Los Angeles County Municipal Code Part 6 Anchoring, Mooring and Security of Vessels

The owner of any vessel moored or anchored within a county harbor, waterway or maritime facility shall be responsible for causing such vessel to be tied and secured or anchored with proper care and equipment, and in such manner as may be required to prevent breakaway and resulting damage, and shall thereafter provide for periodic inspection, maintenance, replacement and adjustment of anchor, mooring or the lines at reasonable intervals.

(Ord. 9359 Art. 5 § 507, 1967.)

A.

It shall be unlawful for the owner, operator or person in charge of any vessel to secure, moor or make fast any vessel to any float, wharf, pier, mooring or other facilities of a county harbor, waterway or maritime facility without the consent of lessee, agent or other person in charge of such facility.

B.

It shall be unlawful for the owner, operator or person in charge of any vessel to fail or refuse to remove or change the position of any vessel as ordered by the director and/or harbor master.

C.

In the event the owner, operator, or person in charge of any vessel moored without permission cannot be located within a reasonable time, the harbor master may, at his discretion, remove the vessel without liability for any damage thereto, and such vessel shall remain in his custody until claimed by proper owners, who shall pay all expenses incurred by the county in connection with its removal and storage as set forth in Section 19.12.1080 of this Part 6.

(Ord. 86-0039 § 31, 1986: Ord. 9359 Art. 5 § 504, 1967.)

A.

A person shall not anchor a vessel or occupy a mooring buoy within a County harbor, waterway, or maritime facility without first obtaining permission of the Harbor Master, unless an emergency exists where time is of the essence; in which case, such person shall, after stabilization has occurred, report the emergency condition to the Harbor Master and shall thereafter move and secure the vessel in accordance with the Harbor Master's instructions.

B.

The Harbor Master may permit vessels to anchor or occupy a mooring buoy for such period of time as he/she may prescribe, and in areas he/she so designates. All vessels so anchored or occupying a mooring between sunset and sunrise shall display lights as prescribed by federal and state laws, rules, and regulations regarding anchor lights in inland waters, except when anchored or moored within the special anchorage areas prescribed for Marina del Rey in Code of Federal Regulations, Title 33.

C.

No person shall anchor a vessel or occupy a mooring buoy on the shoreward side of a line drawn through Light #1 and Light #2 of the Marina del Rey detached breakwater, extending to points 1,000 feet southeast of Light #1 (33° 57.360' N, 118° 27.527' W) and 1,000 feet northwest of Light #2 (33° 57.956' N, 118° 27.951' W), without first obtaining permission of the Harbor Master, unless an emergency exists where time is of the essence; in which case, such person shall, after stabilization has occurred, report the emergency condition to the Harbor Master and shall thereafter move and secure the vessel in accordance with the Harbor Master's instructions.

D.

The Harbor Master may remove a vessel in violation of subsection A or C of this section without liability for any damage thereto, and such vessel shall remain in his/her custody until claimed by the owner, who shall pay all expenses incurred by the County in connection with its removal and storage as set forth in Section 19.12.1080 of this Part 6. If the owner refuses to reclaim the vessel, he/she shall be liable for any costs incurred by the County in effecting removal, storage, sale, or disposition of such property. If an owner cannot be identified, the operator or person responsible for anchoring or mooring the vessel in violation of subsection A or C of this section shall be liable for any costs incurred by the County in effecting removal, storage, sale, or disposition of such property.

(Ord. 2012-0006 § 18, 2012: Ord. 86-0039 § 32, 1986: Ord. 9359 Art. 5 § 503, 1967.)

A person shall not place a private mooring buoy or marker in a county harbor, waterway or maritime facility without first securing a permit for such installation from the harbor master. A person securing such a permit shall be responsible for providing equipment meeting the harbor master's specifications, for accurate initial placement of the buoy and tackle, and for its subsequent maintenance, positioning and removal in accordance with the terms and conditions of the permit; he shall also be liable for any costs incurred by the county in the recovery, repositioning or resecuring of such buoy and tackle under emergency conditions.

(Ord. 86-0039 § 33, 1986: Ord. 9359 Art. 5 § 502, 1967.)

A person shall not make fast or moor any vessel to any aid to navigation or regulatory marker within a county harbor, waterway or maritime facility, such as buoys, nun-buoys, spar-buoys, or other objects identifiable as aids to navigation.

(Ord. 86-0039 § 34, 1986: Ord. 9359 Art. 5 § 501, 1967.)

No person shall make fast or secure a vessel to any mooring already occupied by another vessel, or to a vessel already moored, except that a rowboat, dinghy or yacht tender regularly used by a larger vessel for transportation of persons or property to or from shore may be secured to such larger vessel or to the mooring regularly used by such larger vessel. If tied within a slip, such rowboat, dinghy or tender shall not extend over four feet into the fairway beyond the larger vessel if such larger vessel is also occupying the slip, or otherwise beyond the slip itself.

(Ord. 9359 Art. 5 § 505, 1967.)

A.

Between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., after docking, mooring, or making fast or secure a vessel at a Chace Park transient dock, an owner must immediately register with Chace Park staff. Between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., an owner must register at the Harbor Master's office prior to docking, mooring, or making fast or secure a vessel at a Chace Park transient dock.

B.

Any vessel docked, moored, or made fast or secure at the four-hour dock must vacate the dock within the time period commencing when the vessel is first docked, moored, or made fast or secure to the dock and ending four consecutive hours later.

C.

If violations of either subsection A or B above occur and the owner, operator, or person in charge of the offending vessel cannot be located within a reasonable time, the Harbor Master may, at his/her discretion, remove the vessel without liability

for any damage thereto, and such vessel shall remain in his custody until claimed by the owner, who shall pay all expenses incurred by the County in connection with its removal and storage as set forth in Section 19.12.1080 of this Part 6. If the owner refuses to reclaim the vessel, he/she shall be liable for any costs incurred by the County in effecting removal, storage, sale, or disposition of such property. If an owner cannot be identified, the operator or person responsible for anchoring or mooring the vessel in violation of subsection A or B of this section shall be liable for any costs incurred by the County in effecting removal, storage, sale, or disposition of such property.

(Ord. 2012-0006 § 19, 2012.)

A.

Except in an emergency, no person operating any vessel or having charge of any vessel shall dock, moor or make it fast or secure to any county jetty, breakwater, bulkhead, wharf, pier, dock, float, slip or mooring buoy, or other county facility, without the consent of the director and/or harbor master, or in excess of the time specifically authorized by the director and/or harbor master, or in excess of time limits indicated by the director and/or harbor master by signs posted by the director and/or harbor master regulating such facility. In the event of an emergency causing such person to so dock, moor, make fast or secure a vessel to such county facility, such person shall forthwith report such emergency to the harbor master and thereafter comply with instructions of the harbor master.

B.

In the event that the harbor master is unable to determine the identity of the person who caused a vessel to be docked, moored or made fast or secure in violation of subdivision A of this section, a citation for violation of this section shall be issued in the name of the registered owner of the vessel.

C.

In any prosecution charging a violation of subdivision A of this section, proof by the People of the State of California that the particular vessel described in the complaint was docked, moored or made fast or secure in violation of subdivision A of this section, and proof that the defendant named in the complaint was registered owner of said vessel at the time it was illegally docked, moored or made fast or secure, shall constitute in evidence a prima facie presumption that the registered owner was the person who docked, moored or made fast or secure the vessel at the point where, and for the time during which, the violation occurred.

(Ord. 86-0039 § 35, 1986: Ord. 10391 § 4, 1971: Ord. 9359 Art. 5 § 506, 1967.)

A.

It shall be unlawful to tie up or anchor a vessel in a county harbor, waterway or maritime facility in such a manner as to obstruct the fairways or channels or to prevent or obstruct the passage of other vessels; or to voluntarily or carelessly sink or allow to be sunk any vessel in any channel, fairway or berthing space; or to float loose timbers, debris, logs or piles in any channel, fairway, or berthing space in such a manner as to impede navigation or cause damage to vessels therein.

B.

Whenever a vessel is sunk in a county harbor, waterway or maritime facility, accidentally or otherwise, it shall be the duty of the owner of such vessel to mark it immediately by a buoy or beacon by day and by a lantern or light by night, and to maintain such markings until the sunken vessel or obstruction is removed; and the failure or negligence of such owner to do so shall be unlawful. The owner of such sunken vessel shall immediately commence removal of said vessel and prosecute the removal diligently to completion. In the absence of such owner or failure to comply, said responsibility for removal shall rest with the lessee, agent or operator of the facility at which the sunken vessel or obstruction has occurred.

C.

Whenever the navigation of any waters within a county harbor, waterway or maritime facility, including moorings and berths therein, shall be obstructed or endangered by any sunken vessel or other obstruction, and the obstruction or danger has existed for a period of more than 10 days, the vessel or obstruction shall be subject to removal, sale or other disposition in accordance with Section 19.12.750 of Part 4 of this chapter. The owner or owners of such vessel or other property causing said obstruction or danger shall be liable to the county for all costs incident to said removal and disposition, and the county of Los Angeles, its employees, agents and officers shall not be liable for damages of any nature whatsoever arising out of or in any way connected with removal, sale or disposition of such vessel or other property.

(Ord. 86-0039 § 36, 1986: Ord. 9359 Art. 5 § 510, 1967.)

A.

If any vessel is found to be anchored or moored within a county harbor, waterway or maritime facility in an unsafe or dangerous manner, or in such a way as to create a hazard to other vessels or to persons or property, the harbor master shall order and direct necessary measures to eliminate such unsafe or dangerous condition.

B.

The responsibility for compliance with such orders and directions of the harbor master primarily rests with the owner of the vessel, or the authorized agent of the owner of the vessel. Secondarily, responsibility for compliance rests with the lessee or operator of the facility at which the vessel is anchored or moored.

C.

In an emergency situation, and in the absence of any such responsible person, the harbor master shall forthwith board such vessel and cause the unsafe and hazardous situation to be corrected, and the owner of the vessel shall be liable for any costs incurred by county in effecting such correction.

(Ord. 86-0039 § 37, 1986: Ord. 9359 Art. 5 § 508, 1967.)

A.

The operator of any vessel that collides with another vessel or any public or private property within a county harbor, waterway or maritime facility shall immediately secure such vessel, and shall forthwith notify the owner of the struck vessel or the owner, lessee, agent, or operator of such facility, public or private, of the operator's and/or owner's name and address either in person or by leaving in a conspicuous place in the struck vessel a written notice giving such name and address and a statement of the circumstances.

B.

The operator of any vessel that collides with any vessel or any public or private property within a county harbor, waterway, or maritime facility shall immediately, after making the notification required in subsection A, report the incident to the harbor master. Failure to render said notice and said report shall be a violation of this section.

C.

The rendering of the notice and report aforementioned in this section shall not exonerate any boat operator or owner from rendering accident reports required by the California Harbors and Navigation Code, or any other reports required by law.

(Ord. 86-0039 § 38, 1986: Ord. 9359 Art. 5 § 513, 1967.)

Any vessel that enters a county harbor, waterway or maritime facility in a disabled condition, or any vessel within a harbor, waterway or maritime facility which may for any reason be rendered disabled, or dangerously contaminated by any flammable or combustible liquids, gases or solids, shall immediately report the dangerous condition to the harbor master and shall become subject to the orders and directions of the harbor master. It is unlawful for any person to fail or refuse to comply with his orders or directions with regard to the disposition of such vessel.

(Ord. 86-0039 § 39, 1986: Ord. 9359 Art. 5 § 511, 1967.)

A.

No person shall secure or permit to be anchored or moored in a county harbor, waterway or maritime facility a vessel of any kind whatsoever which is unseaworthy or in a badly deteriorated condition, or which is likely to sink or to damage docks, wharves, floats and/or other vessels, or which may become a hazard to navigation.

B.

The foregoing provisions of this section regarding seaworthiness shall not be applicable to the following:

A vessel, whose mooring within the Marina del Rey Small Craft Harbor on the effective date of the ordinance adding this subsection to the code has been previously approved by the owner and operator of the marina in which the vessel is located, provided that this exemption shall expire 120 days following the effective date of the ordinance adding this subsection, and further provided that such exemption shall immediately lapse if such vessel is abandoned by its then current owner at any time following the effective date of the ordinance adding this subsection;

A floating home, whose mooring within the Marina del Rey Small Craft Harbor on the effective date of the ordinance adding this subsection to the code has been previously approved by the owner and operator of the marina in which the floating home is located, provided the owner has registered the floating home as such with the harbor master within 120 days of the effective date of the ordinance adding this subsection, and further provided that such exemption shall expire if, at any time following the tenth anniversary of the effective date of the ordinance adding this subsection, ownership of the floating home is transferred and further provided that, the above notwithstanding, such exemption shall immediately lapse if the floating home is abandoned by its then current owner at any time following the effective date of the ordinance adding this subsection. Additionally, such exemption shall immediately lapse if any material alteration, enlargement or addition to a floating home is made. For purposes of this section "material alteration, enlargement or addition" means any construction, reconstruction, or other work of any sort which in any way increases any of the exterior dimensions, specifically including the overall height of the floating home, or which otherwise increases the enclosed habitable area by more than five percent of the existing habitable area as of the effective date of the ordinance adding this sentence to this subsection.* The repair or replacement of structural elements or other portions of the floating home with substantially equivalent materials shall not be considered a material alteration, enlargement or addition, nor shall the installation of any device, improvement or other item which is required to be installed solely by operation of any applicable law. For purposes of this section, a transfer in ownership of a floating home shall be deemed to have occurred if the owner sells, conveys or alienates the floating home, or any part thereof, or suffers his or her title, or any interest therein to be divested, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, or leases the floating home for a cumulative period of more than three years, including options to renew, or leases the floating home with an option to purchase, or in the event the owner of the floating home is a partnership, the interest of any general partner is assigned or transferred or his or her equity interest in the partnership is diluted in any manner whatsoever, or in the event the owner of the floating home is a corporation, more than 10 percent of the corporate stock thereof is sold, transferred or assigned, or in the event the owner of the floating home is a trust, there is a change of beneficial interest with respect to more than 10 percent of the floating home. However, notwithstanding the above, no change of ownership of a floating home shall be deemed to have occurred if a security interest in the floating home is conveyed in connection with the creation of a bona

fide lien or other encumbrance on the floating home or if a joint tenant's interest in the floating home is transferred by devise, descent or by operation of law upon the death of that joint tenant;

A vessel owned and operated by any agency of the federal government or a state, county or city;

A vessel that is en route to or from its marina or dry storage area outside Marina del Rey and whose mooring within Marina del Rey does not exceed 90 days;

A new vessel that has not yet been launched, rigged or equipped and is being held solely for sale by a broker/dealer who has previously been approved by the county to conduct such sales activities in the Marina del Rey Small Craft Harbor;

A vessel that is less than 20 feet in overall length;

A rowboat, canoe, kayak, and racing shell.

C.

In the event that proof of seaworthiness, as described in this chapter, of any vessel cannot be demonstrated to the harbor master at the time of any inspection, the harbor master shall issue a Notice to Comply which clearly identifies the area(s) in which the vessel is deemed to be unseaworthy and which further provides a compliance date by which the vessel's owner must return to the harbor master to demonstrate satisfactory correction of the deficiencies noted on the Notice to Comply. The harbor master and director shall establish within 90 days of the effective date of this ordinance, and publicly distribute, a set of guidelines which provides standardized compliance periods, to the extent feasible, to be provided for the correction of deficiencies that may be noted in any Notice to Comply as described herein. The harbor master shall provide the applicable time periods contained in such guidelines in any Notice to Comply unless the harbor master determines, in his discretion, that a longer time period should be provided for the particular vessel in question due to special circumstances.

D.

In the event that the owner of any vessel who receives a Notice to Comply from the harbor master disagrees with the compliance period provided in such Notice, the owner may seek review of the length of the compliance period by submitting the matter, within five working days, on a form approved by the director, to a seaworthiness compliance mediation committee for review.

A seaworthiness compliance mediation committee shall be composed of five members who shall serve without compensation at the discretion of the director, four of whom shall have expertise in finances, boat repair or boating and one of whom shall be a small craft harbor commissioner.

The seaworthiness compliance mediation committee shall convene as often as is necessary to review and resolve disputes regarding the length of the compliance period provided by the harbor master in a Notice to Comply issued pursuant to this section.

The seaworthiness compliance mediation committee shall issue a written decision upon the conclusion of its review on each request presented to it setting forth the reasons for its decision and such decision shall be final.

Any compliance period contained in a Notice to Comply shall be stayed during the time that a timely request for review regarding that Notice is pending before the seaworthiness compliance mediation committee.

Failure of the owner of a vessel to demonstrate correction of any deficiency identified in a Notice to Comply issued to such owner within the compliance period contained in the Notice to Comply, as such period may be modified by a decision of the seaworthiness compliance mediation committee, shall be a violation of Part 6 of this chapter.

(Ord. 99-0016 § 3, 1999; Ord. 95-0043 § 3, 1995: Ord. 86-0039 § 40, 1986: Ord. 9359 Art. 5 § 512, 1967.)

* Editor's note: Ordinance 99-0016, which amends § 19.12.1060, is effective on April 9, 1999.

A.

If any unattended vessel shall be found to be anchored or moored illegally within a county harbor, waterway or maritime facility, or if the harbor master has reasonable grounds to believe that a vessel has been abandoned within a county harbor, waterway or maritime facility, the harbor master may assume custody of such vessel and cause it to be removed and held or placed in storage. The harbor master shall not be held liable for any damage to such vessel, nor liable to its owners before or after assuming custody.

B.

Vessels so taken into custody shall be released to the owner by the harbor master only after satisfactory proof of ownership has been presented and full reimbursement made to county for all costs incident to recovery, movement and storage, as set forth in Section 19.12.1080.

C.

If proof of ownership cannot be established within a reasonable amount of time, said vessel shall be dealt with in accordance with Section 19.12.750 of this chapter.

(Ord. 86-0039 § 41, 1986: Ord. 9359 Art. 5 § 509, 1967.)

Charges imposed by the county for rendering such services as the recovery, movement, impounding or storage of vessels shall be in accordance with the Schedule of Charges for Services Rendered and Supplies Furnished by the harbor master, as originally approved by the board of supervisors on November 30, 1965, and as amended thereafter from time to time. Whenever a vessel is impounded or held in storage for a period of more than 72 hours, there shall be in addition, a charge of one and one-half times the current daily impound rate.

(Ord. 86-0039 § 42, 1986: Ord. 10208 § 1, 1971: Ord. 9359 Art. 5 § 509.1, 1967.)