Chap. 104.—An ACT to create a Board of Harbor Commissioners of
Norfolk and Portsmouth, and for the Preservation and Improvement
of the Harbor of Norfolk and Portsmouth.

Approved February 18, 1875.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly, That for the
purpose of preserving and improving the harbor of Norfolk
and Portsmouth, seven commissioners shall be appointed by
the governor—three residents of the city of Norfolk, two of
the city of Portsmouth, and two of the county of Norfolk.
The commissioners from Norfolk and Portsmouth shall be
nominated to the governor for his appointment by the cham-
ber of commerce of Norfolk, and if there should be no
chamber of commerce, then by the Norfolk and Portsmouth
Cctton Exchange, at a meeting to be called for that purpose.
The commissioners from the county of Norfolk shall ia like
manner be nominated by the judge of the county court
thereof. All vacancies in the board shall be filled in the
same manner as the original appointments.

2. Be it further enacted, That the governor shall commis-
sion the said harbor commissioners, who shall hold their
office for the term of four years, commencing on the first
day of April, eighteen hundred and seventy-five, unless
sooner removed by the governor, and the said commissioners
shall be a board to be known as The Board of Harbor Com-
missioners of Norfolk and Portsmouth, and shall organize
by electing one of their number president, with such other
officers as they may deem preper, a majority of whom shall
constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

3. Be it further enacted, That the said board of harbor
commissioners shall have full power to regulate and define
the port wardens’ lines along the water front of the cities of
Norfolk and Portsmouth, and the KHlizabeth river, and
branches thereof, for five miles above and below the limits.
of said cities. They shall have power to fix the lines along
said rivers within which the riparian owners may erect
wharves, docks, and other proper erections and fixtures for
commercial and manufacturing purposes. The said board,
or a majority of them, shall have authority to cause the re-
moval of any wharf, dock, wreck or other obstruction to
navigation, or that may, in their opinion, be injurious to the.
harbor, at the expense of the owner or owners, or the
parties causing the obstructions: provided, the rights of any |
owner or owners of wharves, whose lines have heretofore
been fixed by authority of state legislation, are in nowise to
be disturbed.

4. Be it further enacted, That for the purpose of enabling
the said commissioners to carry out the purposes of this act,
they are hereby authorized to employ the services of a com-
petent engineer, who shall make, or cause to be made, under
the direction of the commissioners, a survey of said harbor,
Elizabeth river and branches thereof. |

5. Be it further enacted, That hereafter, when any dredg-
ing or excavation shall be done in the harbor, the material
excavated shall only be deposited at such places in the river
as may be designated by the said harbor commissioners.

6. Be it farther enacted, That the said board of harbor
commissioners shall have power to make and enforce such
rules and regulations for the preservation of the harbor as
they may from time to time deem necessary.

7. Be it further enacted, That the board of harbor com-
missioners shall have power to appoint, annually, all harbor
masters for the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth, and assign
their duties and fix their compensation, and may remove
them at pleasure, and the powers of all harbor-masters and
port wardens, heretofore appointed and acting, shall cease
and determine after the organization of the board.

8. Be it further enacted, That for the purpose of defray-
ing the necessary expenses incurred by the board of harbor
eommissioners in carrying out the provisions of this act, the
eounty of Norfolk shall be assessed and shall pay two-
sevenths of the estimated expenses thereof; the city of
Portsmouth two-sevenths; and the city of Norfolk three-
sevenths thereof: provided, that the said commissioners
shall receive no compensation for their services, except it be
allowed by their respective corporations, in which case the
corporation making such allowance shall provide for the
payment of said commissioners.

9. Be it further enacted, That no person shall build any
wharf or other obstruction. beyond the lines fixed by said
commissioners, and any person doing this shall pay the sum
of twenty dollars for every such offence, and shall moreover
be fined in the sum of twenty dollars for every day such
wharf or other obstruction shall remain; and no person shall
hereafter build or extend any wharf or other obstruction in
or upon the waters of the harbor of Norfolk or Portsmouth,
Elizabeth river and branches thereof, without first obtain-
ing, in writing, from said harbor commissioners, a permit for
so doing, under a penalty of twenty dollars for every day
such wharf or obstruction shall remain; and it shall be the
duty of said board of commissioners to prosecute for the
fines and penalties imposed by this act.
10. Be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the
harbor commissioners, or a committee thereof, to examine
from time to time, all the docks, public and private, in Nor-
folk and Portsmouth, and when it is the opinion of said com-
missioners, or a majority of them, that any such docks are
not in a proper condition for the purposes for which they
were designed and used, they shall cause a notice to be
served upon the owner or occupier of said dock, and they
shall repair and deepen the samo, and if such owner or occa-
pier shall neglect or refuse to attend to such dock or wharf,
after twenty days’ notice, such person so offending shall for-
feit and pay twenty dollars, and the further sum of five
dollars for every day he, she or they, shall so neglect or re-
fuse, and shall, moreover, pay all expenses incurred by reason
of such neglect or refusal.

11. Be it furthor enacted, That the board of harbor com-
missioners shall publish an annual report of their proceed-
ings, and furnish a printed copy of the same to the governor,
auditor, judge of the Norfolk county court, and to the mayor
aud corporations of Norfolk and Portsmouth.

12. Be it further enacted, That all acts and parts of acts
so far as they conflict with the provisions of this act, are
hereby repealed.

13. This act shall be in force from its passage.