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10/15/2018

Council refers Harbors Ordinance to committee for recommended updates

The Town Council's ordinance committee has been charged with reviewing recommended changes to the town Coastal Waters and Harbor Ordinance.

The changes are recommended by the ad hoc Harbors Committee, which met in 2017-18 to review issues relating to town harbors.

According to the committee's report, the group considered a wide range of ordinance updates but is recommending a list of what it called modest and specific revisions:

1. Under Article I, Section 10 - 1-2 (a), change "black can buoy 'C-1'" to "can buoy 'C-1'" as the buoy has been painted green. The Committee has determined that the reference to the color of buoy should be deleted as the buoy may get repainted to another color in the future.

2. Under Article II, Sections 10-2-1(i) Definitions, add a definition for "Houseboat." The definition for a houseboat was proposed in consultation with the Harbormaster based on his experiences in other municipalities. There is currently not a houseboat issue in Cape Elizabeth, however, the Committee and the Harbormaster determined that in adding the definition at this time that future potential issues associated with houseboats could be mitigated before becoming a problem for the community.

3. Under Article II, Sections 10-2-1 (l) Definitions, add a definition for "Outhaul." The need for a definition for outhaul arose from a citizen comment received by the Committee and follow up consultation with the Harbormaster. The new definition will aid in the resolution of any future potential issues with an outhaul.

4. Under Article IV, Section 10-4-1, eliminate the word "extreme" in the phrase "extreme emergency." In the Committee's opinion, the existing Article II definition of the word "emergency" is sufficient on its own and does not need to be qualified. The word "extreme" unnecessarily qualifies an emergency level and adds subjectivity to the description of what constitutes an emergency situation.

5. Under Article V, Section 10-5-16, add provisions and requirements associated with houseboats to regulate their use in the community. As noted previously while there are no current issues with houseboats in Cape Elizabeth, this added section will mitigate future potential issues that may arise with houseboats as has occurred with houseboats in other southern Maine communities.

6. Under Article V, Section 10-5-17, add limits to the size of vessels covered by the outhaul provisions and requirements associated with an outhaul. The inclusion of this section will assist the Harbor Master to effectively respond to outhaul related issues as they may arise.

The Town Council accepted the report in May, and reviewed it in workshops in September and October.