[Amended 6-16-2020 by L.L. No. 17-2020]
This chapter shall be known as the "Marine Conservation Law."
[Amended 6-16-2020 by L.L. No. 17-2020; 4-13-2021 by L.L. No. 13-2021]
(A)
Through
the Nicols, Dongan and Fletcher Patents, the Board of Trustees of
the Town of Huntington and/or the Town of Huntington, with few exceptions,
are the owners of the underwater lands bounding the Town of Huntington,
including the underwater lands within the Incorporated Villages, and
are entrusted pursuant to the Public Trust Doctrine to ensure that
the private use of the underwater lands, including the bay bottoms,
does not interfere with the right of the public to use the waters,
or negatively impact or unduly disturb the underwater lands and marine
life; and
(B)
It is
the intent of the Town Board to protect the citizens of the Town of
Huntington by providing for the protection, preservation, proper maintenance
and use of its watercourses, coastal wetlands and tidal marshes in
order to minimize their disturbance, prevent damage from erosion,
turbidity or siltation, salt water intrusion, loss of fish, shellfish
or other beneficial marine organisms, aquatic wildlife and vegetation
and the destruction of the natural habitat thereof, the danger of
flood and storm tide damage and pollution and to otherwise protect
the quality of watercourses, coastal wetlands, tidal waters, marshes,
shorelines and watersheds from mismanagement. Therefore, the Town
Board declares that regulation of the watercourses, coastal wetlands
and tidal marshes of the Town of Huntington is essential to the health,
safety, economic and general welfare of the people of the Town of
Huntington and in their interest; and
(C)
Nothing
contained in this Chapter is intended to restrict or limit the ability
of a peace officer or other member of the Department of Maritime Services,
or the Incorporated Villages within the Town, or the Suffolk County
Police Department, the United States Coast Guard, or any state or
federal agency having jurisdiction, to patrol or otherwise perform
the duties of their office; and
(D)
Article VIII of this Chapter pertaining to the mooring and anchoring of vessels and floats is not applicable to the privately deeded underwater lands of residents of the Incorporated Villages of the Town.
(E)
Nothing
contained in this Chapter is intended to divest an Incorporated Village
of the Town of Huntington of its jurisdiction to restrict and regulate
the anchoring and mooring of vessels or floats in any waters within
or bounding the Villages to a distance of fifteen hundred (1,500)
feet of Village shorelines as set forth in New York State Navigation
Law § 46-a(1)(b).
[Added 4-13-2021 by L.L. No. 13-2021; amended 9-14-2021 by L.L. No. 56-2021]
(F)
Nothing contained in Article VIII of this Chapter pertaining to the mooring and anchoring of vessels and floats shall apply to the underwater lands known and designated on the Suffolk County Tax Map as District 0403, Section 018, Block 01 and Lots 01, 02, 03 and 04.
[Added 9-14-2021 by L.L. No. 56-2021]
(A)
APPARENT HIGH WATER (AHW)
APPARENT LOW WATER (ALW)
ARMAMENT-STONE
BEACH
BERTH
BULKHEAD
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION
COASTAL WETLANDS
COMMERCIAL MARINE STRUCTURE(S)
CONSERVATION BOARD
CONSTRUCTION
DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING SERVICES
DEPARTMENT OF MARITIME SERVICES
DEPOSIT
DOCK ASSEMBLY
EMERGENCY MAINTENANCE PERMIT
EROSION
FILL
FIXED PIER
FIXED PLATFORM ACCESS STRUCTURE
FLOATING DOCK
FLOATING PLATFORM
GABION WALL SYSTEM
HIGH WATER (HW)
INTERTIDAL ZONE
LETTER-IN-LIEU
LITTORAL BOUNDARY
LOCAL WATERFRONT REVITALIZATION PROGRAM (LWRP)
MARINA
MAINTENANCE DREDGING
MARINE RESOURCE FLOATING PLATFORM
MARINE STRUCTURE
MEAN LOW WATER or MEAN HIGH WATER
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
MATERIAL
MINOR RECONSTRUCTION
MOORING
MOORING, TRANSIENT
OPERATION
PEAK LUNAR TIDES
PERSON
PIER
PILE
REMOVE
REPAIR
RESIDENTIAL AND/OR RECREATIONAL MARINE STRUCTURES
RIP-RAP
ROUTINE MAINTENANCE
SEAWALL
SHORELINE
SUBSTANTIAL RECONSTRUCTION
SWIM FLOAT
TIDAL MARSH
TIDAL WATERS
TOWN
UPLAND
WATERCOURSES
WETLANDS
Definitions. For the purpose of this chapter, the following terms,
phrases, and words shall have the meanings stated:
[Amended 6-16-2020 by L.L. No. 17-2020]
The observed location of high water recorded at a particular
point or station on a particular date.
The observed location of low water recorded at a particular
point or station on a particular date.
The placement/installation of larger stones, including boulders,
at the toe of a bulkhead/seawall to dissipate wave action.
A geological formation consisting of sand, gravel, pebbles
or even shell along a shoreline or body of water.
The water area a vessel occupies when made fast to a shoreline
or structural installation.
A structure that is positioned parallel to the shore to retain
upland soil.
A certificate issued by the Department of Engineering Services
stating that a permitted project under this Chapter has been completed
in compliance with approved plans, the Code of the Town of Huntington
and other applicable provisions of law.
Includes all wetlands and submerged lands bordering on or
within the town boundaries which are covered by tidal waters permanently
or intermittently from normal or peak-lunar tides and which are below
the ten foot contour measured from mean sea level datum as established
by the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey.
A marine structure designed to dock, berth or service vessels
that function and/or serve as a component part of a marina, fuel dock,
yacht club, barge, tanker terminal, commercial fishing loading/off-loading
facility or as a structure designed to secure or make fast a vessel(s)
engaged in commerce or to accommodate greater than four noncommercial
vessels at a time.
The Town of Huntington Conservation Board.
The act or action of combining materials and parts to form
a new permanent or temporary structure.
The Town of Huntington Department of Engineering Services.
The Town of Huntington Department of Maritime Services.
Includes, but is not limited to, dump, bulldoze, shovel,
pipe hydraulically or any other method of placing material on a site.
A marine structure, components and assemblage that extends
seaward to consist of a fixed pier, movable access ramp and float(s),
intended to berth and secure a vessel(s).
A permit issued by the Department of Engineering Services as set forth in Article VII of this chapter to repair, reinforce or stabilize an existing marine structure under emergency conditions so as to prevent further damage to the structure or adjacent structures, as well as wetlands or adjacent wetlands. It shall include, but not be limited to, storm damage, ice damage, washouts and sudden deterioration requiring replacement of pilings, reinforcement of bulkheads, preventive maintenance to avoid further or complete failure and corrective maintenance to restore the normal function of the structure. Removal and depositing of material are expressly excluded from this definition.
To wear away or diminish land by action of water or wind.
All fill, including but not limited to backfill material,
consisting of only clean sand, gravel or soil (not asphalt, slag,
fly ash, broken concrete or demolition debris).
A marine structure, usually of open construction, that is
a component of a dock assembly, built for use as a means of accessing
the shoreline.
A marine structure, usually of open construction, that provides
access to the shoreline over or around an erosion control structure,
including but not limited to a bulkhead, seawall or rip-rap.
A buoyant marine structure usually of open construction,
which extends seaward and is affixed and secured in place with the
use of piles or anchors.
A buoyant marine structure having an area of 120 square feet
or less. A "floating platform" may stand alone or be in tandem, where
such structure shall be anchored in place and not affixed to the shore.
Such structure shall be designed for the specific use or purpose to
contain/support commercial fishing equipment including gear, nets,
traps, cured bait and/or as a structure to make fast to a vessel.
A system of cage or box like structures filled with larger
stones or concrete and placed in line and sometimes stacked on a shoreline
area to act as erosion control.
Maximum height reached by a rising tide. The height may be
solely due to the periodic tidal forces or it may have superimposed
effects of prevailing meteorological conditions, also commonly known
as high tide.
Includes those tidal marshes and coastal wetlands regularly
exposed and covered by normal tidal water action; the area between
mean low water and mean high water, including where the low marsh
cordgrass grows (Spartina alterniflora).
For the purposes of this chapter this definition shall refer
to a letter issued by the Town of Huntington Department of Engineering
Services in lieu of a certificate of completion for marine structures
completed prior to June 3, 1970. A letter-in-lieu is not intended
to legalize zoning violations pertaining to any past or present use
of a structure.
A boundary line extending seaward from adjoining upland parcels
from a point at right angles to tangent to the mean high water (MHW)
line, drawn at that point to where the property line intersects the
MHW line. In situations where irregular shoreline features may cause
the "littoral boundary" to inequitably divide the littoral areas of
adjacent shoreline property owners, the "littoral boundary" will be
located in such a manner as to equitably divide the adjacent littoral
areas based upon shoreline frontage.
The program of the Town of Huntington regarding local waterfront
revitalization as adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Huntington
and approved by the New York Secretary of State.
A waterfront facility designed to berth, store, launch, repair,
fuel or provision a vessel exclusive of a docking facility that services
as a residential and/or recreational structure.
Dredging reasonably necessary to maintain the width and nominal
depth of any harbor or inland harbor.
Any special purpose floating platform operated and regulated
by the Town of Huntington alone designed for and limited to propagation
and grow-out of natural resources.
A structure either in the water or adjacent to the shoreline,
that provides access to the water, the shoreline or protects property
bordering the shoreline from erosion, including but not limited to
a bulkhead, seawall, dock assembly, fixed pier, fixed platform access
structure, floating dock, floating platform, armament-stone, rip-rap,
or gabion wall system.
Respectively, the approximate average low water level or
high water level for a given body of water at a given location, that
distinguishes between predominantly aquatic and predominantly terrestrial
habitat as determined, in order of use, by the following:
Available hydrologic data, calculations, and other relevant
information concerning water levels (e.g. discharge, storage, tidal,
and other recurrent water elevation data;
Vegetative characteristics (e.g., location, presence, absence
or destruction of terrestrial or aquatic vegetation);
Physical characteristics (e.g., clear natural line impressed
on a bank, scouring, shelving, or the presence of sediments, litter
or debris); and
Other appropriate means that consider the characteristics of
the surrounding area.
Includes, but is not limited to, soil, sand, gravel, clay,
bog, mud, shells or other aggregates, solid and liquid wastes and
chemicals.
Includes, but not limited to the replacement-in-kind, or
reconstruction of less than fifty (50%) percent of a marine structure
or subsystem of a marine structure in a twelve (12) month period.
The ropes, lines, chains, cables or anchors by or to which
a vessel, dock or float is secured in place or made fast.
Mooring of any vessel, dock or float using mooring space
on a temporary basis.
The removal or depositing of material or a combination of
both or the erection or reconstruction of any dam, impounding structure
or other structure, including, but not limited to, any artificial
obstruction, temporary or permanent, dock, pier, wharf or other structure,
temporary or permanent, used as a landing place on water or pile,
spile or dolphin.
Those excessively high tides or spring tides caused by lunar
gravitational phenomena.
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
company organization or legal entity of any kind. The term "person"
shall not include a municipality, special improvement district or
other entity for which real estate taxes are not collected, provided
that the construction or use is for a governmental, municipal or district
purpose and is not proprietary in nature.
A marine structure usually of open construction projecting
into a body of water for use as a landing stage or breakwater.
A long vertical substantial pole of wood, concrete or metal,
driven into the earth or sea-bed to serve as support or protection.
Includes but is not limited to dig, dredge, suck and bulldoze
or any other method.
To restore to sound condition after damage or wear by means
of replacement of any part or portion of an existing marine structure
or sub-system with like or similar type materials.
A pier, ramp and float(s) structure operated for recreational
purposes to permit the docking of no greater than three vessels per
single residence.
The placement or stacking of larger stones, including boulders,
on a shoreline area to act as control erosion.
The customary minor repairs required to preserve and sustain
a marine structure in satisfactory operating condition, provided that
the minor repair is not submerged in tidal water. Routine maintenance
shall not include the enlargement of or increase in capacity in a
portion of a permitted marine structure. Any form or dredging or depositing
of material shall not be considered routine maintenance and shall
require a permit under this chapter.
A wall or embankment to protect the shore from erosion or
to act as a breakwater.
The land at the edge of a body of water, such as an ocean,
sound, bay, sea, lake, cove, bight, canal or harbor.
Refers to any repair, replacement or reconstruction of fifty
percent (50%) percent, by area, or more of a marine structure or subsystem
of a marine structure in a twelve (12) month period.
A floating structure positioned and anchored in town waters
that is designed specifically to serve as a diving platform and to
assist or support swimmers during recreational water contact activities.
Includes those coastal wetlands inundated by tidal waters
from normal tidal action and/or peak lunar tides and/or exhibiting
salt-marsh peat at their undisturbed surface and upon which grows
some or all the following indigenous vegetation: salt meadow grass
(Spartina patens), spike grass (Distichlis spicata), black grass (Juncus
gerardi), cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora), saltworts (Salicornia),
sea lavender (Linonium carolinanus), sand spurrey (Spergularia marina),
tall cordgrass (Spartina pectinata), high tide bush (Iva frutescens),
Phragmites communis and groundsel tree (Baccharus halimifolia).
Includes all waters bordering on or within the town boundaries
subject to fluctuations in depth from storm, peak lunar or normal
tidal action and shall include but not be limited to all brackish
and salt waters of streams, ponds, creeks, estuaries, bays, sounds
and inlets and may include certain fresh waters.
The Town Board of the Town of Huntington or the Town of Huntington
Board of Trustees or their successors as provided by law, or both,
as the case may be.
All that land or area not containing wetlands as defined
herein and which is above the ten foot contour measured from mean
sea level datum as established by the United States Coast and Geodetic
Survey.
Any waterway or other body of fresh, brackish or salt water
having reasonably well defined banks, including but not limited to
sounds, bays, rivers, creeks, rivulets, lakes, ponds and streams.
Lands generally covered or intermittently covered with fresh,
brackish or salt water, including but not limited to tidal marsh,
thatch meadows, out-marshes, salt meadows, swamps and bogs.
(B)
Word usage. When not inconsistent with the context, words used in
the present tense include the future; words used in the plural number
include the singular number; and words used in the singular number
include the plural number. The word "shall" is always mandatory and
not merely directory.
