CAPE MAY – City council introduced an ordinance Sept. 20 that would require registration of any boat moored or docked on a city waterway for 30 days or more.
The work on the ordinance was part of the initial efforts of the city’s volunteer co-harbor masters Jack Lord and Tom Carroll. The two presented the justification for the ordinance to the council Sept. 20.
Lord and Carroll began their presentation by showing pictures of derelict boats in the harbor as evidence of the need for action.
The ordinance will allow the city to tag boats in violation of the registration regulation, requiring owners to take action to correct the violation. The boats that remain in violation after a designated time period would be transferred to a city holding area at the owner’s expense. Additional fines can be imposed with each day considered a new violation.
The city already has an abandoned boat ordinance. The new registration provides greater flexibility in dealing with the boats and getting them out of the waterways.
The ordinance will be scheduled for a public hearing and possible vote to adopt at the Oct. 18 council meeting.
