(a) Any municipality having within its limits navigable waters as defined in subsection (b) of section 15-3a may establish by ordinance one or more harbor management commissions or may designate any existing board, commission, council, committee or other agency as a harbor management commission. Any harbor management commission established under this section may include one member representing each of the following: The planning commission, the zoning commission, or the combined planning and zoning commission, the conservation commission, shellfish commission and flood control board. The harbor master or deputy harbor master for the municipality shall be a nonvoting ex-officio member of any harbor management commission. The ordinance shall designate the area within the territorial limits of the municipality and below the mean high water that shall be within the jurisdiction of a commission and shall set forth the number of members of a commission, their method of selection, terms of office and procedure for filling any vacancy.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of the general statutes or any special act, if an existing municipal waterfront authority, municipal shellfish commission or municipal port authority is designated as a harbor management commission, the municipality may by ordinance increase the membership of such authority, commission or agency and may include one member representing each of the following: The planning commission, the zoning commission, or the combined planning and zoning commission, the conservation commission, shellfish commission and flood control board.

(c) Any two or more municipalities whose common boundaries lie within navigable waters, as defined in subsection (b) of section 15-3a, may by concurrent ordinances of their legislative bodies establish one or more harbor management commissions. Each such commission shall consist of an equal number of members from each municipality constituted pursuant to subsection (a) of this section. Any municipality that is a member of a commission may, by vote of its legislative body, elect to withdraw from a commission.

(P.A. 84-247, S. 1; P.A. 88-336, S. 3, 5; P.A. 90-269, S. 5, 8; P.A. 07-217, S. 109.)

History: P.A. 88-336 inserted new Subsec. (b) concerning membership of existing authorities designated as commissions and relettered former Subsec. (b) as Subsec. (c); P.A. 90-269 authorized a municipality to have one or more harbor management commissions; P.A. 07-217 made technical changes in Subsec. (c), effective July 12, 2007.

Statutory scheme demonstrates state did not intend to fully occupy field of regulating conduct waterward of the mean high water mark because it expressly delegated responsibility of regulation to harbor management commissions it created. 93 CA 314.