Decision Delayed on Which Town Landings Fall Under Harbor Management’s Purview
OLD LYME–The Board of Selectmen on Wednesday unanimously approved changes to a local ordinance that they hope will make it safer to swim and boat at Sound View Beach as early as June 3.
Meanwhile, they deferred separate changes to the same ordinance that would have laid out which waterfront recreational destinations, known as Town Landings, are under the authority of the Harbor Management Commission.
Selectmen gave the go-ahead to language drafted by Harbormaster Matthew Lynch to address concerns from the Sound View Commission about chaotic conditions wrought by water taxis, jet skis and swimmers at the public beach.
The revised Harbor Management Commission Ordinance will be up for a vote by registered voters and qualified taxpayers at the Town Meeting on May 19. If approved, it will go into effect 15 days later.
Harbor Management Commission Co-Chair Teri Lewis on Tuesday said Lynch had been working on the revision for months in collaboration with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to get the new regulations in place in time for the summer season.
“He has donated his own time – over 200 hours – along with Harbor Management Commission helping,” she said. “The Harbormaster has been really doing an amazing job trying to get some sort of law and order down at Sound View, the best that he can.”
New language in the ordinances limits jet skis to no more than 6 mph within 200 feet of the shore, docks, piers, floats, swim zones or moored vessels. Boats are subject to the same speed restriction within 100 feet.
The changes limit motorboats to 6 mph on the Lieutenant River, Back River, Duck River, or Black Hall River.
The boat lane at Sound View under the proposed ordinance is limited to vessels under 35 horsepower, which means jet skis don’t qualify to be there. Approved water taxis and emergency vessels are exempted from the regulation.
The proposed ordinance gives the Harbormaster, Marine Patrol and Police the authority to enforce the rules.
Any violations of the ordinance come with a fine of $150 each, or up to $750 in total in the case of three or more tickets on the same day.
Certain violations, including traveling faster than 6 mph on rivers or operating jet skis in the boat lane, come with fines of $150 for the first offense, $250 for the second offense and $350 for each subsequent offense.
The proposed ordinance will go to voters at at the Town Meeting on May 19. It will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Town Hall meeting room.
The Town Landing Question
The decision to defer changes related to which Town Landings are under the Harbor Management’s jurisdiction, and to what extent, came after Selectman Jim Lampos raised alarm bells that the language had been inserted at the “last minute” into the ordinance revision.
Selectwoman Jude Read told her fellow selectmen it is important to have a broader discussion on the list of town landings to determine which ones should be under Harbor Management authority and which might be better suited to oversight by or in collaboration with other local agencies.
The draft language, which was created by the Harbor Management Commission separate from Lynch’s efforts to regulate Sound View Beach, drew criticism from the Open Space Commission and Sound View Commission.
The contested ordinance provisions would have codified the Harbor Management Commission’s authority over several specific town landings, as well as, “Any other property that the Town may acquire through purchase or donation that is specifically for use as a water access point” to tidal waters.
The Town Landings in Old Lyme’s inventory range from the tiny Pilgrim Landing, with enough space for parking and some racks for kayaks and dinghies, to the 3-acre Horseneck Creek Landing that includes undeveloped coastal forest, salt marshes, educational exhibits and plans for a kayak dock.
Horseneck Creek Landing at 36-1 Buttonball Road was the subject of a dispute between the Open Space Commission and Harbor Management Commission several years back. The controversy revolved around how much access the public should have to the water, as well as who was responsible for it. The issue seemed to be resolved in 2023 by the now disbanded 36-1 Buttonball Road Committee and the Board of Selectmen through an agreement for the two entities to work together to manage the property.
The Harbor Management Commission’s draft language specified the parcels subject to Harbor Management Commission oversight “shall include, but are not limited to” Pilgrim Landing, Horseneck Creek Landing, the town dock at Ferry Road, the Ferry Road Landing at the Lieutenant River, the landing for Back River at Town Landing Road and Old Bridge Landing at the Lieutenant River.
Read, the selectwoman, agreed more time was needed to come to an agreement – but not too much time.
“The only issue I have at this point with the revision is Horseneck Creek,” she said. “It’s supposed to be a collaboration of Harbor Management and Open Space. And, therefore, I don’t think Harbor Management should have complete control there.”
Another town landing on Tantummaheag Road is the subject of a property dispute between the town and the owners of the abutting property. Lewis, the Harbor Management co-chair, said Tuesday that the property wasn’t included on the list in the commission’s draft language because of the ongoing battle over property rights.
Read emphasized the importance of quickly resolving the question regarding which Town Landings are under Harbor Management jurisdiction.
“I don’t want to kick these things down the road by six months or a year,” she said.
Selectmen voted unanimously to put the jurisdiction issue on the agenda for upcoming Board of Selectmen meetings, with promises of “substantive progress” by July 4.
Any changes to the ordinance would have to go back to a Town Meeting for a public vote once formalized.
Lewis on Wednesday after the vote said she was amenable to the selectmen’s decision.
“They need to do a bit more due diligence,” she said. “I’m OK with that.”
Editor’s Note: This article was updated to correct the name of the Black Hall River.