Rockport meeting on requiring dive permits

[Damselfish]

Someone posted this in the NE Scuba Divers group on Facebook-

CALLING ALL DIVERS!!!!!

Tuesday, May 21, 2019 at 6 PM – 8 PM
34 Broadway, Rockport, MA
Urgent - Rockport Town Meeting - Stripping our rights

A dangerous precedent could be set by the town of Rockport that would affect all divers in New England who wish to dive there.

A local person renting a house by Back beach has been making a massive stink since last fall about divers using Back beach for instruction or large group meetings.

The town has called a selectman meeting to discuss the potential of shutting down the use of any of the Rockport beaches to organized dive groups without a permit. Not only dive centers but also dive clubs and even "large" groups will be affected by this!

The permit would be paid but will be unavailable to request online. You would have to go to the Rockport DPW to request and pay for the permit for a particular dive site in person. In addition to this, the DPW isn't open on the weekends so it would have to be during the week. They are also considering the idea of limiting the number of divers they allow on a beach, and the permits would be nontransferable if you were to be blown out of your chosen training/diving location.

This move by the town of Rockport is a blatant attempt to limit our rights as Massachusetts residents to access public beaches. We cannot let this go uncontested and the more voices that attend the meeting, the stronger our influence will be. I, unfortunately, am out of the country leading a training trip on the night of the meeting; however, I want to raise as much public awareness as possible.

PLEASE, PLEASE, If you are a diver and enjoy diving the beautiful dive sites of the north shore then it's imperative that you attend this meeting and make your voice heard!

Thank you in advance, please share with and inform all of your dive buddies!

Strength in numbers!

Nick Fazah
Concerned New England Diver

 

[drbill]

Sure glad our ocean off California is public access.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I feel your pain. The county beaches in Sonoma County California don’t allow open water check out dives to happen on their beaches. Something about commercial entities using a county park as a place to make money. They wanted a paid permit and insurance, then I guess in the mean time they suspended all commercial for pay dive activities.
In your case it sounds like creeping privatization, money talks.
If you guys can gather the funds to fight it legally you could probably win.
We have the coastal commission on our side here to counter all the coastal land grabs and privatization, but rich people still manage to get their way somewhat.

 

[abnfrog]

this is crap a local guy did the same thing at Lake Simcoe a few years back to local dive site they couldn't restrict the diving only the parking which made it (still) a giant pain in the ass, then the guy who complained moved !

 

[Sam Miller III]

In the early 1960s Monterey California was the first community in the US to enact anti diving ordnance. followed by Laguna Beach. I was involved with the Laguna Beach ordnance-aka "the battle of Laguna beach -- and it was a battle divers vs the city - I have the distinction of being the last member standing of that event well over 50 years ago

In NorCal the Asturas brothers, especially Oscar was very active in the NorCal council and was responsible combating and watering down of the Monterey dive ordinance. Perhaps @Eric Sedletzky can make contact with the Asturas brothers or check with the city fathers of Monterey and report

It was the late Ron Merker, (dr bills basic instructor) who lead the charge at Laguna Beach

At that time divers were very well organized and surfers were a bunch of unorganized rabble. Now the roles have been totally reversed the surfers are extremely well organized and divers are with out an organization or central leadership. In the 1950s the divers were organized into clubs. councils and even a national origination the Underwater Society of America (USA) .

We had a "war chest " of funds and ideas. I would suggests that you request war chest funding from DEMA. a corporate diving organization called PADI and the surrounding dive shops. We are now in different world so do not be alarmed if you receive zero funding.

But it is a given you will need $$$$ to combat this proposed ordinance !

Some suggestions that were effective 50 plus years ago
1) Attend the meetings in suits & ties or Sport coats and ties
NO casual attire -- Period !
2) Appoint several as dynamic key note speakers
Allow the others to fill in and bore the city fathers
3) Suggest an ad hoc committee be established to discuss the impact of the ordinance
Give in a little but demand much !

Demonstrate the economic effect of divers on the community
We used silver dollars and two dollar bills-- every purchase no mater how big or small was paid with either silver dollars or two dollar bills. It is legal tender and the merchant must accept it - soon they became weary of counting two dollar bills and carrying 25 pound bags of silver dollars to the banks

Two dollar Bills are still being printed and currently two versions of the metallic dollar is being minted the "silver" appearing and the "Gold" appearing dollars -- It is suggested that EVERY Diver drop by their local bank pick up a hand full and use them for all purchases. I suspect your merchants will also receive the message that divers spend money- two dollar bills and silver or gold coins

I sincerely hope that this has some value to you and yours-- Don't give in !

Good luck from California where it all began so many years ago

Sam Miller, 111

 

[Jared0425]

I believe a case decided by the US Supreme Court ruled that beaches are public land within 11ft of the high tide line. I also think in another precedent set by a few state supreme courts that it is unconstitutional to block access or to put unreasonable restrictions on beach property.

 

[Damselfish]

latest post from Facebook -
~~~
Hello everyone! I am a Rockport resident and owner at Undersea Divers in Danvers. Please know that the selectmans meeting on Tuesday has been cancelled. They saw the Facebook post and people talking about it and they decided they did not want a huge group showing up. From here, the town has decided to have dive shop owners meet in a small private group with the DPW to have a discussion before it heads back into a selectman's meeting. I just found this out, I will be headed to talk to the DPW tomorrow to get on the list of people needing to be at that meeting. We greatly appreciate all of your support and hope to remedy this issue shortly. I just wanted to get the word out to everyone. I will update people as I hear/learn more information. Thank you divers!

 

[2airishuman]

You are fortunate. I hope the problem does not resurface later.

Diving restrictions are a fact of life here. Many communities with lakeshore enacted total bans in the 1960s because diving was perceived to be a dangerous activity incompatible with civic values. Some of these bans are still on the books. Some have been repealed. Some have been replaced by new rules, limitations, and permitting requirements.

Permits costing $100-$200 per year are required for instruction or other commercial activity at most of the major dive sites here. The legal situation is complex but the classification of most shoreline within city limits as parkland means that the cities have essentially unlimited rulemaking authority. The local dive shops choose to pay for the permits rather than fight the ordinances.

 

[AfterDark]

We are fortunate here in RI to have our access to the ocean and all navigable water in RI protected by our state constitution.

Article 1 Section 17. Fishery rights – Shore privileges – Preservation of natural resources. -- The people shall continue to enjoy and freely exercise all the
rights of fishery, and the privileges of the shore, to which they have been heretofore entitled under the charter and usages of this state, including but not limited to fishing from the shore, the gathering of seaweed, leaving the shore to swim in the sea and passage along the shore; and they shall be secure in their rights to the use and enjoyment of the natural resources of the state with due regard for the preservation of their values; and it shall be the duty of the general assembly to provide for the conservation of the air, land, water, plant, animal, mineral and other natural resources of the state, and to adopt all means necessary and proper by law to protect the natural environment of the people of the state by providing adequate resource planning for the control and regulation of the use of the natural resources of the state and for the preservation, regeneration and restoration of the natural environment of the state.

And then there's Section 22. Right to bear arms. -- The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

We are the Ocean State.

 

[Sam Miller III]

@Damselfish

"Hello everyone! I am a Rockport resident and owner at Undersea Divers in Danvers. Please know that the selectmans meeting on Tuesday has been cancelled. They saw the Facebook post and people talking about it and they decided they did not want a huge group showing up. From here, the town has decided to have dive shop owners meet in a small private group with the DPW to have a discussion before it heads back into a selectman's meeting. I just found this out, I will be headed to talk to the DPW tomorrow to get on the list of people needing to be at that meeting. We greatly appreciate all of your support and hope to remedy this issue shortly. I just wanted to get the word out to everyone. I will update people as I hear/learn more information. Thank you divers!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh Joy !
"the town has decided to have dive shop owners meet in a small private group with the DPW to have a discussion before it heads back into a selectman's meeting"

Out gunned !
Small seasonal business owners vs the established community leaders of the DWP-- not a fair fight !
The agreements of this ad hoc can and will have far reaching consequences on local as well as regional diving activities.

It would not be inappropriate to contact the legal departments of the certifying agencies as well as DEMA for pro bono legal advice, establishing a war chest and if possible attendance as industry representatives at the meeting. Out gun the from the DWP-- demonstrate that the totally un organized divers do have a certain amount of origination
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some suggestions that were effective 50 plus years ago during Laguna Beach vs Divers-- aka the Battle of Laguna Beach or the Battle of Laguna beach
1) Attend the meetings in suits & ties or Sport coats and ties
NO casual attire -- Period !
2) Appoint several as dynamic key note speakers
Allow the others to fill in and bore the city fathers
3) Suggest an ad hoc committee be established to discuss the impact of the ordinance
Give in a little but demand much ! -- Apparently this is your step number 1

If required :

Demonstrate the economic effect of divers on the community
We used silver dollars and two dollar bills-- every purchase no mater how big or small was paid with either silver dollars or two dollar bills. It is legal tender and the merchant must accept it - soon they became weary of counting two dollar bills and carrying 25 pound bags of silver dollars to the banks

Two dollar Bills are still being printed and currently two versions of the metallic dollar is being minted the "silver" appearing and the "Gold" appearing dollars -- It is suggested that EVERY Diver drop by their local bank pick up a hand full and use them for all purchases. I suspect your merchants will also receive the message that divers spend money- two dollar bills and silver or gold coins

Sam Miller, 111