GUIDELINES FOR ICE FISHING TOURNAMENTS ON CONNECTICUT PUBLIC WATERS

DOCK REGULATIONS FOR BANTAM LAKE

The Town of Morris updated its regulations for inland wetlands and watercourses on June 18, 2008. Inclusive in these are regulations pertaining to docks on Bantam lake.

Please note: all new docks will require a permit

The following is a reprint of Section 4 of these regulations. Many of the issues regarding docks on Bantam Lake are addressed in this section. The complete Town of Morris Conservation Commission Regulations pertaining to inland wetlands and watercourses can also be printed or downloaded as a .pdf file.

INLAND WETLANDS AND WATERCOURSES
MORRIS REGULATIONS
June 18, 2008

Section 4
Permitted Uses as of Right & Non-regulated Uses

4.1       The following operations and uses shall be permitted in inland wetlands and watercourses, as  of right:

a.   grazing, farming, nurseries, gardening and harvesting of crops and farm ponds of three acres or less essential to the farming operation and activities conducted by, or under the authority of, the Department of Environmental Protection for the purposes of wetland or watercourse restoration or enhancement or mosquito control. The provisions of this subdivision shall not be construed to include road construction or the erection of buildings not directly related to the farming operation, relocation of watercourses with continual flow, filling or reclamation of wetlands or watercourses with continual flow, clear cutting of timber except for the expansion of agricultural crop land, or the mining of top soil, peat, sand, gravel or similar material from wetlands or watercourses for the purposes of sale;

b. a residential home (i) for which a building permit has been issued or (ii) on a subdivision lot, provided the permit has been issued or the subdivision has been approved by a municipal planning, zoning or planning and zoning commission as of the effective date of promulgation of the municipal regulations pursuant to subsection (b) of section 22a‑42a, or as of July 1, 1974, whichever is earlier, and further provided no residential home shall be permitted as of right pursuant to this subdivision unless the permit was obtained on or before July 1, 1987;

c.  Boat anchorage or mooring, not to include dredging or dock construction;

d. Docks, boat lifts, rowing shell docks and floats, and the placement, repair maintenance and use of a dock, boat lift, rowing shell dock, or float shall require an initial one time review by the Agency, submitted on a dock registration form at no fee; no further review will be necessary unless there is a modification footprint, location, or change in ownership. A dock will be permitted as of right provided if 1) The dock was in use June 16, 2004 and has not changed its footprint; documentation of such use and footprint will be required; OR 2) the following conditions of size and location are met. The other conditions apply to all docks.
1.   Only one dock, one boat lift and either one rowing shell dock or one float         is permitted per shoreline property;
2.   Use shall be private, associated with residential use and non-commercial;
3.   Docks must be removed, on a seasonal basis (before ice), having no permanent contact with the submerged land and require no excavation of the submerged land;
4.   There shall be free movement of water underneath docks;
5.   Docks shall be no more than eight (8) feet in width at their junctures with the existing shoreline. This eight (8) –foot maximum width must not be exceeded within five (5) feet of the shoreline, and the dock alignment must be perpendicular to the shore, and remain so for at least five (5) feet from the shoreline;
7.   The maximum sizes allowed are as follows:
Dock: 360 square feet of total surface area, including access ramp;
Boat lift: 12 feet by 20 feet;
Rowing shell dock: 4 feet by 25 feet;
Float: 10 feet by 10 feet
8.   The dock and rowing shell shall be fastened to the shoreline in a manner to minimize any disturbance to the existing shoreline;
9.   There shall be no re-grading, re-contouring, or similar modification of the existing shoreline and surrounding land. The installation, placement, construction or maintenance of docks shall not include the obstruction, alteration, pollution, removal or disposition of material from or into wetlands or watercourses nor shall such activities create a           significant activity;
10. Stairs proposed to access the dock shall be no more than five (5) feet in width and shall be elevated directly above the land in a manner that does not require re-grading, re-contouring, or similar modification of the existing shoreline and surrounding land. Masonry, stone stairs, and any other construction methods that require cutting into the shoreline and surrounding land must have prior approval of the agency;
 11.Material for floatation of docks shall be as follows: only non-corrosive, encapsulated, impact resistant buoyancy material that is resistant to fragmentation. Metal or plastic containers that havepreviously been used for any other purpose are not permitted. Rust retardant hardware shall be used;
12.Height above water of docks shall be minimized. They may not include appurtances such as roofs, raised platforms and decks.  Removable fabric canopies or umbrellas and removable water slides are allowed;
13.Any device used to keep the water from naturally freezing requires prior approval of the agency.

Any proposal not meeting the above shall require a wetlands application to the agency prior to construction and/or placement in any water body.

e.   Uses incidental to the enjoyment and maintenance of residential property, such  property defined as equal to or smaller than the largest minimum residential lot size permitted anywhere in the municipality provided that in any town where there are no zoning regulations establishing minimum residential lot sites, the largest minimum lot site shall be two acres. Such incidental uses shall include maintenance of existing structures and landscaping but shall not include removal or deposition of significant amounts of material from or into a wetland or watercourse or diversion   or alteration of a watercourse.

f.  Construction and operation, by water companies as defined by section 16‑1 of the Connecticut General Statutes or by municipal water supply systems as provided for in Chapter 102, of the Connecticut General Statutes, of dams, reservoirs and other facilities necessary to the impounding, storage and withdrawal of water in connection with public water supplies except as provided in sections 22a‑401 and 22a-403 of the Connecticut General Statutes; and

g.         Maintenance relating to any drainage pipe which existed before the effective date of any municipal regulations adopted pursuant to section 22a-42a of the Connecticut General Statutes or July 1, 1974, which ever is earlier, provided such pipe is on property which is zoned as residential but which does not contain hydrophytic vegetation.  For purposes of this subdivision, “maintenance” means the removal of accumulated leaves, soil, and other debris whether by hand or machine, while the pipe remains in place.

4.2       The following operations and uses shall be permitted as non-regulated uses in wetlands and watercourses, provided they do not disturb the natural and indigenous character of the wetland or watercourse by removal or deposition of material, alteration or obstruction of water flow or pollution of the wetland or watercourse:
    a.   Conservation of soil, vegetation, water, fish, shellfish, and wildlife and;
    b.   Outdoor recreation including play and sporting areas, golf courses, field trials, nature study, hiking, horseback riding, swimming, skin diving, camping, boating, water skiing, trapping, hunting, fishing and shell fishing where otherwise legally permitted and regulated.

4.3       All activities in wetlands or watercourses involving filling, excavating, dredging, clear cutting, clearing, or grading or any other alteration or use of a wetland or watercourse not specifically permitted by this section and otherwise defined as a regulated activity by these regulations shall require a permit from the Agency in accordance with section 6 of these regulations, or for certain regulated activities located outside of wetlands and watercourses from the duly authorized agent in accordance with section 12 of these regulations.

4.4       To carry out the purposes of this section, any person proposing a permitted operation and use or a non-regulated operation or use shall, prior to commencement of such operation or use, notify the Agency on a wetlands application form provided by the Morris Town Clerk, and provide the Agency with sufficient information to enable it to properly determine that the proposed operation and use is a permitted or non-regulated use of the wetland or watercourse.  The Agency shall rule that the proposed operation and use or portion of it is a permitted or a non-regulated operation and use or that the proposed operation and use is a regulated activity and a permit is required.