Cape Elizabeth Harbormaster Roger Long, who took over the job in January, is dusting off the town’s coastal waters and harbor ordinance that he said hasn’t been looked at since it was written in the 1980s.
“It’s a little corner of town government nobody pays attention to,” he said.
Some of the proposed changes, such as requiring mooring permit holders to renew their permit every year instead of every two, are to match the ordinance with practices that were already put in place by the previous harbormaster. Other changes, such as stating that the mooring permit holder is responsible for the cost of the mooring inspection and not the town, are to clarify vague language. And some changes just make more sense than what was written in the ordinance, said Long. The ordinance was adopted in 1989.
The harbormaster has always had the power to remove a mooring if the owner refused to do so after a written notice. But one proposed change would allow the harbormaster to remove the mooring gear from the ocean floor if he determined the mooring and chain could pose a fouling hazard to other anchoring vessels.
“You haven’t lived until you’ve snagged an old mooring with your anchor,” Long said.
Another change would allow vessels to anchor within all tidal waters of Cape Elizabeth at the discretion of the vessel’s operator.
Long said the current ordinance, which says no vessel can anchor within Cape Elizabeth’s tidal waters for more than 24 hours without the permission of the harbormaster, is unenforceable.
Long said it might make sense in a community such as Boothbay Harbor where the harbormaster is provided with a boat and has a presence in the coastal waters. But in Cape Elizabeth there isn’t a need for it. He said the current ordinance could also put vessel operators who are anchoring to wait out bad weather or heavy fog in danger if they are obliged to move because they are not in compliance with town ordinance.
The ordinance would affect Seal Cove and Maiden Cove and the many smaller coves within town lines that are used for moorings. The public has a chance to address the changes to the ordinance at a public hearing July 11, 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall.
“The changes are to match the ordinance with what has actually been happening to some extent,” said Town Councilor David Backer, a member of the council’s ordinance subcommittee. Roger Long came into the job with a lot of energy and it is to his credit that he “dusted off an ordinance that hadn’t been looked at in a long time,” Backer said.
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