It is intent of this article to regulate the installation and
use of ice retardant systems on all waterfront properties within the
Town of Warwick for the protection of persons and property and to
provide for the public health, safety, and welfare of the Town of
Warwick and its inhabitants.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated.
The area of the water body or ice surface disturbed by the
operation of an ice retardant system. Said disturbed or affected area
includes open water, weakened ice (excessively cracked), thin ice
(less than four inches in depth) and area where adjacent ice is covered
by a film of water.
A mechanical device(s) or a series of mechanical devices
designed to retard or prevent the formation of ice in or around lakefront
structures. Said devices utilize as their mode of operation one or
more of the following mechanisms: pumped air, artificial water turbulence
or the addition of heat to the water body.
The owner of record of a tract of land according to the tax
rolls of the Town of Warwick or any person occupying said premises
or utilizing the property.
An individual, association or individuals, corporation or
partnership.
A line running parallel to the bulkhead line and extending
not more than 40 feet from said bulkhead line beyond which no dock,
pier, marina, or other structure, permanent or temporary, floating
or affixed to shore or lake bottom, may be located.
Any lakefront or within-lake structure which the ice retardant
system is designed to protect. Such protected structures include but
are not limited to docks, piers, bulkheads, catwalks, seawalls, and
boathouses.
A.
Utilization of ice retardant systems is hereby authorized within
the municipal limits of the Town of Warwick from November 1 of each
year through April 15 of the following year.
B.
No person shall operate an ice retardant system within the municipal
limits unless said operation is in conformance with this article.
A.
The affected area of ice, under normal operating conditions, shall
not extend to within 10 feet of a side property line. Said requirements
may be waived if the owner and/or operator of the ice retardant system
obtains written permission from the adjacent property owner.
B.
No system shall be designed or operated in such a way as to prevent
ingress or egress to any portion of the water body or to foreclose
the formation of ice across a channel unless the ice retardant system
has been designed and approved in accordance with this article.
Upon written application, with supporting documentation, the
Town Board may, by resolution, waive the requirements of this article
in situations of hardship or exceptional public necessity. "Exceptional
public necessity" shall include but not limited to a necessity to
maintain an open channel of water for access to island lakefront homes.
In adopting the resolution, the Town Board may specify requirements
as to markings and lighting. Such requirements can include but are
not limited to requiring buoys to be placed in the frozen water body
to clearly mark the approach, requiring nighttime illumination or
fishing lights to indicate that open water is present, limiting the
size of the affected ice area to the minimal levels of insurance requirements.
Such written application shall be placed' on the next available
Town Board Meeting agenda for consideration.
A.
The Building Inspector is hereby designated as the enforcement officer
under the terms of this article.
B.
A violation of this article, including the operational requirements,
shall constitute an offense punishable by a fine not to exceed $50
for the first offense, $100 for the second and $250 for the third
and subsequent offenses. Each day that a violation of this article
continues shall be deemed to be a separate offense.
Compliance and/or noncompliance with the requirements of this
chapter shall not preclude any civil action for damages and/or injunctive
relief arising from conduct resulting in injuries arising from the
operation of an ice retardant system.
