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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-17 - Adding Section 17.60.045 (Short-Term Mooring Licenses) to Chapter 17.60 (Harbor Permits and Leases) of the Newport Beach Municipal Code Regarding Short-Term Mooring LicensesORDINANCE NO. 2023-17 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA, ADDING SECTION 17.60.045 (SHORT-TERM MOORING LICENSES) TO CHAPTER 17.60 (HARBOR PERMITS AND LEASES) OF THE NEWPORT BEACH MUNICIPAL CODE REGARDING SHORT-TERM MOORING LICENSES WHEREAS, pursuant to the 1978 Beacon Bay Bill, as amended, ("Beacon Bay Bill") the City of Newport Beach ("City") acts on behalf of the State of California as the trustee of tidelands located within the City's limits, including Newport Harbor; WHEREAS, members of the public may moor their vessels in Newport Harbor by obtaining a mooring permit or mooring sub -permit under Section 17.60.040 (Mooring Permits) of the Newport Beach Municipal Code ("NBMC"); WHEREAS, obtaining a mooring permit requires a significant upfront financial investment, thus keeping them out of reach for many, and mooring sub -permits are limited to fifteen -day terms and subject to termination at any time for any reason; WHEREAS, at its August 9, 2023 meeting, the Harbor Commission considered alternative means for members of the public to be able to use moorings that would not involve a significant financial investment and would allow for occupancies longer than fifteen days; and WHEREAS, by a vote of 6-0 (with one Harbor Commissioner absent), the Harbor Commission recommended the creation of short-term mooring licenses as an alternative to mooring permits and sub -permits, whereby boaters would have use of the mooring for a month, which term would be renewable. NOW THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Newport Beach ordains as follows: Section 1: The Table of Contents for Chapter 17.60 (Harbor Permits and Leases) of the NBMC is amended to read as follows: Chapter 17.60 HARBOR PERMITS AND LEASES Sections: Ordinance No. 2023-17 Page 2 of 8 17.60.010 Public Trust Lands - General. 17.60.015 Application for Harbormaster Permits. 17.60.020 Application for Pier/Mooring Permits or the Lease of Public Trust Lands. 17.60.030 Pier Permits for Noncommercial Piers. 17.60.040 Mooring Permits. 17.60.045 Short -Term Mooring Licenses. 17.60.050 Houseboats. Section 2: Chapter 17.60 of the NBMC is amended to add new Section 17.60.045 (Short -Term Mooring Licenses) to read as follows: 17.60.045 Short -Term Mooring Licenses. A. General. 1. If a short-term mooring license is issued pursuant to this section, a person shall have the right to use or tie to an offshore mooring or onshore mooring in the waters of Newport Harbor. A mooring license shall be non -transferable and shall not provide any ownership interest in the underlying tidelands, which are held in trust by the City and owned by the people of the State. 2. The provisions and regulations in this title pertaining to "permittees" and "permits" generally shall also be applicable to licensees and mooring licenses except when this section expressly provides otherwise, or such application would conflict with this section. B. Term. Mooring licenses shall be valid for one month and may be renewed, provided the licensee has paid in full the license fee, any late fees and is not in violation of any provision of the license or this title. C. License Fee; Late Fee. A licensee shall pay a license fee equivalent to the monthly fair market value rent of the mooring, as established by resolution of the City Council. Failure to pay the license fee by the due date shall be grounds for Ordinance No. 2023-17 Page 3 of 8 termination of the license by the Harbormaster. If the Harbormaster, in the Harbormaster's sole discretion, elects to not terminate a license for failure to pay by the due date, licensee shall pay a late fee in the amount established by resolution of the City Council. Failure of a licensee to pay the license fee and late fee within ten (10) days of the date due shall result in immediate termination of the license and the termination shall not be appealable to the Harbor Commission. D. Eligibility Criteria. 1. Mooring licenses may be held only by natural persons. No more than two persons may be listed on a mooring license. 2. A person may hold up to two mooring licenses, but they cannot be for the same type of mooring (e.g., both onshore or both offshore). 3. Onshore mooring permittees shall be ineligible for onshore mooring licenses and offshore mooring permittees shall be ineligible for offshore mooring licenses. Mooring permittees holding more than one mooring permit shall not be eligible for any mooring license. 4. The person or persons listed on the mooring license must have at least a fifty (50) percent ownership interest in the vessel assigned to the mooring. The minimum ownership interest requirement may be satisfied by the combined interests of the two persons. For vessels that are not held in an individual capacity, such as in trust or by a limited liability company, evidence of the required minimum ownership interest shall be provided to the satisfaction of the Harbormaster. E. Application for Mooring License. Application for a mooring license shall be filed with the Harbormaster, on forms approved by the Harbormaster and shall include the following in addition to such other information the Harbormaster may require: 1. Applicant(s)' full legal name, current address, current telephone number and current email address; 2. Vessel registration or other proof of ownership required by the Harbormaster; and Ordinance No. 2023-17 Page 4 of 8 3. Insurance, which types and amounts shall be determined by the Risk Manager. F. Issuance of Mooring License. The Harbormaster may issue mooring licenses subject to the conditions set forth in this subsection. 1. Each person listed on a mooring license shall be individually and collectively responsible for all activities pursuant to the mooring license and compliance with all applicable rules, regulations, and conditions. 2. A licensee may not allow vessels other than the assigned vessel and tender to use the mooring. 3. A licensee shall ensure mooring spreader lines remain visible on the surface at all times by the use of floats or other devices or methods and shall keep the lines clean of algae and other marine growth. Except for spreader lines, the City shall be responsible for the maintenance, repair, and replacement of mooring system components, including, but not limited to, chains, shackles, anchors, weights, lines, and buoys. 4. Live-aboards shall be prohibited. 5. The City may temporarily assign a mooring that is vacant or unoccupied to another vessel through the issuance of a mooring sub -permit in accordance with Section 17.60.040(H). 6. A licensee shall move the vessel from the mooring to another location when deemed necessary by the Public Works Director and/or Harbormaster. Upon the licensee's failure to do so, the City or a contractor retained by the City may move the assigned vessel at the licensee's expense. 7. A licensee shall be subject to relocation or reassignment to another mooring pursuant to Section 17.60.040(B)(2)(1). 8. The Harbormaster may board the assigned vessel at any time to inspect the condition and operability of the marine sanitation device(s) and/or insert dye tablets to determine whether said devices are discharging overboard. Ordinance No. 2023-17 Page 5of8 9. A licensee shall defend and indemnify the City and any other government entity with jurisdiction against any claims or losses arising out of, or related to the use of, the mooring license except where the claim or loss arises from a sub-permittee's damage of the mooring, or out of the negligence and/or misconduct of a person assigned the mooring as a mooring sub-permittee under Section 17.60.040(H). 10. A licensee shall notify the City within five (5) days of any change in the information that was provided in their mooring license application including, but not limited to, a change in ownership interest in the assigned vessel. G. Extended Vessel Absence. Vacancy or absence from the mooring by the assigned vessel for at least twenty-five (25) consecutive days shall be deemed abandonment of the mooring and shall result in automatic termination of the mooring license. Termination of license based on abandonment shall not be appealable to the Harbor Commission. The following situations shall not constitute a mooring being deemed abandoned: 1. The absence or vacancy from the mooring, which shall not exceed six (6) months, with the prior written approval of the Harbormaster. 2. The licensee is in the process of changing the assigned vessel, provided that (a) written notice of the intent to remove and replace the assigned vessel is given to the Harbormaster prior to removal of the vessel, (b) all required information and documentation for the new vessel, including proof of ownership or registration, is submitted to the Harbormaster within ninety (90) days of the date of the written notice, and (c) the vessel is made available for inspection by the Harbormaster for compliance with Section 17.25.020(H). H. Mooring of a Tender. A single tender, which serves as access to and from shore to the assigned vessel, may be secured to the assigned vessel or to the offshore mooring in the absence of the assigned vessel. The tender must be secured in such a manner so as not to intrude into the fairway or obstruct other vessels. Termination. 1. The Harbormaster may terminate a mooring license for the licensee's failure to correct any violation of this section or any applicable provision of Title 17 Ordinance No. 2023-17 Page 6 of 8 within the timeframe set forth in a notice of violation issued by the Harbormaster. 2. Upon a determination that grounds for termination of a mooring license exist, the Harbormaster shall serve written notice of the termination in accordance with Section 1.05.030 to the licensee stating the grounds for the action, the effective date of the decision, and the right of the licensee to appeal the decision to the Harbor Commission. The licensee shall have fourteen (14) days from the date on which notice is deemed served to request a hearing or else the decision of the Harbormaster shall be final. Termination of a license for failure to pay any fees or based on the abandonment of a mooring shall not be appealable to the Harbor Commission. 3. Upon termination of the mooring license, the licensee shall immediately remove their vessel(s) from the mooring. The City may impound any vessel not removed within ten (10) days of the termination date and thereafter dispose of it in the manner provided by law. City -incurred costs for removal of the vessel may be charged against the licensee and collected in any court of competent jurisdiction or recovered by the City from the proceeds of sale of the vessel. 4. If a timely appeal is filed, the process for revocation of mooring permits set forth in Section 17.70.020 shall be followed. Section 3: The City Council authorizes the Harbormaster to prepare a mooring license application form and license agreement that is consistent with terms and provisions of this ordinance and approved as to form by the City Attorney. Section 4: The City Council authorizes the Harbormaster to take any other actions necessary to implement the mooring license program, consistent with this ordinance, such as the creation of a selection process and waiting list for issuing mooring licenses, and requiring payment of an initial fee to join the waiting list and annual fee to remain on the list, once those fees are established by resolution of the City Council. Section 5: The recitals provided in this ordinance are true and correct and are incorporated into the substantive portion of this ordinance. Ordinance No. 2023-17 Page 7 of 8 Section 6: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity or constitutionality of the remaining portions of this ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase hereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid or unconstitutional. Section 7: The City Council finds the introduction and adoption of this ordinance is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3 ("CEQA Guidelines"). The ordinance has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly, because the impacts from the usage of existing moorings as allowed under the ordinance will be no different from the impacts from the usage under the existing permit program. For the same reasons, the City Council also finds the introduction and adoption of this ordinance is exempt from CEQA environmental review pursuant to Section 15301 (Existing Facilities) of the CEQA Guidelines. Section 8: Except as expressly modified in this ordinance, all other sections, subsections, terms, clauses and phrases set forth in the Newport Beach Municipal Code shall remain unchanged and shall be in full force and effect. Ordinance No. 2023-17 Page 8of8 Section 9: The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage of this ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the ordinance, or a summary thereof, to be published pursuant to City Charter Section 414. This ordinance shall be effective thirty (30) calendar days after its adoption. This ordinance was introduced at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Newport Beach held on the 14th of November, 2023, and adopted on the 28th day of November, 2023, by the following vote, to -wit: AYES: Mayor Blom, Mayor Pro Tern O'Neill, Councilmember Avery, Councilmember Grant, Council member Kleiman, Councilmember Stapleton, and Councilmember Weigand NAYS: ABSENT: ATTEST: LEILANI I. BROVVNI CITY CLERK ew APPROVED AS TO FORM: CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE ." W,, AARON C. HARP, CIW ATTORNEY STATE OF CALIFORNIA } COUNTY OF ORANGE ; ss. CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH 4 I, Leilani I. Brown, City Clerk of the City of Newport Beach, California, do hereby certify that the whole number of members of the City Council is seven; that the foregoing ordinance, being Ordinance No. 2023-17 was duly introduced on the 141h day of November, 2023, at a regular meeting, and adopted by the City Council at a regular meeting duly held on the 281h day of November, 2023, and that the same was so passed and adopted by the following vote, to wit: AYES: Mayor Noah Blom, Mayor Pro Tern Will O'Neill, Councilmember Brad Avery, Councilmember Robyn Grant, Councilmember Lauren Kleiman, Councilmember Joe Stapleton, Councilmember Erik Weigand NAYS: None IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto subscribed my name and affixed the official seal of said City this 29th day of November, 2023. STATE OF CALIFORNIA } COUNTY OF ORANGE } CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH } 44?4.4- Leilani I. Brown, MMC City Clerk City of Newport Beach, California CERTIFICATE OF PUBLICATION ss. I, Leilani I. Brown, City Clerk of the City of Newport Beach, California, do hereby certify that Ordinance No. 2023-17 has been duly and regularly published according to law and the order of the City Council of said City and that same was so published in The Daily Pilot, a newspaper of general circulation on the following dates: Introduced Ordinance: November 18, 2023 Adopted Ordinance: December 2, 2023 In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this day of December, 2023. PORT Leilani I. Brown, M 3` n City Clerk City of Newport Beach, California �P C`CI FOR