Harbor commission asks council to pursue permit-only parking at Sauconet Point; council to draft ordinance language

The chair of the Harbor Commission (identified in the meeting as Speaker 1) told the council that since the pandemic parking pressure at Sauconet/Secona Point has increased to the point where fishermen and emergency access are impeded. The chair described cars parked along roads, on the beach and in restricted areas, and recommended returning the lot to permit-only parking for commercial fishermen, mooring operators and other authorized users.

The commission proposed a roster system: the harbor commission and harbor master would provide a list of permitted users to the clerk's office, which would issue hang tags and maintain a record. The chair said such a system would be administratively manageable by the harbor commission and police department and would preserve access for fishermen while maintaining public access to the dock built with federal funds.

Councilors discussed legal and procedural steps: because portions of the area are state roads and because of existing town code constraints, any change would require coordination with the state's traffic commission and a formal amendment to town code followed by advertisement and a public hearing. Speaker 2 moved (and later amended) to authorize the harbor chair, police chief and Carol Wardell to develop clean ordinance language and return it to the council for approval; the motion passed by voice vote.

Councilors and the harbor commission emphasized that the objective is to restore prior maintenance and signage and to protect emergency access and working waterfront uses. The council directed staff and the police chief to work with the harbor commission on drafting the ordinance and any ancillary policy changes before advertisement.