring zones: Those areas primarily designated for the placement of moorings.
b.
Habitat conservation zones: Those areas exclusively designated for the protection of water quality, wildlife, and plant habitat values. Areas designated as habitat conservation shall not allow any use that may negatively impact the environment, including the building of docks, placement of moorings, dredging, and use of recreational vessels. Overnight transient anchorage and moorings are prohibited.
c.
Exclusive zones: Zones defined as 500 feet seaward of the mean low water mark at designated beach areas. These zones do not allow any recreational vessels to operate between April 30 and October 30, except for reasons of ingress and egress.
(2)
Riparian moorings. Residents in the immediate areas of public rights-of-way to water may be granted permission to place a private mooring on a space-available basis in an approved mooring area, upon an approved application from the harbormaster.
(Ch. 1054, § 1, 8-20-2018)
Cross reference— Definitions generally, § 1-2.
Sec. 82-103. - Jurisdiction.#
(a)
The coastal waters and harbor areas of the town included under the jurisdiction and authority of this article are those coastal waters and harbor areas within the jurisdiction of the corporate boundaries of the town as they pertain to the Narrow River, Point Judith Pond, East Pond, South Ferry, Bonnet Shores, Anawan Cliffs and all other coastal waters and harbors not otherwise named within this jurisdiction.
(b)
The northern coastal boundary of the town begins at a line at the center point between the Town of North Kingstown and the Town of Narragansett and runs south between the two towns divided by the Narrow (Pettaquamscutt) River, as well as the Town of South Kingstown (see section 1, figure 1). The Narrow River, a tidal estuary is within the corporate boundaries of the Town of Narragansett, the Town of South Kingstown, and the Town of North Kingstown. The Narrow River is subject to the authority granted to the Town of Narragansett, consistent with the goals and objectives of the special area management plan and the authority vested in the state coastal resources management council. The town boundary extends northerly to a point in the Narragansett Bay 733 yards from shore, and extends southerly to and includes the Harbor of Refuge at Point Judith Pond. This area includes both shores of the breachway at the entrance of Point Judith Pond and then northerly along the eastern shore of Point Judith Pond to the head end of the Pond at Route 1, and also includes East Pond which is contiguous to Point Judith Pond on its easterly side. The boundary between the Town of Narragansett and the Town of South Kingstown is a line drawn through Point Judith Pond, with the small section of Jerusalem included within the town (See section 1, figure 2 of article 3, chapter 753). For the purposes of the plan, the inland boundary of the area under the jurisdiction and authority of this article extends to Route 1, in the Fence Cove which is the approximate northern landward limit of Point Judith Pond.
(c)
This jurisdiction includes all littoral waters, and all waters bordering the Town of Narragansett from the mean high water (MHW) line to a distance of three miles on the Atlantic Ocean. Those waters not directly on the ocean are under jurisdiction equal to a distance not exceeding the corporate boundary lines of the Town of Narragansett.
(Ch. 1054, § 1, 8-20-2018)
Editor's note— Figures 1 and 2, attached to ordinance number chapter 753, have not been set out at length in this section but are available in the offices of the town.
Sec. 82-104. - Liability.#
Persons using the tidal waters of the town shall assume all risk of personal injury and damage or loss to their property. The town assumes no risks on account of accident, fire, theft, vandalism or acts of God.
(Ch. 1054, § 1, 8-20-2018)