Redding Municipal Code Ch. 10.26 Sacramento River Area Regulations

A. The purpose of this chapter is to exercise the police power of the city in order to protect the Sacramento River Area as an aesthetic and fish and wildlife resource so that it may be enjoyed by the majority of the community.

B. In addition to the regulations contained in this chapter, use of the Sacramento River Area within the city shall be governed by all applicable sections of the California Harbors and Navigation Code as the same may be from time-to-time amended; and all applicable regulations of the Department of Boating and Waterways and the United States Coast Guard as they may be from time-to-time amended. To the extent that a conflict might exist between this chapter and any of the aforementioned statutes or regulations, enforcement shall be based upon the most strict provision found within this chapter, the statutes, or regulations.

(Ord. 2193 § 1 (part), 1997: Ord. 1944 § 1 (part), 1990)

A. The Sacramento River is a navigable river both at law and in fact.

B. A split-speed zone of twenty-five miles per hour when proceeding upstream and five miles per hour when proceeding downstream in the portion of the Sacramento River Area between the southerly side of the State Highways 299/44 bridge and Keswick Dam will not impair the ability of motorized vessels and personal watercraft to navigate said portion of the area to any greater extent than navigability of such area is now impaired by the configuration of the river bed during different levels of flow as controlled by the Keswick and Shasta Dams.

C. The portion of the Sacramento River Area located between the southerly side of the State Highways 299/44 bridge and Keswick Dam is an area which, at different seasons of the year, is a natural habitat to numerous species of fish and wildlife, including, but not limited to, deer, beaver, trout, salmon, steelhead, ducks, geese, eagles, and common birds of every variety. Motorized vessels and personal watercraft subject to a split-speed zone will have less impact on and cause less disturbance to such fish and wildlife than motorized vessels and personal watercraft moving at higher speeds.

D. The portion of the Sacramento River Area located between the southerly side of the State Highways 299/44 bridge and Keswick Dam is in an area in which both the city and private entities have invested substantial effort and funds to create an area for citizen activities that have a small or nonexistent detrimental impact on the Sacramento River Area, and are reflective of, and supportive of, such uses. Examples are the Redding Convention Center, the Sacramento River Trail, the Redding Arboretum by the River, the Turtle Bay Park and Museum, a bird sanctuary, Lake Redding Park and Caldwell Memorial Park.

E. The presence of motorized vessels and personal watercraft operating at speeds in excess of five miles per hour when proceeding downstream in that portion of the Sacramento River Area located between the southerly side of the State Highways 299/44 bridge and Keswick Dam presents a threat to the public health and safety as a result of the increased noise levels created by the internal combustion engines, both below and above the water, and detrimentally affects the fish and wildlife habitats in the area and the citizens who are using the amenities constructed in said areas by the city and private entities. A speed of twenty-five miles per hour when proceeding upstream is appropriate to permit large vessels to operate "on plane" for the purpose of minimizing damage to the streambed caused by such vessels when operating at excessively low speeds.

F. The amended ordinance codified in this chapter enacting certain speed zones is adopted pursuant to the police powers of the city granted by the California Constitution, Article XI, Section 7, and the statutory authority conferred upon local governments by Harbors and Navigation Code sections 268, subdivision (a), and 660, subdivision (a).

G. This chapter is necessary to promote and to protect the public health and safety.

(Ord. 2193 § 1 (part), 1997)

The following words and phrases when used in this chapter shall, for the purposes of this chapter, have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:

"Motorized vessel" means any boat or vessel whose principal means of propulsion is by an internal combustion, electrical or mechanical engine, either inboard or outboard.

"Personal watercraft" is any motorized vessel which has an internal combustion engine powering a water-jet pump or a fully-covered propeller chamber as its primary source of motor propulsion, and which is designed to be operated by a person sitting, standing, or kneeling on the vessel rather than the conventional manner of sitting or standing inside the vessel. The term shall include those vessels commonly known as "Jet Skis," "Wet Bikes," "Surf Jets" and "Sea-Doo."

"Sacramento River Area" means the main channel of the Sacramento River; adjacent waterways accessible from the main channel; ponds or other bodies of water which through seepage or otherwise are influenced by the level of the Sacramento River; and those areas subject to flooding by the Sacramento River, all as they may exist within the corporate limits of the city.

(Ord. 2193 § 1 (part), 1997: Ord. 1944 § 1 (part), 1990)

A. No person shall operate any motorized vessel or personal watercraft at a speed in excess of twenty-five miles per hour in the Sacramento River Area beginning at the most southerly boundary of the corporate limits of the city and ending at the southerly side of the State Highways 299/44 bridge.

B. No person shall operate any motorized vessel or personal watercraft at a speed in excess of twenty-five miles per hour when proceeding upstream in relation to any adjacent land mass or in excess of five miles per hour when proceeding downstream in relation to the speed of the water surface in the Sacramento River Area beginning immediately north of the southerly side of the State Highways 299/44 bridge and ending at Keswick Dam.

C. Speed of the motorized vessel or personal watercraft shall be measured in relation to any adjacent land mass, and may be measured by the utilization of a radar speed-measuring device.

(Ord. 2193 § 1 (part), 1997: Ord. 1944 § 1 (part), 1990)

The regulations contained within this chapter shall not apply to:

A. Any motorized vessel or personal watercraft owned, operated, or controlled by the United States or by a California or Shasta County agency.

B. Any motorized vessel or personal watercraft engaged in bona fide emergency or rescue operations or other operations conducted solely to protect public safety and health.

C. The director of development services or a designated representative may issue an administrative use permit, upon such terms and conditions deemed necessary to protect the public peace, health, and safety, for the exclusive use of any portion of the Sacramento River Area, to any organization, group, or person which intends to stage a special event which in his or her opinion is of a general public interest.

(Ord. 2193 § 1 (part), 1997: Ord. 1944 § 1 (part), 1990)

Any person who operates any motorized vessel on or within the Sacramento River Area shall not dispose of any materials, other than normally disposable fishing items, in the Sacramento River Area. Raft rental or other similar rental operations shall provide receptacles for litter to be maintained within each raft or boat while on the Sacramento River Area. Rental operators shall charge a five dollar litter deposit which shall be refunded to the rental customer upon return of the litter receptacle.

(Ord. 2193 § 1 (part), 1997: Ord. 1944 § 1 (part), 1990)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 2533, § 1, adopted Sept. 1, 2015, repealed § 10.26.065, which pertained to Cypress Bridge construction zone emergency rule and derived from Ord. 2404, § 1 adopted 2008.

Violations of this chapter are declared to be infractions, and violators shall be punishable as follows:

A. A fine not to exceed one hundred dollars upon the first conviction;

B. A fine not to exceed two hundred dollars upon the second conviction within one year of the first conviction;

C. A fine not to exceed three hundred fifty dollars for a third conviction within a one-year period;

D. A fine not to exceed five hundred dollars for a fourth or any subsequent conviction within a one-year period.

(Ord. 2193 § 1 (part), 1997: Ord. 1944 § 1 (part), 1990)