Photo courtesy of Community Foundation of St. Clair A new marina with transient docking is planned for downtown Marine City.
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Marine City adopts a new Marina Ordinance

Rules and Regulations outlined for users

By Barb Pert Templeton

A new ordinance that outlines regulations for the Marine City Marina was recently adopted by the city commission.

Docks, put in place by the previous owner of the property, are already in place at the transient marina’s location off the Belle River at the south end of town, more specifically at the foot of Bridge Street, two blocks west of Water Street. 

When contacted by phone on Sept. 20, City Manager Scott Adkins said this is the first city owned marina and there are also two private marinas in town. He said the site is considered a “transient” marina because docking there is on a first come, first served basis for boaters and there’s a limit to how long boats can remain docked in the space. 

“This is intended to get more people into the city by boat and they can dock and come in to eat or go shopping,” Adkins said. “This new marina gives them a place to go.”

As the city continues to work on master plans for both the community as a whole and parks and recreation, the site will grow to include a parking lot, restrooms and a pavilion. 

Funding via grants has kept the project on track to date but eventually the city will have to come up with funds in their budget for operational and maintenance costs associated with the new marina, Adkins said. 

During the second reading and adoption of the new ordinance on Sept. 7 Adkins told the commission that in the past the city only had one reference about marina regulations and short-term docking and it was found in a zoning ordinance. The new document, Title XV, Chapter 150, Section 08, is entitled “Municipal Marina Regulations.”

Before the commission approved the new ordinance at their most recent meeting Commissioner Rita Roehrig thanked the city manager for correcting simple typos and grammatic errors she found during the first reading of the document at an August meeting. 

She then asked if the city planned to put cameras in at the new marina. 

“We are gathering pricing and information for cameras at the park and marina,” Adkins said. “We’re hoping that would be included in a marina development project.”

“It’s nice to have an overall rules and regulations and those are going to be posted at the docks?” Roehrig asked. 

Adkins replied yes, that would be the case. 

Photo courtesy of CTV Community Television/YouTube
Marine City Commissioner Rita Roehrig posed a number of questions about the new Municipal Marina Regulations Ordinance at a recent meeting.

Background on project

Plans began to solidify for a new municipal marina in the city several years ago with the idea to have a multi-phase initiative with an expected total budget of more than $1 million. 

It began in partnership with Six Rivers Land Conservancy and a grant of $272,000 from the DNR Trust Fund to support the initial purchase of the waterfront property.The city received funding from both St. Clair County and the Community Foundation to help cover the costs of demolishing the existing house on the property.

In May 2023 the project got a $393,000 grant from the Community Foundation of St. Clair County. The Community Foundation of St. Clair County attributed this latest grant to their friends and partners at the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation in Detroit, which has been a significant partner on multiple projects in and around Port Huron and St. Clair County.

“This latest grant from the Community Foundation and the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation will help us pay for the upcoming phases of work,” Adkins said in May press release from the Community Foundation of St. Clair. 

At that time, Adkins noted that future new amenities such as a pavilion, restrooms, parking lot, seating, walkways and lighting will help to make the space more community friendly and compliment the newly installed ADA kayak/canoe launch across the Belle River. 

“This generous funding will also allow us to advance our plans to connect the new marina to the Bridge to Bay Trail which runs through our downtown – the marina property can be used as a dual trailhead for both non-motorized and waterways trails,” Adkins said.

Some of the regulations 

The three-page Municipal Marina Regulations document includes 30 entries addressing topics under four headings: hours, general regulations, environmental regulations and disturbances.

The ones that might be considered of the most interest are as follows:

Photo courtesy of CTV Community Television/YouTube
Marine City Manager Scott Adkins pictured at the Sept. 7 meeting of the city commission.
  • Under Hours: Watercraft mooring is between the hours of 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. and no watercraft shall be moored for more than five hours per day. Overnight parking is prohibited without permission from the city manager, the chief of police or the director of public works. 
  • Under General Regulations:
  1. No reservations. Docking is on a first-come, first-served basis during operating hours only. One boat per slip no commercial activity including the loading or unloading of passengers and no water or electronic hookups. Dock at your own risk.
  2. Watercraft size limitations: Watercrafts shall not exceed 10 feet. 
  3. Trailer parking: Parking trailers is prohibited at the Marina. 
  4. Fishing: Fishing is not allowed in the dock areas when watercrafts are moored.
  5. The City Commission may waive the docking and use of the docks during special events or at such time as they deem necessary.
  • Environmental Regulations:
  1. Rules are implemented in accordance with Federal, State and Local regulations.
  2. Fueling: Gasoline containers are not permitted on any dock and no fueling is permitted. If there’s an accident caused by fuel the offender will be held liable for the damages.
  3. Bottom Washing: There will be no power washing of boats inside the Marina.
  4. Sanding/Painting: There will be no sanding or painting work of any sort carried out by individual boat owners or their contractors. 
  • Disturbances:
  1. Activities or operation of equipment in a manner that disturbers the quiet, comfort or repose of a reasonable person of normal sensitivities or activities that endanger the safety or life of participants or spectators are not permitted on the pier or docks. This includes the use of devices that amplify sound, music and/or voice. 

*These are just a portion of the new ordinance regulations to see the document in full visit cityofmarinecity.org.

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