2019 New York Laws
NAV - Navigation
Article 4 - Vessels
Part 1 - Vessels, General
46-A - Regulations of Vessels.

§ 46-a. Regulations  of  vessels.  (1) The local legislative body of a
city or the board of trustees of a village may adopt, amend and  enforce
local laws, rules and regulations not inconsistent with the laws of this
state or the United States, with respect to:
  a.  Regulating  the speed and regulating and restricting the operation
of vessels while being operated or driven  upon  any  waters  within  or
bounding the appropriate city or village, including any waters within or
bordering a village in the county of Nassau or Suffolk, to a distance of
fifteen hundred feet from the shore.
  b.  Restricting  and regulating the anchoring or mooring of vessels in
any waters within or bounding the  appropriate  city  or  village  to  a
distance of fifteen hundred feet from the shore.
  c.  Restricting  and regulating the anchoring or mooring of vessels in
such waters when used or occupied as living or  sleeping  quarters  and;
providing  time  limits  on duration of the stay of such vessels in such
waters and requiring inspection and registration of such vessels when so
used.
  d. Restricting and regulating garbage removal from said vessels.
  e. Designating public anchorage area or areas and regulating  the  use
thereof.
  (2)  The  local legislative body of the village of Sodus Point and the
town of Huron in the county of Wayne, the villages  of  Croton-on-Hudson
and  Mamaroneck  and the town of Cortlandt in the county of Westchester,
the town of Stony Point in the county of Rockland,  the  town  of  Grand
Island  in  the county of Erie, the towns of Conesus, Geneseo, Groveland
and Livonia in the county  of  Livingston,  the  towns  of  Irondequoit,
Webster,  and Penfield in the county of Monroe, the village of Greenwood
Lake and the town of Warwick in  the  county  of  Orange,  the  town  of
Carlton  in  the county of Orleans, the village of Sackets Harbor in the
county of Jefferson, and the  villages  of  Union  Springs,  Aurora  and
Cayuga  and  the towns of Genoa and Ledyard in the county of Cayuga, the
town of Ithaca in the county of Tompkins, the city of Kingston  and  the
village  of Saugerties in the county of Ulster and the town of Porter in
the county of Niagara, the village of  North  Haven  in  the  county  of
Suffolk, and the towns of Fayette and Varick in the county of Seneca may
adopt,   amend  and  enforce  local  laws,  rules  and  regulations  not
inconsistent with the laws of this state  or  the  United  States,  with
respect  to the restriction and regulation of the manner of construction
and location of boathouses, moorings and docks in any waters  within  or
bounding  the  respective  municipality to a distance of fifteen hundred
feet from the shoreline.
  (4) a. The local legislative body of the city of Canandaigua  and  the
towns  of  Canandaigua,  Gorham, South Bristol, Canadice and Richmond in
the county of Ontario and the towns of Middlesex and Italy in the county
of Yates may adopt, amend and enforce local laws, rules and  regulations
not inconsistent with the laws of the United States, with respect to the
restriction and regulation of the manner of construction and location of
boathouses,  moorings  and  docks  in  any waters within or bounding the
aforementioned cities and towns to a distance  of  1500  feet  from  the
shoreline.
  b. No such local law, rule or regulation shall take effect in the town
of Canandaigua, Gorham, South Bristol, Middlesex or Italy or in the city
of  Canandaigua  with  regard  to  Canandaigua  Lake,  or in the town of
Canadice or Richmond with regard to Honeoye Lake  until  all  respective
lakeshore  municipalities  unanimously  agree  by resolution to a set of
uniform standards that include at a minimum the length  and  density  of
docks,  the  number  of  boats  or boat slips allowed per lineal foot of
lakeshore for various land uses, the number of moorings  and  boathouses

allowed  for  various  land  uses,  and  the  allowable  dimensions  and
locations for docks, and provided further that no such local  law  shall
take  effect  until  it  shall  have  been  submitted to and approved in
writing   by   the   commissioner  of  parks,  recreation  and  historic
preservation and provided further  that  no  future  amendments  to  the
uniform  standards  shall  take  effect  until  all respective lakeshore
municipalities unanimously agree by resolution to  the  revised  set  of
uniform  standards  and  such  revised  standards  have  similarly  been
submitted to and approved in writing by the commissioner.
  (5) The local legislative body of any city, town or village which is a
participating community as defined in subdivision ten of section 44-0103
of the environmental conservation law may adopt, amend and enforce local
laws, rules and regulations not inconsistent with the laws of this state
or the United States or with the Hudson river valley  greenway  compact,
with  respect  to  the  restriction  and  regulation  of  the  manner of
construction and location of  boathouses,  moorings  and  docks  in  any
waters  within  or bounding the respective municipality to a distance of
fifteen hundred feet from the shoreline. Nothing in this subdivision  or
in  article  forty-four  of the environmental conservation law or in the
Hudson river valley greenway compact produced pursuant to such  article,
shall  be  deemed  to  affect, impair or supersede the provisions of any
charter, local law, rule or  other  local  requirements  and  procedures
heretofore   or  hereafter  adopted  by  such  participating  community,
including, but not limited to,  any  such  provisions  relating  to  the
zoning   and  use  of  land  or  any  waters  within  or  bounding  such
participating community to a distance of fifteen hundred feet  from  the
shoreline.
  (6)  a.  The  local  legislative  bodies  of  the towns of Barrington,
Jerusalem,  Milo,  Pulteney,  Urbana  and  Wayne  and  the  villages  of
Hammondsport  and  Penn  Yan  in  the  counties of Steuben and Yates may
adopt,  amend  and  enforce  local  laws,  rules  and  regulations   not
inconsistent  with  the  laws  of the United States, with respect to the
restriction and regulation of the manner of construction and location of
boathouses, moorings and docks in any  waters  within  or  bounding  the
aforementioned  towns and villages to a distance of fifteen hundred feet
from the shoreline.
  b. No such local law, rule or regulation  shall  take  effect  in  the
towns  of Barrington, Jerusalem, Milo, Pulteney, Urbana or Wayne and the
villages of Hammondsport and Penn Yan with regard to Keuka  Lake,  until
all  respective lakeshore municipalities unanimously agree by resolution
to a set of uniform standards that include at a minimum the  length  and
density  of  docks, the number of boats or boat slips allowed per lineal
foot of lakeshore for various land uses,  the  number  of  moorings  and
boathouses  allowed  for various land uses, and the allowable dimensions
and locations for docks, and provided further that  no  such  local  law
shall  take effect until it shall have been submitted to and approved in
writing  by  the  commissioner  and  provided  further  that  no  future
amendments  to  the  uniform  standards  shall  take  effect  until  all
respective lakeshore municipalities unanimously agree by  resolution  to
the  revised  set  of  uniform standards and such revised standards have
similarly been submitted to and approved in writing by the commissioner.
  The provisions of this section shall  be  controlling  notwithstanding
any contrary provisions of law.