A.
Supervision and control.
(1)
Town waters. The placement of boats and floats, and
the location of moorings and anchoring areas in Town waters, other
than Trustee waters and beaches, are subject to the supervision and
control by the Town Harbormaster, Bay Constable and/or Town Police
Department.
(2)
Trustee waters and beaches. The placement of boats
and floats, and the location of moorings and anchoring areas in Trustee
waters and beaches are subject to the supervision and control by the
Trustees of the Freeholders and Commonalty of the Town of East Hampton
and/or their designated agent. All boats shall be placed, anchored
or moored in or on such Trustee waters and beaches in compliance with
such regulations as the Trustees shall duly adopt. The Town Harbormaster,
Bay Constable and/or Town Police Department are authorized by the
Town Board and Town Trustees to enforce Trustee regulations as they
are set forth herein or as may be otherwise posted.
B.
General prohibitions.
(1)
No person shall place a mooring or float in Trustee
or Town waters without a permit for the placement of same from the
appropriate authority.
(2)
No person shall attach a vessel or float to a mooring
in Trustee or Town waters without a permit from the appropriate authority,
which permit shall be affixed to the vessel or float and which shall
identify both the vessel or float and the mooring to which it is attached.
(3)
Mooring permits are not transferable. Permits are
issued for exclusive use of the permit holder for specific mooring
location and the specific vessel listed on the permit. Such permit
shall not be valid for any other location, person or vessel.
(4)
No person shall moor or anchor any vessel or float
in such a way that it at any time rests within the line of any channel.
(5)
No person shall moor or anchor any vessel or float
within 50 feet of any channel marker or other navigational aid.
(6)
No person shall moor or anchor a vessel or float so
as to endanger the safety of, or cause damage to, any vessel previously
moored or anchored.
(7)
No person shall moor or anchor a vessel or float utilizing
equipment inadequate to maintain the vessel or float as secure at
all times and under all conditions.
C.
Assumption of risk. The owners and users of vessels
and floats moored, anchored or operated in Town or Trustee waters
do so at their own risk. The Town or the Town Trustees, and their
agents and/or employees, shall not be responsible for loss, theft,
destruction, or damage (regardless of the cause thereof) to any vessel
or float, mooring, or attachment, including equipment, fixtures and
contents of any boat, for which a permit is issued or which is otherwise
located in Town or Trustee waters, regardless of whether such vessel
or float is tied to, launched, moored or attached to any installation
provided by or approved by the Town or the Town Trustees.
D.
Application procedure for float permit. A written
application to place a float shall be submitted to either the Town
Clerk, for placement in Town waters, or the Town Trustees, for placement
in Trustee waters, upon the form provided for such purpose, and upon
payment of the appropriate fee, if any.
E.
Application procedure for mooring permit. A written
application to place a float shall be submitted to either the Town
Clerk, for placement in Town waters, or the Town Trustees, for placement
in Trustee waters, upon the form provided for such purpose, and upon
payment of the appropriate fee, if any. No mooring permit shall be
issued for a boat unless:
(1)
The vessel is documented, or registered and numbered,
and bears a current validation sticker in accordance with the provisions
of Article 48 of the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law (Registration
of Vessels), or is otherwise exempt from such requirements; and
(2)
Proof of such insurance as may be required by the
permit issuing authority has been submitted.
F.
Mooring regulations.
(1)
Permits shall be effective as of April 1 of the year
in which issued and shall terminate on the 1st day of December, unless
sooner terminated or revoked.
(2)
Moorings and mooring buoys shall be installed in their
designated location prior to Memorial Day each year. In the event
that a mooring is not installed by such date, the mooring permit issued
therefor shall automatically terminate and the permit issuing authority
may reassign the mooring space to the next eligible applicant.
(3)
Mooring permits shall be affixed to the mooring at
the time of installation.
(4)
The material construction of the moorings within Town
or Trustee waters shall be approved by the permit issuing authority.
Iron and wooden posts, engine blocks, cement blocks, or similar materials
are prohibited for use as moorings in Town or Trustee waters. Wooden
posts may be used, however, as a part of a rigged line and pulley
mooring. All moorings, whether public or privately owned, shall meet
the minimum required standards of the Town and/or the Town Trustees,
as may be amended from time to time.
(5)
No person shall occupy a vessel overnight in any Town
waters outside of a designated mooring or anchorage area without permission
from the Town Harbormaster or Bay Constable.
(6)
No person shall moor or anchor a vessel or float so
as to be anchored unoccupied for a period in excess of 12 hours without
the permission of the Town Harbormaster or Bay Constable.
(7)
Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (8), supra,
the Town Harbormaster or Bay Constable shall have the authority to
order any vessel to relocate or leave the area if he should determine,
in his discretion, that the same is necessary for the safe and orderly
use of Town or Trustee waters.
(8)
No person shall moor or anchor a vessel or float in
violation of any lawful order or directive issued by the Town Trustees,
Town Police, Town Harbormaster or Bay Constable.
(9)
All permits shall be subject to revocation for a violation
of any regulations set forth in this chapter, for a violation of a
condition set forth in a permit, or for misrepresentations or misstatements
made in an application for a permit.
(10)
Any mooring placed in violation of this section shall,
in addition to any penalties set forth herein, be subject to removal
and impoundment by the Town Harbormaster or Bay Constable. In the
event of such removal and impoundment, the mooring owner shall be
responsible, in addition to any penalties set forth herein, for payment
of all expenses for such removal, storage and reinstallation.
A.
Disabled vessels: Any vessel which becomes a menace
to navigation or unseaworthy, or sinks, grounds or otherwise becomes
disabled, shall be removed by the owner or person in charge thereof
on order of the Town Harbormaster, Bay Constable or the Town Police.
Any vessel which is found in violation of this section shall be subject
to impoundment, and the owner thereof shall be subject to penalties
for the violation of this section as well as all costs associated
with the vessel removal and storage. Such charges shall constitute
a lien upon the vessel.
B.
Beached vessels: No vessel shall be left upon any
Town or Trustee beach after November 1 of any year. Any vessel which
is found in violation of this provision shall be subject to impoundment,
and the owner thereof shall be subject to penalties for the violation
of this section as well as all costs associated with the vessel removal
and storage. Such charges shall constitute a lien upon the vessel.
A.
No vessel shall tie up or remain berthed at a publicly
owned dock or bulkhead in Three Mile Harbor or Lake Montauk, unless
such vessel has paid a slip rental or wharfage fees for such space.
The failure to move such vessel when ordered by the Town Harbormaster,
Bay Constable or the Town Police shall be a violation of this section.
Each day's continued violation shall constitute a separate additional
violation.
B.
Emergency slips at Town-maintained public docks shall
be available at a fee for the maximum time period established by Town
Board resolution and payable to the Town Clerk.
No boat propelled other than by hand shall cruise
or be operated within 100 feet of any lifelines or bathing float or,
if there be no lifelines or bathing float, then within 200 feet of
any public or semipublic beach regularly used for bathing or swimming,
nor shall such boat cruise or be operated in excess of five miles
per hour within 100 feet of any person bathing or swimming except
at inlets or where a channel approaches the shoreline closer than
the distances set forth in this section.
[Amended 6-6-2013 by L.L. No. 4-2013]
A.
No boat shall be operated at a speed in excess of that posted by
speed markers. In any area of Town waters where no speed marker is
posted and no other provision of this chapter applies, no boat shall
be operated in excess of 45 miles per hour. For purposes of this section,
Town waters shall be deemed to consist of all waters located within
1,500 feet of any shoreline within the boundaries of the Town of East
Hampton.
B.
No boat shall be operated in any harbor or in any area where there is congestion of boats, either underway or at anchor, at a speed in excess of five miles per hour. This provision shall not apply to windsurf boards in Napeague Harbor. A violation of the provisions of this Subsection B shall be punishable by a fine as set forth in the schedule of fines contained in this chapter, or by imprisonment for up to 15 days, should said person fail to answer any instrument issued for the aforesaid conduct.
C.
No vessel of more than 2,000 installed horsepower shall operate at
a speed in excess of 15 miles per hour within or upon Town waters.
This subsection shall not apply to any government or military vessel,
to any vessel for which a limited, one-time written exemption of the
Town Harbormaster has been previously obtained nor to any vessel engaged
in a bona fide rescue effort or which is otherwise rendering aid or
assistance during an emergency.
No person shall launch a boat from any Town-owned
launching ramps unless the vehicle to which said boat and trailer
is connected displays a valid parking permit or ramp use permit duly
issued by the Town Clerk for said vehicle.
A.
No person shall operate a boat propelled wholly or
partly by an engine operated by the explosion of gas, gasoline, naphtha
or other substance without having the exhaust from the engine run
through a muffler so constructed and used as to muffle the noise of
the exhaust in a reasonable manner.
B.
No person shall operate a boat in any Town or Trustee
waters which does not meet all duly adopted and published requirements
of the United States Coast Guard with regard to safety equipment to
be carried on or incorporated into boats of its type.
A.
No person shall ride on water skis, a surfboard or
similar device, or use or operate a boat to tow a person thereon in
any marked channel in the Town of East Hampton, or within 200 feet
of any shoreline or within 100 feet of any bather or swimmer, except
such persons may approach or depart perpendicular to the shoreline
and solely for the purpose of commencing or ending the ride; nor shall
any person ride on water skis, a surfboard or similar device, or use
or operate a boat to tow a person thereon in the waters of Three Mile
Harbor, other than in the designated water ski area.
B.
Water scooters.
(1)
No person shall operate a water scooter in any harbor
or designated bathing beach located within the boundaries of the Town
of East Hampton.
(2)
No person shall operate a water scooter outside of
any harbor within 500 feet of any shoreline in the Town of East Hampton,
or within 100 feet of any bather or swimmer, except that such persons
may depart or approach at a speed no greater than 10 miles per hour
perpendicular to the shoreline solely for the purpose of commencing
or ending a ride.
No person shall skin-dive with any type of diving
equipment within any channel in the Town of East Hampton, nor shall
any person bathe or swim in any such channel, except in the course
of a rescue.
No person shall skin-dive with any type of diving
equipment unless he has marked the diving area with a regulation red
diving flag, nor shall any person allow or permit such diving flag
to remain in any area unless such person is actually skin diving in
the area at the time. No boat shall operate within 100 feet of any
area marked for skin diving by the placement of said regulation red
diving flag.
No person shall discharge any apparatus designed
for use in spearfishing within 200 feet of any lifelines or bathing
float, or, if there be no lifelines or bathing float, then within
200 feet of any public or semipublic beach regularly used for bathing
or swimming, or within 100 feet of any person bathing or swimming.
A.
No boat propelled by motor power shall be operated
on the waters of Wainscott Pond, Fort Pond or Georgica Pond, except
as provided for Paragraphs B and C, hereinbelow.
B.
No boat or object propelled by motor power, with the
exception of small electric motors no greater than 1/3 horsepower,
shall be operated on the waters of Fort Pond. There shall be no commercial
rentals of gasoline or electric outboards permitted for use on Fort
Pond.
C.
Boats propelled by outboard motors of 10 horsepower
or less shall be permitted to be operated on the waters of Georgica
Pond from the first day of October to the 30th day of April, inclusive,
by permit only, for the purpose of fishing. Said permit shall be available
to Town residents only at the office of the Town Clerk. Any violation
of this section, in addition to any fine, shall result in the revocation
of the violator's permit.
B.
Permits. Each permit shall be valid for the period
commencing March 1 and ending November 1 of each year. No fish trap
gear shall remain in place between January 2 and February 28 of each
year.
C.
Trap marking. All fish traps shall be marked at the
time of installation pursuant to the rules and regulations of the
permit issuing authority. The permit number shall be prominently displayed
on the trap.
D.
Authority of Town officials. In the event that a duly
authorized official shall deem the trap, once installed, to be improperly
marked or in some way a hazard to navigation or to the health, safety
or welfare of the public, such official shall take any action necessary
to remove or relocate the trap. Such action may include, but shall
not be limited to, removal of the trap. The Town shall not incur any
liability for the removal of any trap based upon the reasons set forth
in this section, regardless of whether said trap is located as set
forth on an application approved by the Town Board.
A.
As used in this section, the term "floating home"
shall be defined as follows: Any floating structure located anywhere
in Town waters, whether or not a "boat" hereunder, and whether or
not anchored, secured to the shore, a bulkhead or the bottom, which
is designed or arranged primarily for residential use as opposed to
transportation over water. Included in this definition shall be all
manner of houseboats and every other boat or watercraft, other than
a working dredge or barge, which lacks an installed and operative
engine or a system or spars and sails capable of propelling the same
through the water, but which has an enclosed cabin or other living
area.
B.
No person shall construct, install, anchor, moor,
dock or otherwise maintain a prohibited floating home anywhere within
Town waters, nor shall any person dwell, reside, sleep or otherwise
maintain a place of abode on any such prohibited floating home.
C.
Any floating home in existence on the effective date
of this article which has been continuously occupied for a period
of three months or more shall be exempt from the provisions hereof
and not prohibited; provided, however, that if, subsequent to the
effective date hereof any such exempt floating home is, for a continuous
period of one year or more, either unoccupied or removed from Town
waters, such floating home shall lose such exemption and shall thereafter
to be subject to this article and prohibited.
D.
The prohibitions in this section shall not apply to
floating homes which remain in Town waters for less than 48 hours
while transiting the area.
Nothing herein contained shall prohibit the
Town Board of the Town of East Hampton from issuing special permits
for aquatic events or boat races under proper supervision in limited
areas and for limited periods of time.
