Town of Harwich
Massachusetts
BERTH & MOORING WAITING LIST POLICY
& BOAT OWNERSHIP LIMITATIONS
BERTH & MOORING WAITING LIST POLICY
& BOAT OWNERSHIP LIMITATIONS
3.15: WAITING LIST POLICY
The intent of these regulations is to operate the marinas of the Town in a manner which is fair and uniform to all dockage permit or mooring permit holders including all potential dockage permit or mooring permit holders whose name appears on any town-maintained waiting list for a slip or mooring. Any interpretation of these regulations by the Town or agents of the Town shall be made with the basic premise that a slip or mooring is to be used for the personal and sole use of the slip or mooring holder and that the rental value of the slip or mooring is an asset of the Town of Harwich that must not be diverted by private parties. Therefore, the slip or mooring holder hereby agrees that any deviation from this premise by the dockage permit or mooring permit holder shall result in the termination of any rental/license agreement and further, the Town may recover any amounts received by the dockage permit or mooring permit holder from other parties which are essentially in the nature of payments for the use of the slip or mooring rights. The Town maintains the sole right to assign slips/moorings, both annually and for any other period of time.
The dockage permit or mooring permit holder also understands and agrees that if it is the opinion of the Town of Harwich, or its agents, that there may be a violation of any of the marina or harbor rules and regulations or their intent, it shall be at the option of the Town to require the license holder to provide any and all testimony or documentation which may be deemed necessary to prove to the satisfaction of the Town that they are not in violation of the rules and regulations. Any dockage permit or mooring permit holder who fails to meet to the Town's satisfaction all marina regulations or their intent, shall relinquish the rights to the slip or mooring and all fees shall be forfeited to the Town.
1. The Harbormaster shall assign, and reassign after written approval and public hearing by the Waterways Commission, all slips and moorings at any Town facility as the space becomes available. Waiting lists past and present, and current slip and mooring assignments are a matter of public record and shall be made available by the Harbormaster's office to the general public upon request. This information shall also be maintained on the Harbor Web-site.
2. Any boat owner wishing to have his or her name placed on the waiting list(s) must do so annually, before May 1 and advise the Harbormaster in writing and pay the Town of Harwich, at that time, a fee of fifteen dollars ($15).
3. (As currently approved)
4. The individual name on the waiting list(s) shall be advanced as slips or moorings are vacated, only if the annual fee is paid. Each dockage permit or mooring permit holder shall be assigned to an individual person whose name has been on the respective waiting list the longest. This shall exclude the assignment of a berth or mooring to a partnership, corporation, multiple individuals or any other legal entity other than an individual person. Occupancy or occupancy rights of that slip or mooring assignment shall not be transferred to any individual(s) or entity other than the individual to whom the assignment was annually awarded without specific written approval from the Harbormaster and Waterways Committee for any period greater than two weeks from Memorial Day to Columbus Day. The Harbormaster shall maintain the written approval records: 1. The mooring and/or slip assignment. 2. The individual to whom the mooring or slip is annually assigned. 3. The temporary assignments of any individual to any and all berths in the Town of Harwich that cumulatively, on an annual basis, exceed two weeks.
5. The individual to whom the dockage permit or mooring permit is permanently assigned must be the sole or majority (51% or more) owner of the vessel or sole or majority (51% or more) owner of the corporation that owns the vessel. Because state registration does not give percentages of ownership, state registered vessels may only be solely owned and occupy a Town slip or mooring. The original certificate of documentation (no copies) issued annually by the Coast Guard with acceptable percentages of ownership shall be made available upon request by Town officials. The Town recognizes that to conduct business and limit liability, a corporation may in fact own the vessel or own the business under which the vessel is managed. Should a hardship result from being unable to establish ownership, which meets Town requirements, a show cause hearing may be made through the Harbormaster to the Waterways Committee.
6. The Harbormaster or agent of the Town of Harwich or the Town's Waterways Commission shall have authority to request any financial or related documents pertaining to, but not limited to the purchase, ownership and/or operation of the vessel assigned to any berth within the Town. Failure of a tenant or prospective tenant to produce documents including but not limited to : bills of sale, titles, abstract of titles, vessel documentation, sales tax information, purchase and sales agreements, insurance certificates, corporate papers, mortgage contracts, personal liens, excise tax information, registration information or any other pertinent information deemed necessary by Town officials to verify ownership issues satisfactorily as deemed necessary by Town officials shall be deemed sufficient reason to void any single dockage permit or mooring permit of the Town and the individual or shall be deemed by the Town to be sufficient reason to deny any future agreements.
Voted on 1/28/2002 at a Public Hearing
Peter Hughes
Peter Luddy
Sylvia Laffin
Harwich Board of Selectmen