Chap. 205.—An ACT creating a Board of Harbor Commissioners of
Norfolk and Portsmouth, and for the preservation of the harbor of
Norfolk and Portsmouth.

* Approved March 8, 1882.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, 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

orfolk, two of the city of Portsmouth, and two of the
county of Norfolk. Any vacancy in said board—occasioned
by death, resignation, or otherwise—shall be filled in the
same manner as the original appointment.

2. That said harbor commissioners shall be duly commis-
sioned by the governor, who shall hold their office for the
term of four years, commencing from the date of their first
appointment; and the said commissioners shall be known as
The Board of Harbor Commissioners of Norfolk and Ports-
mouth and Norfolk County, and shall organize by electing one
of their number president, with such other officers as they
may deem proper, a majority of whom shall constitute a
quorum for the transaction of business.

3. That the said board of harbor commissioners shall have
full power to regulate and define the port warden’s line alon
the water front of the cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth, an
Norfolk county, and the Elizabeth river and branches thereof
for five miles above and below the limits of said cities and
county. They shall have power to fix the lines along said
rivers, within which riparian owners may fix 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 removal of any
wharf, dock, wreck, or other obstruction to navigation, or

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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 author-
ity of state legislation, are in no way to be disturbed.

4. That for the purpose of enabling the said commissioners
to carry out the purposes of this act, they are hereby author-
ized to employ the services of a competent engineer, who
shail make or cause to be made, under the direction of the
commissioners, a survey of said harbor, Elizabeth river, and
branches thereof.

5. That hereafter, when any dredging 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
said harbor commissioners.

6. 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. That the governor shall, so soon thereafter as practica-
ble, after the passage of this act, appoint two harbor masters
for the cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Norfolk county,
whose duties shall be assigned and compensation and fees
fixed by the board of harbor commissioners of Norfolk,
Portsmouth, and Norfolk county, and who shall be under
their control and direction. One of said harbor masters shall
be a resident and citizen of the city of Norfolk, and the othera
resident and citizen of the city of Portsmouth or Norfolk
county.

8. That for the purpose of defraying the necessary
expenses incurred by the board of harbor commissioners in
earry ing out the provisions of this act, the county 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 cor-
porations and board of supervisors of Norfolk county; in
which case the corporation or said board making such allow-
ance shall provide for the payment of said commissioners.

9. That no person shall build any wharf or other obstruc-
tion 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
aby wharf or other obstruction in or upon the waters of the
harbor of Norfolk or Portsmouth, Elizabeth river or branches
thereof, without first obtaining, in writing, from said board
of 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 harbor commissioners
to prosecute for the fines and penalties imposed by this act.
10. 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 Norfolk and Portsmouth and
Norfolk county, within the jurisdiction of said board, and
when it is the opinion of said commissioners, or a majority
of them, that any such docks are not in a proper condition
for the purposes for which they were designated and used,
they shall cause a notice to be served upon the owner or occu-
pier of said dock, and they shall repair and deepen the same;
and if such owner or occupier shall neglect or refuse to attend
to such dock or wharf after twenty days’ notice, such person
so offending shall forfeit and pay twenty dollars, and the fur-
ther sum of five dollars for every day he, she, or they shall
negiect or refuse, and shall moreover pay all expenses incur-
red by reason of such neglect or refusal.

11. That the board of harbor commissioners shall publish
an annual report of their proceedings, and furnish a printed
copy of the same to the governor, auditor, judge of Norfolk
county court, and to the judges of the corporation courts of
the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth.

12. 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.

Chap. 205.—An ACT creating a Board of Harbor Commissioners of
Norfolk and Portsmouth, and for the preservation of the harbor of
Norfolk and Portsmouth.

* Approved March 8, 1882.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, 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

orfolk, two of the city of Portsmouth, and two of the
county of Norfolk. Any vacancy in said board—occasioned
by death, resignation, or otherwise—shall be filled in the
same manner as the original appointment.

2. That said harbor commissioners shall be duly commis-
sioned by the governor, who shall hold their office for the
term of four years, commencing from the date of their first
appointment; and the said commissioners shall be known as
The Board of Harbor Commissioners of Norfolk and Ports-
mouth and Norfolk County, and shall organize by electing one
of their number president, with such other officers as they
may deem proper, a majority of whom shall constitute a
quorum for the transaction of business.

3. That the said board of harbor commissioners shall have
full power to regulate and define the port warden’s line alon
the water front of the cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth, an
Norfolk county, and the Elizabeth river and branches thereof
for five miles above and below the limits of said cities and
county. They shall have power to fix the lines along said
rivers, within which riparian owners may fix 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 removal of any
wharf, dock, wreck, or other obstruction to navigation, or

Google
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 author-
ity of state legislation, are in no way to be disturbed.

4. That for the purpose of enabling the said commissioners
to carry out the purposes of this act, they are hereby author-
ized to employ the services of a competent engineer, who
shail make or cause to be made, under the direction of the
commissioners, a survey of said harbor, Elizabeth river, and
branches thereof.

5. That hereafter, when any dredging 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
said harbor commissioners.

6. 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. That the governor shall, so soon thereafter as practica-
ble, after the passage of this act, appoint two harbor masters
for the cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Norfolk county,
whose duties shall be assigned and compensation and fees
fixed by the board of harbor commissioners of Norfolk,
Portsmouth, and Norfolk county, and who shall be under
their control and direction. One of said harbor masters shall
be a resident and citizen of the city of Norfolk, and the othera
resident and citizen of the city of Portsmouth or Norfolk
county.

8. That for the purpose of defraying the necessary
expenses incurred by the board of harbor commissioners in
earry ing out the provisions of this act, the county 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 cor-
porations and board of supervisors of Norfolk county; in
which case the corporation or said board making such allow-
ance shall provide for the payment of said commissioners.

9. That no person shall build any wharf or other obstruc-
tion 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
aby wharf or other obstruction in or upon the waters of the
harbor of Norfolk or Portsmouth, Elizabeth river or branches
thereof, without first obtaining, in writing, from said board
of 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 harbor commissioners
to prosecute for the fines and penalties imposed by this act.
10. 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 Norfolk and Portsmouth and
Norfolk county, within the jurisdiction of said board, and
when it is the opinion of said commissioners, or a majority
of them, that any such docks are not in a proper condition
for the purposes for which they were designated and used,
they shall cause a notice to be served upon the owner or occu-
pier of said dock, and they shall repair and deepen the same;
and if such owner or occupier shall neglect or refuse to attend
to such dock or wharf after twenty days’ notice, such person
so offending shall forfeit and pay twenty dollars, and the fur-
ther sum of five dollars for every day he, she, or they shall
negiect or refuse, and shall moreover pay all expenses incur-
red by reason of such neglect or refusal.

11. That the board of harbor commissioners shall publish
an annual report of their proceedings, and furnish a printed
copy of the same to the governor, auditor, judge of Norfolk
county court, and to the judges of the corporation courts of
the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth.

12. 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.