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Chain Lengths in Designated Areas
Permit Transfers, Rental, and Sale
Why are We Making These Changes?
Contact the Harbormaster by phone, email, or letter. Do not file an application until asked to do so by the Harbormaster. Full details on the procedures will be provided or you can read them here.
There are currently no waiting lists for any mooring areas in the town and it is not anticipated that any will need to be established in the near future. If a waiting list becomes necessary for any mooring area, procedures will be announced.
All moorings should be inspected or renewed at regular intervals. The Harbormaster will not be verifying or exercising oversight of inspections. However, permit holders should report the date of inspections and the name of the inspector on the renewal form and retain copies of inspection reports. This is for the permit holder’s protection in event of legal action or claim arising out of damages caused by a drifting boat.
The design, sizing, and selection of mooring gear is subject to approval by the Harbormaster. Design and construction will be accepted without review or inspection if the gear is installed by one of the following:
1. Cape Elizabeth commercial permit holders installing gear either for themselves or for another town commercial permit holder.
2. A mooring installer approved by the Portland Harbor Commission or harbormaster as listed on the Portland Harbormaster website.
3. Other individual or firm approved by the Harbormaster on a case by case basis.
Moorings self-installed by recreational permit holders for their own use must be of equal or greater strength than these standards standards listed on the town web site or available from the Harbormaster. Gear that does not conform to the guidance standards must be approved by the Harbormaster according to a written description and inspection at his discretion. This approval must be obtained prior to installation.
New moorings installed in the following coves shall not have a total chain length more than two and one half times the Mean High Water depth without prior approval by the Harbormaster.
Kettle Cove
Crescent Beach
Staples Cove
Maiden Cove
New mooring permits will be issued not more than 14 days prior to the installation date specified on the application. A mooring permit must be in hand before gear is placed. All mooring installers in the area have been notified of this requirement and will ask to see the permit. Installation of mooring gear without a permit is subject to fines under the town ordinance.
Mooring gear must be installed and the final location reported within thirty days of the permit issue date or July one, whichever is later. Reasonable extensions will be granted for weather and other factors but failure to request an extension and non-installation of gear will result in notification that the permit is void and the mooring fee will not be refunded.
Permits and fees are for calendar years. The first year's permit and fee will cover the balance of the year in which the permit is issued. Renewal is required before January 1 of the next year; not twelve months after the permit issue date. There will be no refunds for gear removed and permits surrendered.
Moorings installed between September first and year end will be permitted through the following year and a renewal fee and application will not be required for the year following the installation.
Mooring permits must be renewed annually before December 31. The renewal form is attached to the mooring permit and must be returned with the next years fee between September 1 and the end of the year. It is the permit holders responsibility to renew. No bills are mailed.
You may obtain a replacement renewal form by clicking here.
Gear for moorings with elapsed permits is to be removed from the water within 14 days of the end of the permit period. Reasonable extensions will be granted if you contact the Harbormaster.
Mooring locations will be assigned on a "first come, first served" basis at the time the mooring goes in the water. Spot assignment will be provisional until the gear is actually placed and may need to be revised to accommodate prior installations.
Applications must be accompanied by a check for the mooring fee and will not be accepted until after a mooring installer is selected and an installation date determined. If the application is withdrawn prior to issuance of a permit or a permit can not be issued for other reasons, the check will be returned. Once a permit is issued, the fee will be non-refundable.
Applications for new moorings will become inactive sixty days after receipt by the Harbormaster or July first, whichever date is later. The application and check will be returned at the end of this time period if a permit has not been issued.
Permit Transfers, Rental, and Sale
You may not transfer your mooring permit to another person, rent your mooring, or use it as basis for setting property rental or sale prices. Property renters may use your mooring as long as the rental price is the same as for renters who do not elect to do so.
The Harbormaster will facilitate issuance of new permits for gear in place to family members, property buyers, or sale of mooring gear in place whenever it does not conflict with fairness or statutes. Issuance of these new permits can not be assumed however and must not be advertised. If you sell a house "with mooring" and the buyer later finds that a permit can not be obtained and the gear must be removed, you could find yourself the subject of a legal action for misrepresentation of the property by the buyer.
You may surrender a permit in one mooring location and move it to a new location without paying an additional fee for that year. These moves must be approved in advance by the Harbormaster who will issue a new permit.
Why Have the Application Procedures been Changed?
The great majority of applications received for new moorings over the past two years have not resulted in mooring actually being installed. It appears that many were submitted "just in case" or as an attempt to reserve a spot. In the absence of waiting lists, which are not currently necessary, it is not the intention that applications serve as reservations.
Tracking dormant applications and carrying them over from year to year has used up a lot of time that could be better spent. Moorings that have been installed have sometimes been assigned less favorable spots since space was being reserved for earlier applications which were then not acted on. This is not fair to the users that do install moorings.
The approval process with separate application, approval, permitting, and fee collection steps has been very time consuming and unwieldy. These changes are intended to streamline the process and minimize the phone tag often involved in getting a new mooring installed.