Session Laws

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 2 of chapter 21F of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1986 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the definition of "Harbor facility" the following definition:-

"Harbor plan", a document which analyses existing harbor and waterfront land uses and delineates future uses. Future land uses may be described through zoning ordinances, capital improvement plans, and building design guidelines and other methods. Planning for the management of the competing uses of harbor waters may include mooring plans, facilities maintenance plans, shellfish management plans or dredging needs assessments.

SECTION 2. Section 4 of said chapter 21F, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the first paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-

Any coastal city or town, acting by and through its mayor in the case of a city, the town manager in a town having a town council form of government and the board of selectmen in any other town, may apply to the secretary of environmental affairs for assistance to undertake a harbor or waterfront improvement or a harbor plan. An application for assistance pursuant to this chapter shall represent no more than fifty per cent of the estimated total cost of the improvement and in no case shall exceed two million dollars for improvements in designated port areas and one million five hundred thousand dollars in all other areas. The commonwealth shall reimburse no more than three million dollars to communities with designated port areas and at least one project within these areas or two million dollars total to a city or town applying for funding for more than one harbor or waterfront project. The secretary of environmental affairs is hereby authorized to utilize seventy per cent of the funding provided for in this chapter, for public facilities used primarily for commercial purposes.

Said secretary of environmental affairs is hereby authorized to utilize ten per cent of the funding in this chapter for grants to prepare harbor plans. An application for assistance in the preparation of a harbor plan shall represent no more than fifty per cent of the total cost of said plan. The secretary of environmental affairs is hereby authorized to approve applications for improvements and plans for up to thirty-three per cent of the funding provided for this chapter in any one year.