HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-18 - Amending Newport Beach Municipal Code Title 17, Pertaining to Vessel Speed LimitsORDINANCE NO. 2018-18
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING NEWPORT
BEACH MUNICIPAL CODE TITLE 17, PERTAINING TO
VESSEL SPEED LIMITS
WHEREAS, the City of Newport Beach ("City") is a premier destination that provides
for a diversity of recreational uses including a visitor friendly harbor, recreational boating,
fishing, water sports, and ecological enrichment;
WHEREAS, the City has a very active boating community that enjoys a long history
of nautical racing and competition that includes sailboat racing, human powered boat racing,
and the associated training and practice activities that generally accompany such events;
WHEREAS. the Citv's adopted vessel speed limits do not Allnw for nai itirral mrac
that exceed the posted speed limit of five (5) nautical miles per hour;
WHEREAS, the City desires to provide flexibility and consistency to vessel speed
limits to be reflective of current practices, while ensuring a balanced approach to other uses
in Newport Harbor;
WHEREAS, Ordinance No. 2018-18 was introduced at a regular meeting of the
City Council of the City of Newport Beach (the "City Council") held on October 9, 2018
and adopted by the City Council at a regular meeting held on October 23, 2018 by a vote
of 4-0 (with Mayor Marshall "Duffy" Duffield and Council Member Scott Peotter recusing
themselves and Mayor Pro Tem Will O'Neill being absent);
WHEREAS, at a regular meeting held on November 13, 2018, by motion duly
made by Council Member Brad Avery and seconded by Council Member Kevin Muldoon,
this City Council voted to reconsider Ordinance No. 2018-18, which motion was passed
by a vote of 5-0 (with Mayor Marshall "Duffy" Duffield and Council Member Scott Peotter
recusing themselves); and
WHEREAS, the City filed a copy of this ordinance with the California Department of
Boating and Waterways prior to its adoption and at least thirty (30) days prior to its effective
date, as required by California Harbor and Navigations Code Section 660(a).
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Newport Beach does hereby
ordain, as follows:
Ordinance No. 2018-18
Page 2 of 5
Section 1: Subsection 17.01.030(R)(1) of Chapter 17.01 is hereby amended to read
as follows:
1. Vessel. The term "vessel" shall mean and include every description of
watercraft used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on
water. This includes all vessels of any size home -ported, launched/retrieved,
or visiting in Newport Harbor, arriving by water or land, and registered or
unregistered under State or Federal requirements, except a seaplane on the
water. "Vessel" shall also mean and include human powered vessels and
wind powered vessels.
a. Human Powered Vessel. The term "human powered vessel" shall mean a
vessel that is being propelled by the human body through the use of oars,
paddles, or the like and without the use of wind, a motor, or other
machinery.
b. Wind Powered Vessel. The term "wind powered vessel" shall mean a
vessel that is being propelled by the wind through the use of sails and
without the use of a motor or other machinery.
Section 2: Subsection 17.20.020(A) of Chapter 17.20 is hereby amended to read
as follows:
A. Speed Limit. No owner, operator or person in command of any vessel,
except a public officer or employee in the performance of his or her duty, shall
operate the same or permit the same to be operated in any portion of Newport
Harbor or the water in the present or prior channel of the Santa Ana River
within the City at a rate of speed in excess of five nautical miles per hour, or
at any speed which creates a wake that may cause damage to moorings of
vessels or floating structures, except as hereinafter provided.
Section 3: Section 17.20.070 is added to Chapter 17.20 to read as follows:
17.20.070 Vessel Races.
A. The Harbormaster may issue a permit to a person, as defined in Code
Chapter 17.01, or any successor chapter, that would allow individuals
operating a human powered vessel, wind powered vessel, or vessel providing
support services to a human or wind powered vessel as part of the person's
special event (e.g., race) or organized practice to exceed the speed limit
provided in Code Subsection 17.20.020(A), or any successor subsection.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, no person shall operate any vessel in an
unsafe, uncontrolled, or un -seamanlike manner, and in no event at a speed
that endangers the safety of persons or property.
Ordinance No. 2018-18
Page 3 of 5
B. The Harbormaster has discretion to determine if a permit shall be
associated with a single event or multiple events; however, no permit shall be
valid for more than six (6) months from the date of issuance.
C. Permits issued under this section are non-transferrable and shall be in
addition to any license, permit or fee required under this Code or any other
provision of law.
D. The Harbormaster may impose conditions on a permit to protect
persons and property and to assure that the activity allowed under the permit
will not create a nuisance or interfere with the reasonable use of Newport
Harbor by other vessels or persons. At a minimum, every permit issued under
this section shall be conditioned to require permittees to: (1) obtain, provide,
and maintain at their own expense, for the full period of time for which the
permit is granted, policies of insurance with such limits and coverage as
established by the City Risk Manager that clearly identify the activity and
vessel(s) covered; (2) indemnify, defend and hold harmless the City, County
of Orange, and the State of California for all liability, injury or damage that
relates to or arises from permittee's event/activity; and (3) otherwise comply
with this Code, California Harbors and Navigation Code, and the Federal
Inland Navigation Rules.
E. Any permit issued under this section may be immediately revoked at
any time, without notice, by the Harbormaster, if: (1) the permittee fails to
comply with the conditions contained within the permit; (2) an individual
participating in the permittee's special event or organized practice operates a
vessel in an unsafe, uncontrolled, or un -seamanlike manner or at a speed that
endangers persons or property; or (3) an individual participating in the
permittee's special event or organized practice fails to comply with the lawful
instructions of the Harbormaster, or any other person authorized by the City
to enforce rules and regulations within Newport Harbor.
F. Any decision of the Harbormaster under this section may be appealed
pursuant to Code Chapter 17.65, or any successor chapter.
Section 4: Except as specifically amended in this ordinance, all other sentences,
paragraphs, subsections, sections, chapters, and titles of the NBMC shall remain
unchanged and in effect.
Section 5: The recitals provided in this ordinance are true and correct and are
incorporated into the substantive portion of this ordinance.
Ordinance No. 2018-18
Page 4 of 5
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 approval 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 CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, because it
has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly.
Alternatively, the City Council finds the approval of this ordinance is not a project under
CEQA Regulation Section 15061(b)(3) because it has no potential for causing a
significant effect on the environment.
Section 8: The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage of
this ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause this ordinance, or a summary thereof, to be
published pursuant to Charter Section 414.
This ordinance was introduced at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City
of Newport Beach, held on the 27th day of November, 2018, and adopted on the 11th day
of December, 2018, by the following vote, to wit:
AYES: Council Member Jeff Herdman, Council Member Kevin Muldoon Council
Member Diane Dixon, Council Member Brad Avert/ Mayor Pro Tem Will
O'Neill
NAYS: None
RECUSED: Council Member Scott Peotter, Mayor Duffy Duffield
ABSENT: None
MARSHALL "DUFFY" DUFFIELD, MAYOR
ATTEST:
-'gju� - okw----
LEILANI . BROWN, CITY CLERK
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
7a
AARON C. RP, CITY ATTORNEY
Ordinance No. 2018-18
Page 5 of 5
STATE OF CALIFORNIA }
COUNTY OF ORANGE } ss.
CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH }
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. 2018-18 was duly introduced on the 27th day of November, 2018, at a regular meeting, and adopted
by the City Council at a regular meeting duly held on the 11th day of December, 2018, and that the same
was so passed and adopted by the following vote, to wit.-
AYES:
it:
AYES: Council Member Brad Avery, Council Member Diane Dixon, Council Member
Jeff Herdman, Council Member Kevin Muldoon, Mayor Pro Tem Will O'Neill
NAYS: None
RECUSED: Council Member Scott Peotter, Mayor Duffy Duffield
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto subscribed my name and affixed the official seal of
said City this 11th day of December, 2018.
STATE OF CALIFORNIA }
COUNTY OF ORANGE }
CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH }
Nva
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. 2018-18 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:
2018.
Introduced Ordinance: December 1, 2018
Adopted Ordinance: December 15, 2018
In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this A411 day of
C� PART
CeilanY I. Brown, MMC
City Clerk
c �P City of Newport Beach, California
�t/FORN