Ventura Municipal Code Ch. 12.140 Floating Piers

The decks of floating piers shall have a height above the surface of the water, or freeboard, of not more than 18 inches nor less than 15 inches under dead load conditions. With addition of live load of 20 pounds per square foot of horizontal projection, freeboard shall not be less than nine inches at any point on the structure under any design loading and deflection as prescribed. The buoyancy of floating structures shall be balanced before attachment of one to another, so that the freeboard of one under dead load conditions before attachment will not differ from the other by more than one inch, and so that on a single structure, before attachment to another, no point on the deck of that single structure will differ by more than one inch in freeboard from another point on the deck of said structure. (Code 1971, § 3131)

Gangways shall be not less than three feet wide between railings and shall not incline from the horizontal more than 17.5 degrees when the tide is at elevation -5.1 feet, sea level datum. (Code 1971, § 3132)

Cast metal or hardwood cleats for mooring lines shall be provided. Floating piers up to 35 feet in length shall have not less than three cleats provided; piers over 35 feet long shall have four or more cleats. (Code 1971, § 3133)

A. Deck systems for floating structures may be bridged over intermittent buoyancy cells (pontoons or floats), with decking of painted one-and-five-eighths-inch planking, fiber-glassed plywood or lightweight concrete; or may be substantially all concrete, integrally part of the flotation system.

B. Deck planking shall be Douglas Fir, select structural grade or better, in accordance with the grading rules of “Standard Grading and Dressing Rules for Douglas Fir, etc., of the West Coast Lumber Inspection Bureau,” or Port Orford Cedar or Alaska Cedar, Dense Select Merchantable Grade (paragraph 93, Port Orford Cedar Rules) with slope-of-grain requirement of Select Structure Grade (paragraph 123A, West Coast Lumbermen’s Association Rules). All other wood shall be Douglas Fir Construction and Better Joists and Planks, minimum 1500f, in accordance with said grading rules.

C. All wood, except rubbing and cleats, and except cedar deck planking allowed under subsection B of this section, shall be pressure-treated in accordance with “Standard for Preservative Treatment by Pressure Processes – All Timber Products,” American Wood Preservers’ Association Manual of Recommended Practice, C1. Either chromated zinc chloride, chromated zinc arsenate or fluorochrome arsenate phenol, type A shall be used. The minimum amount of preservative retained shall be as follows:

D. Wood decks and fascias and all other exposed wood shall be prebored and precut to the maximum extent practicable, dip sealed and given two coats of acceptable marine paint, except that horizontal surface of cedar decking allowed under subsection B of this section need not be painted. One paint coat shall be applied after assembly in the structure.

E. All walking surfaces on gangway structures shall be given anti-slip treatment of an approved type. (Code 1971, § 3134)

A. Buoyancy for floating walkways, slip fingers and other mooring platforms may be provided by use of intermittent cells or pontoons, under framed deck systems, or by continuous lightweight concrete box floats, structurally joined one to another to create of themselves a substantially all-concrete integral deck.

B. Pontoons or floats shall be made of fire-resistant material by precision methods, and only by fabricators with a record of successful manufacture of comparable products. Materials which may be used are:

1. Gasoline-resistant expanded polystyrene foam.

2. Fiberglass-reinforced polyester resin plastic.

3. Concrete, lightweight.

C. Fiberglass-reinforced polyester resin plastic pontoon shall be:

1. Constructed under pressure and temperature by use of matched, metal dies or by rubber plunger male and metal female molds; or

2. Constructed by the spray-laminate method, using suitable molds to achieve proper shape.

The finish glass fiber reinforced plastic material shall not be less than five-thirty-seconds inch in thickness after curing, and shall contain not less than 30 percent, nor more than 40 percent, glass fibers.

Materials to be used in pontoon construction shall be chopped glass fiber and polyester resin. The chopped glass fibers shall be between three-fourths inch and one and one-half inches in length and arranged in random pattern. The resin shall be polyester resin, suitable for prolonged immersion in sea water, compounded by a reputable manufacturer and shall contain fire retardant compound.

D. Plastic foam pontoons shall be of rigid polyurethane, protected by a complete enclosure of fiberglass-reinforced polyester plastic laminate. Except that matched die or rubber plunge molding of the laminate enclosure is not required, all provisions relating to fiberglass in subsection C of this section shall apply to said enclosure. The polyurethane foam element of each pontoon shall be poured as one piece.

E. Concrete pontoons and floats shall be cast from lightweight aggregate and type II or type V cement. Small amounts of washed natural sand may be used for improved workability. Lightweight coarse and fine aggregate shall be rounded, sealed, expanded shale or clay and shall conform to the requirements of “Specifications for Lightweight Aggregate for Structural Concrete,” ASTM designation C330. This concrete shall develop a compressive strength of not less than 3,000 pounds per square inch at 28 days, but in any event, shall provide hardness and strength in tension, compression, flexure and shear consistent with the dimensions and the loading to be expected thereon under service conditions. Concrete shall have a minimum cement content of six sacks per cubic yard. Concrete pontoons or floats shall be cast in steel forms, both inner and outer, and no reinforcing steel or other ferrous metal shall be embedded in the walls or bottom of the pontoons or floats. Lids shall be separately cast and attached to the boxes with approved epoxy adhesive. The adhesive bond shall be of sufficient strength that the pontoon or float may be picked up by the lid alone without separation of the lid from the body at any point. Inserts cast into the concrete pontoons or floats to receive bolts or fasteners subject to withdrawal forces shall be as specified in Chapter 26 of the Uniform Building Code. (Code 1971, § 3135)

A. All materials used shall be new and shall conform to current applicable ASTM standard specifications. They shall be fabricated, placed, installed or otherwise applied to the project in a workmanlike manner conforming to standard practices. Only experienced workmen shall be used where skilled work is required.

1. All metal shall be noncorrosive or shall be adequately protected. Acceptable protection may be concrete, plastics, heavy galvanized, epoxies, hard anodizing, or quality paint, depending upon the material and its exposure.

2. Concrete shall be dense, highly impermeable, and of prescribed strength for the application. Cement shall be type II or type V.

3. All plastics shall be of a recognized composition having been available for not less than five years and with an experience record showing satisfactory service in the proposed application.

B. Platforms shall be fixed bridge type structures connecting the gangways to the land areas. They may be supported on bearing piles, bulkhead structures set well below revetment stone layers on the banks, or other means as provided in Chapter 28 of this code.

C. Gangways shall be fitted with hinges at the shore end and shall be capable of withstanding side loads due to lateral movement of the flotation end within the restraining limits of the guide piles. The flotation end shall be on rollers or wheels (not sliding) which will distribute the load sufficiently so that the deck system can sustain the reaction without exceeding working stresses.

D. All railings shall be 36 inches high and shall be designed to withstand a horizontal load of 30 pounds per lineal foot applied to the top rail.

E. An adequate number of guide piles shall be provided to maintain the position of the floating structure system and to withstand the design lateral loads. Guide and anchor piles and other nonbearing piles, excluding dolphins, shall be round concrete or wood piles. Piling shall be driven to or cut off and smoothed to within three inches of design elevation, and the design top of piling shall in no case be lower than elevation +10 feet, sea level datum.

F. Walers or tie rails or stringers incorporated in the floating structures to assemble the parts into fingers and walkways shall form continuous beam elements with splices staggered and bolt heads recessed, or otherwise arranged, to prevent tripping of pedestrians and abrasion of boats. Bolt anchors embedded in the structures shall have adequate strength to resist beam action loading and withdrawal forces in or from the walkers, cleats, posts, etc.

G. All structures, including floats, walkways, gangways and platforms, shall be designed completely to withstand the loads specified in this code. Working stresses for standard materials shall be those accepted by this code or, if not covered therein, by other recognized reference. For materials for which no recognized reference is available, working stresses will be set by the city based on the results of an adequate and representative number of physical tests. The structures shall be designed for vertical, horizontal and torsional effect.

1. Dead loads shall be the full weight of all material which is a permanent part of the floating structure. This shall include the floats, decking, ties, rails, bumpers, lights, utility lines, deck hardware and any other attached material.

2. Dynamic load due to wind shall be not less than 15 pounds per square foot of projected area of the floating pier surface.

3. Dynamic load due to wave action shall be that caused by a hypothetical wave having a length (crest to crest) of 16 feet and a height (trough to crest) of one and one-half feet. Loads resulting from the effect of this design wave shall be applied laterally and vertically.

4. Live loads for the flotation elements shall be 20 pounds per square foot the entire surface. (Code 1971, § 3136)

All electrical construction shall comply with the requirements of the Uniform Wiring and National Electrical Codes.

Any receptacle outlets shall not be installed on floating piers or ramps thereto less than eight feet from the water surface. (Code 1971, § 3137)

A minimum three-fourths-inch hose bib shall be installed not more than 50 feet from the floating piers, and so located as to allow no drip on wood surfaces. (Code 1971, § 3138)

These regulations shall apply in residential marinas only and shall not apply in the H-C (harbor commercial) zone. (Code 1971, § 3139)