Morro Bay Municipal Code Ch. 15.20 Harbor Structure Permits

No person or agency shall build, maintain, extend or make structural alterations on any building, pier, piling, bulkhead, seawall, reef, breakwater, mooring or other structure in, upon or over the waters of Morro Bay or the Pacific Ocean or any other water where the tide ebbs and flows within the city, or do any filling, excavating or dredging in the waters or ocean, without first obtaining written permit to do so from the city in addition to any other requirements provided by law.

(Ord. 119 § 1 (part), 1974: prior code § 9404.1)

A. Application for Permit or Transfer. Application for any permit or the transfer of any permit required by this chapter shall be made to the community development director in writing on forms provided therefor. The permit shall constitute an agreement by the permittee to comply with all conditions imposed in the granting of the permit.

B. Plans. The application shall be accompanied by plans and specifications setting forth in detail the work to be done.

C. Fee. Each application shall be accompanied by the fee established in the Master Fee Schedule. Application fees shall not be refundable by the city to the applicant whether or not the permit is granted.

D. City Council. Prior approval of the city council shall be required when the structure for which a permit is sought does not comply with this title and when:

1. Approved bulkhead lines, pierhead lines or setback lines do not exist;

2. The structure would affect a designated swimming area.

E. Conditions. In granting any such application, the city council may impose conditions in the permit which it deems necessary to protect commerce, navigation or fishing or the use, operation or development of Morro Bay.

F. U. S. Corps of Engineers. Prior approval of the U.S. Corps of Engineers will be required when:

1. Work extends to areas seaward or lower than the mean high higher water line;

2. Solid filling, dredging, or any structure is to be constructed in an area seaward or lower than the high water line.

(Ord. 364 § 2 (part), 1989; Ord. 225 § 91, 1982; Ord. 119 § 1 (part), 1974: prior code § 9404.2)

A. Grounds of Revocation. Any permit heretofore or hereafter granted for any structure or work in the waters of Morro Bay or the Pacific Ocean may be revoked by the city council upon any of the following grounds:

1. The work or structure has become detrimental to commerce, navigation or fishing;

2. The work or structure does not comply with the permit or does not meet the standards adopted by the city council for such work or structure;

3. The permittee has failed for a period of sixty days to pay the fee or fees heretofore or hereafter imposed for the occupancy of tidelands or submerged lands upon which such work or structure exists;

B. Notice and Hearing. Any such permit shall be revoked only after a public hearing before the city council at which the permittee has an opportunity to be heard. At least five days' notice of such hearing shall be given in writing by first class mail with postage prepaid, addressed to the address of the permittee shown on such permit, setting out the date, time and place of hearing. After such hearing, the city council may revoke or conditionally revoke any such permit.

(Ord. 119 § 1 (part), 1974: prior code § 9404.3)

Every structure maintained in or over the waters of Morro Bay or the Pacific Ocean without a current valid permit existing therefor when required by this chapter, or maintained in a manner or for a purpose other than or different from that provided in the permit, constitutes a nuisance and shall be immediately abated and may be removed. If, upon written notice to remove any such structure, the owner thereof fails, refuses or neglects to do so within a reasonable time specified in the notice, being not less than five nor more than thirty days after such notice, the city shall abate or remove it and the cost thereof may be recovered from the owner of such structure.

(Ord. 119 § 1 (part), 1974: prior code § 9404.4)