Framingham subcommittee backs recommendation to restrict gasoline-powered boats, personal watercraft on small waters

Framingham’s Rules, Ordinance and Ethics subcommittee on Monday voted unanimously to recommend the City Council consider an amendment to the city’s watercraft ordinance that would ban gasoline-powered/internal-combustion motorboats and personal watercraft on waters under 75 acres.

The recommendation follows a city solicitor memo reviewed at the meeting that, in preliminary language read aloud by Councilor Adeviani, says in part: “Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting any city or town from regulating by ordinance… such waters of the Commonwealth as lie within the city or town.” Councilor Adeviani read that passage while presenting the solicitor’s response to a committee question about state preemption.

The recommendation matters because it moves a draft ordinance…