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State
California
HNC Sec 70-72.9 Small Craft Harbors and Connecting Waterways (DEPARTMENT OF BOATING AND WATERWAYS)

HARBORS AND NAVIGATION CODE
SECTION 70-72.9





70. The department may prepare plans for, and acquire, construct,
develop and improve, small craft harbors, facilities in connection
therewith, and connecting waterways. Any small craft harbor so
acquired or developed shall be transferred, and its operation
relinquished, to a county, city, or any district having power to
operate a small craft harbor, in which any part of it is located,
upon the request of such city, county, or district, if such city,
county, or district enters into an agreement with the department for
repayment to the state of all costs incurred by the department in
acquiring and developing such small craft harbor, including planning
costs. The city, county, or district shall be required by the
department to repay such costs by means of deferred payments, such
payments to be made in such amounts and at such times as may be
provided by the agreement.



70.2. The department may prepare or contract for the preparation of
plans for, acquire or contract for the acquisition of, construct or
contract for the construction of, develop and improve or contract for
the development and improvement of, any portion of coastal small
craft harbors which normally are nonrevenue producing, such as
jetties, breakwaters, dredging, seawalls, piers, and communication
centers.
This program may be conducted in cooperation with the federal
government for harbor development along the coastline of California.
In such cooperative projects, the department may assume the role of
"local sponsor" as that term is used in agreements with the federal
government with regard to those projects referred to in this section,
providing that before the department may assume the role of "local
sponsor" it shall determine to its satisfaction that the local entity
which would otherwise be designated as local sponsor cannot fulfill
the obligations commensurate with that designation.
If the nonrevenue producing facilities are to be a portion of an
existing harbor, the department, prior to construction thereof, shall
enter into an agreement with the local governing body of the harbor
which provides that revenues from harbor operations and harbor
district taxes, if any, shall serve as security for repayment of the
state contribution to the cost of construction and the local
governing body shall assume responsiblity for the operation and
maintenance of the facilities constructed under the agreement. If,
however, unencumbered income to the harbor is insufficient to repay
construction costs, such repayment shall be deferred until the
department determines that such income is sufficient to initiate
repayment thereof.
If nonrevenue producing facilities are to be constructed at a
location where no harbor operation is being conducted by any
governmental entity, the department may initiate construction of such
facilities after securing an agreement with the appropriate local
jurisdiction that the local entity shall assume the responsibility of
operation and maintenance thereof and repayment of all costs of the
department related thereto. Repayment of costs shall commence when
it has been determined by the department that revenues attributable
to such harbor operations are sufficient for the local entity to
assume such responsibilities.
Prior to the dates so determined by the department, the department
may reimburse the local governing body annually for any deficiency
of revenues to the harbor as determined by the division to meet the
costs of operation and maintenance of the project.
Harbor facilities provided by the department pursuant to this
section shall be defined as nonrevenue producing features for the
purpose of the term of repayment under subdivision (g) of Section
71.8.


70.3. "Harbor of safe refuge" means a port, harbor, inlet, or other
body of water normally sheltered from heavy seas by land and in
which a vessel can navigate and safely moor, as set forth in Section
70.5.


70.4. No city, county, or district that has received, or is
receiving, money under this division for the construction or
improvement of a small craft harbor of refuge shall exclude,
consistent with the intent of Section 40, the use of that harbor by a
commercial boat, or any vessel in need of a safe harbor for refuge
purposes. Each vessel entering and using a harbor of safe refuge
pursuant to this section shall pay the published fees for services
rendered while in the harbor and shall comply with all other
applicable local, state, and federal laws while in the harbor and
while using any facilities in the harbor.



70.5. (a) The following are harbors of safe refuge:
(1) Bodega Bay Harbor.
(2) Channel Islands Harbor.
(3) Crescent City Harbor.
(4) Dana Point Harbor.
(5) Fort Bragg Harbor.
(6) Humboldt Bay Harbor.
(7) Kings Harbor.
(8) Marina del Rey Harbor.
(9) Monterey Harbor.
(10) Morro Bay Harbor.
(11) Moss Landing.
(12) Newport Beach Harbor.
(13) Oceanside Harbor.
(14) Pillar Point Harbor.
(15) Port San Luis Harbor.
(16) Santa Barbara Harbor.
(17) Santa Cruz Harbor.
(18) Ventura Harbor.
(b) The use of any harbor listed in subdivision (a) for safe
refuge purposes is subject to the suitability of that location as a
harbor of safe refuge as determined by the cognizant Officer in
Charge, Marine Inspection, United States Coast Guard, as described in
the definition of "harbor of safe refuge" in Section 175.400 of
Title 46 of the Code of Federal Regulations.



70.6. If the department acquires, constructs, develops, or improves
a small craft harbor pursuant to Section 70 but receives no request
for transfer of its operation to a city, county, or district willing
and able to meet the requisite conditions for such a transfer, the
department may maintain and operate the harbor.




70.8. The department may contract with any federal agency, any
state agency, or a city, county, or district, in the planning,
construction, development and improvement of small craft harbors
pursuant to this chapter, or for the maintenance and operation of any
small craft harbors under the jurisdiction of the department.




71. The department may provide for the granting of concessions
within the boundaries of harbors under the jurisdiction of the
department in order to furnish the public with fuel, oil, food, and
other facilities, and may grant easements, rights of way, and permits
with respect to such harbors.



71.2. The department shall protect small craft harbors under its
jurisdiction from damage and preserve the peace therein. The
director and the employees of the department that the director
designates have the authority and powers conferred by law upon peace
officers listed in Section 830.33 of the Penal Code for those
harbors. The department may adopt rules and regulations that may be
necessary for the purposes of this section. A violation of those
rules or regulations is a misdemeanor.



71.4. (a) The department, subject to the approval of the
Legislature in accordance with Section 85.2, may make loans to
cities, counties, or districts having power to acquire, construct,
and operate small craft harbors, for the planning, acquisition,
construction, improvement, maintenance, or operation of small craft
harbors and facilities in connection therewith, and connecting
waterways, if the department finds that the project is feasible.
(b) The department shall establish, by rules and regulations,
policies and standards to be followed in making loans pursuant to
this section so as to further the proper development and maintenance
of a statewide system of small craft harbors and connecting
waterways. To the greatest extent possible, the department shall
adhere to customary commercial practices to ensure that loans made
pursuant to this section are adequately secured and that the loans
are repaid consistent with the terms of the loan agreement. Any
rules and regulations shall include policies and standards for
restrooms, vessel pumpout facilities, oil recycling facilities, and
receptacles for the purpose of separating, reusing, or recycling all
solid waste materials.
(c) The department shall develop weighing and ranking criteria to
qualify and prioritize the public loans.
(d) Any loan under this section shall be repaid as provided in
Section 70.
(e) Rates to be charged for the use of the boating facilities
shall be established by the city, county, or district, subject to the
approval of the department, in every loan contract. The department
shall concern itself with the rates charged only as prescribed in
Section 71.8. The rates set shall be based on a monthly berthing
charge, and the department shall monitor these rates to ensure that
the berthing charges are sufficient to ensure timely and complete
repayment of the loan.
(f) The department shall submit any project for which it
recommends any loan be made to the Governor for inclusion in the
Budget Bill.
(g) No loans shall be made to cities, counties, or districts
pursuant to this article from funds appropriated in the Budget Act of
1999 for the purposes of this section until the practices and
criteria described in subdivisions (b) and (c) have been reviewed and
approved by the Department of Finance. Any subsequent changes to
those practices and criteria shall also be approved by the Department
of Finance.



71.5. (a) The department shall encourage cities, counties, and
districts that propose to apply for initial loan funding for new
small craft harbor development projects pursuant to Section 71.4 to
communicate and to work with private enterprise in order to determine
if private business could construct and operate the projects'
revenue producing facilities under fair and reasonable terms.
(b) No loan shall be made for the initial phase of new small craft
harbor projects pursuant to Section 71.4 for those project
facilities that produce revenues, unless the city, county, or
district applying for the loan has held a public hearing on the
feasibility of a private concessionaire or lessee constructing and
operating the proposed project under a contract with the applicable
public agency.
(c) Notice of a hearing held pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be
published in accordance with Section 6066 of the Government Code and
in two publications of general circulation of special interest to the
recreational boating community.



71.6. A transfer pursuant to Section 70 or a loan pursuant to
Section 71.4 shall not be made to a city, county, or district if it
would provide for an indebtedness or liability contrary to the
provisions of Section 18 of Article XI of the Constitution unless, at
an election called by the governing body of the city, county, or
district two-thirds of the qualified electors thereof voting thereat
have authorized the governing body to accept, expend, and repay the
amount of the indebtedness or liability under this chapter; nor shall
such transfer or loan be made if written protest thereto signed by
owners of one-half or more of the assessed valuation of taxable
property in said city, county, or district is received by the
governing body of such city, county, or district. Such election
shall be held in accordance with provisions of law for the incurring
of bonded indebtedness by the city, county, or district, as near as
the same may be applicable. Except as may be prohibited by this
section, a transfer pursuant to Section 70 or a loan pursuant to
Section 71.4 may be made to a city, county, or district and it may
accept such a transfer or loan, notwithstanding any other provision
of law limiting or prohibiting the creation of any indebtedness on
the part of the city, county, or district.
A transfer pursuant to Section 70 or a loan pursuant to Section
71.4 may be made to a city, county, or district without an election
if the transfer or loan agreement provides that payments shall be
made from the gross revenues of a small craft harbor, and that such
gross revenues shall constitute security for such payments. Gross
revenues of a small craft harbor include all charges received from,
and all other income and receipts derived by the city, county, or
district from, the operation of a small craft harbor.
Gross revenues include any income received by such governmental
entity from any concession or other contract operations had by the
entity on its harbor facilities, but does not include gross revenues
to a concessioner.


71.7. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, Section
82, or any contract or agreement to the contrary, loan payments on
the loan on behalf of Spud Point Marina in the County of Sonoma, as
authorized by Schedule (b)(8) of Item 3680-101-516 of Section 2.00 of
the Budget Act of 1982, and administered by the department, may be
renegotiated by the department and the County of Sonoma, with the
advice and consent of the commission, to solve the fiscal problems
involving the marina existing on the effective date of this section
as enacted during the 1994 portion of the 1993-94 Regular Session.



71.8. (a) Any contract or agreement for a transfer pursuant to
Section 70 or a loan pursuant to Section 71.4, for which gross
revenues of a small craft harbor are made the security for repayment
shall include, but is not limited to, provisions requiring the
governing body of the city, county, or district to perform all the
following:
(1) Punctually pay all installments of principal and interest on
money owed to the state.
(2) Continuously operate in an efficient and economical manner all
small craft harbor facilities acquired, constructed, improved, or
completed in full or in part as a result of transfers or loans by the
state.
(3) Make all repairs, renewals, and replacements necessary to the
efficient operation of the small craft harbor facilities and to keep
the facilities in good repair at all times.
(4) Preserve and protect the security interest of the state in all
respects by procuring insurance on the facilities in an amount and
of the type approved by the department.
(5) Subject to subdivision (c), periodically fix, prescribe, and
collect fees, rentals, or other charges for services and facilities
of the small craft harbor facilities sufficient to produce gross
revenues adequate for payment of the following amounts in the order
set forth:
(A) All installments of principal and interest on money owed the
state as they come due.
(B) All expenses of operation, maintenance, and repair of the
small craft harbor facilities.
(C) Any additional sums as may be required by the department for
any sinking fund, reserve fund, or other special fund established for
the further security of the loan or transfer or as a depreciation or
other charge in connection with the small craft harbor facilities.
(6) Repay loans with regard to the revenue-producing features, as
determined by the department, constructed under the loan over a
period not to exceed 30 years.
(7) Repay loans with regard to the non-revenue-producing features,
as determined by the department, constructed under the loan over a
period not to exceed 50 years.
(b) The department may require the contract or agreement to
include a requirement that installments of principal and interest on
money owed the state shall be paid from gross revenues prior to any
other expenditures from those revenues. However, if the department
is satisfied that the city, county, or district has sufficient
financial resources to fully repay the loan without the necessity of
priority payment, that requirement may be waived, in which case the
contract or agreement shall provide that installments of principal
and interest on money owed the state may be repaid under the terms
and conditions mutually agreed upon and specifically set forth in the
contract or agreement. No loan of funds shall be made to any city,
county, or district unless the loan is approved by the department as
conforming to the policies established by the department. The
contracts and agreements shall not be effective until approved by the
Department of General Services for legality, form, and completeness.

(c) The fees for the use of launching ramps in a small craft
harbor shall not exceed the sum of the following:
(1) The costs of operation and maintenance of the launching ramp
and related harbor facilities, including, but not limited to, access
to the ramp from the shore and the ocean.
(2) The prorated capital costs of that portion of the facility
which is determined by the governing body of the small craft harbor
or boating facility to be necessary to pay amounts specified in
paragraph (5) of subdivision (a).
(d) If the city, county, or district defaults on the payment of
money owed the state, or otherwise fails to perform in accordance
with the terms and conditions of the contract or agreement, the state
shall forthwith recover the defaulted loan and the department may
assume the operation and maintenance of the harbor or facility or
enter into one or more contracts for its operation and maintenance.



71.9. A city, county, or district may use any excess revenues from
rates enacted pursuant to Section 71.4 or from other fees, rates,
rents, or charges for services in excess of those revenues required
to comply with Section 71.8 and with any agreement entered into
pursuant to Section 70, for waterfront improvements, waterfront
recreational programs, and purchases of other waterfront property in
the waterfront area under its jurisdiction.
This section does not in any way affect the duties and obligations
imposed upon a city, county, or district by any statute granting to
any city, county, or district any state-owned tide or submerged
lands.



72. If the legislative body of a city, county, or district has
acquired, constructed or improved small craft harbor facilities
pursuant to an agreement or contract for a transfer pursuant to
Section 70, or a loan pursuant to Section 71.4, such facilities may
not be leased in whole or in part to a private concessionaire or
lessee until such legislative body has published a notice pursuant to
Section 6066 of the Government Code inviting bids and has otherwise
complied with this section. Prior to publication of the notice the
legislative body shall obtain the approval of the department to the
proposed leasing of the harbor facility and to the terms and
conditions of the proposed lease. The notice shall distinctly and
specifically describe the harbor facilities which are to be leased
and set forth the period of the time for which the facilities are to
be leased, and the minimum rental to be paid under the lease. The
notice shall recite that the lease will reserve to the legislative
body the power to fix and determine the rates to be charged by the
lessee for the use by the public of such facilities. The notice also
shall recite that award of the lease by the legislative body is
subject to final approval by the department, and fix a time and place
for the opening of bids by the legislative body.
At the time and place fixed in the notice the legislative body
shall meet and consider all bids which have been submitted. The
lease shall be awarded to the highest responsible bidder, but the
award shall become final only after the award by the legislative body
has been approved by the department.



72.2. Notwithstanding other provisions of this chapter if the
legislative body of a city, county, or district has acquired,
constructed or improved small craft harbor facilities pursuant to an
agreement or contract for a transfer pursuant to Section 70, or a
loan pursuant to Section 71.4, where the proposed lease area is land
or water area and where the terms of the proposed lease call for the
lessee to install or construct all improvements, such land or water
area may be leased by the legislative body without public bidding,
but only after a public hearing, public notice of which shall be
given by publication for not less than once a week for two weeks in a
newspaper of general circulation published in the county in which
the land lies.
Prior to publication of the public notice the legislative body
shall obtain the approval of the department to the proposed leasing
of the harbor facility and the provisions of the proposed public
notice. The public notice shall describe the land or water area
which is to be leased, describe in general terms the nature of the
development desired by the legislative body, and set forth the period
of time for which the land or water area is to be leased, and the
minimum rental to be paid under the lease. The public notice shall
recite that the lease will reserve to the legislative body the power
to fix and determine the rates to be charged by the lessee for the
use by the public of facilities developed by the lessee. The public
notice also shall recite that award of the lease by the legislative
body is subject to final approval by the department, and fix a time
and place for the public hearing by the legislative body. The public
notice shall invite proposals for leasing from any and all
interested parties.
At the time and place fixed in the public notice of hearing the
legislative body shall meet and consider the lease proposal
submitted. The award of the lease shall become final only after the
award by the legislative body has been approved by the department.



72.4. Any agreement or contract for a transfer pursuant to Section
5823 of the Public Resources Code or a loan pursuant to Section 5827
or 6499.5 of said code, executed prior to the effective date of this
chapter, shall, for the purposes of this chapter, be considered as an
agreement or contract executed pursuant to this chapter.




72.5. The department, subject to the approval of the Legislature in
accordance with Section 85.2, may grant funds to a county, city,
district, or other public agency for the construction and development
of small craft launching facilities and shall establish general
policies for determining those projects for launching facilities
which the department will recommend to the Legislature for grants of
Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund moneys on the basis of which
facilities will serve the public recreational boating needs.
This program is to build launching facilities in areas not
normally considered by other state agencies as suitable to provide
for conservation, propagation, and utilization of the fish and game
resources of the state.
The department shall submit any project for which it recommends
any grant be made to the Governor for inclusion in the Budget Bill.




72.6. Transfers pursuant to Section 70, loans pursuant to Section
71.4, and grants pursuant to Section 72.5 shall be made by the
department with the advice and consent of the commission.



72.7. (a) The department may grant funds to any public agency for
the construction or procurement of floating restrooms and ancillary
items.
(b) The department may prepare plans and arrange for the
procurement of floating restrooms and ancillary items for later
transfer to other public agencies. All procurements shall be
conducted under the supervision of the Department of General
Services, in accordance with the requirements for state procurement
of materials, supplies, and equipment established in Chapter 2
(commencing with Section 10290) of Part 2 of Division 2 of the Public
Contract Code.
(c) The department shall establish general policies for
determining appropriate bodies of water and locations thereon for
placing floating restrooms. The department may adopt such rules and
regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this
section.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that the purpose of this
section is to furnish restroom facilities on bodies of water where
conventional restrooms cannot meet the needs of boaters and where the
presence of floating restrooms may lessen environmental degradation
of those bodies of water.


72.75. (a) The department may grant funds to any public agency for
the construction or procurement of vessel pumpout or dump stations
and ancillary items.
(b) The department shall establish general policies for
determining appropriate bodies of water and locations thereon for
placing vessel pumpout or dump stations. The department may adopt
rules and regulations that it finds necessary to carry out this
section.
(c) The Legislature finds and declares that the purpose of this
section is to furnish vessel pumpout or dump station facilities on
bodies of water where needed to meet the needs of boaters and where
the presence of the vessel pumpout or dump stations may lessen
environmental degradation of those bodies of water.



72.8. The department, subject to a line item appropriation by the
Legislature for each proposed project, may grant funds to a county,
city, district, or federal agency for the construction of waterway
public access facilities used primarily by rafters, canoeists,
tubers, and kayakers.
Funds used to implement this section shall be derived from any
bond act approved by the voters.


72.9. The department, subject to a line item appropriation by the
Legislature for each proposed project, may acquire property to
provide for waterway public access facilities used primarily by
rafters, canoeists, tubers, and kayakers, and may also provide for
the construction of those facilities, subject to the approval of any
state agency that owns the property upon which the facilities will be
constructed.
Funds used to implement this section shall be derived from any
bond act approved by the voters.