LD 648
pg. 2
Page 1 of 2 An Act Clarifying Municipalities' Authority to Assign Mooring Permits LD 648 Title Page
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LR 1643
Item 1

 
A harbor master may refuse to assign mooring privileges to any
vessel or boat owner or master or aquaculture lease holder who
has not paid any fee, charge for services, forfeiture or penalty
levied pursuant to this subchapter, or whose activities are
determined by the harbor master to unreasonably interfere with
existing uses.

 
Sec. 2. 38 MRSA §7, as amended by PL 1997, c. 89, §1, is further
amended to read:

 
§7. Relation to other laws

 
Nothing in this subchapter or in any other state law may be
construed to be a limitation on the authority of
municipalities to enact ordinances to regulate the assignment
or placement of moorings and other activities in their
harbors. These ordinances may include, but are not limited
to: A process for assigning mooring privileges and
determining the location of moorings; a waiting list for the
assignment of mooring privileges; a fee schedule; construction
standards for moorings; time limits on the mooring of vessels;
a process for appeals from decisions of the harbor master;
provisions that recognize that mooring privileges in lawful
existence on the effective date of an ordinance may be
preserved or continued after adoption of that ordinance, the
location and use to be determined by the harbor master or
other appropriate local authority; and provisions that
establish a harbor commission or committee to administer the
ordinance or ordinances and oversee the duties of the harbor
master. Regulations adopted by the municipal officers under
section 2 remain in effect unless the municipality's
legislative body enacts an ordinance pertaining to the same
matter pursuant to the Constitution of Maine, Article VIII,
Part 2, and Title 30-A, section 3001.

 
SUMMARY

 
This bill adds aquaculture to the list of activities that
require mooring permits from municipal harbor masters and
clarifies that municipalities with harbor masters may exercise
exclusive authority to assign mooring permits within waters
under their jurisdiction.


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