Bass River Associates v. Mayor of Bass River Township

573 F. Supp. 205, 1983 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13694
CourtDistrict Court, D. New Jersey
DecidedSeptember 16, 1983
DocketCiv. A. 83-0743
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 573 F. Supp. 205 (Bass River Associates v. Mayor of Bass River Township) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bass River Associates v. Mayor of Bass River Township, 573 F. Supp. 205, 1983 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13694 (D.N.J. 1983).

Opinion

OPINION

BISSELL, District Judge.

Introduction:

The present action arises under the general federal question jurisdiction of this Court (28 U.S.C. § 1331) and the more particular provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 1343(3) and (4). The plaintiff Bass River Associates T/A Bass River Yachting Center (BRA) is a limited partnership organized under the laws of the State of New Jersey. BRA owns and operates the Bass River Yachting Center, a marina in Bass River Township, New Jersey. Plaintiff Mariner Houseboats, Inc. (Mariner) is a corporation organized under the laws of the State of New Jersey with its principal place of business in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey. Mariner manufactures floating homes which it seeks to sell and moor at Bass River Yachting Center. Defendants are the Mayor, Township Commissioners and Planning Board of Bass River Township, in their official capacity, and Bass River Township, a municipal corporation organized under the laws of the State of New Jersey.

Plaintiffs bring this action for injunctive, monetary and declaratory relief, attacking the validity of Bass River Township’s Ordinance 83-1. A copy of that Ordinance is set forth in the Minutes of January 20, 1983, D-8 in evidence, annexed hereto as Appendix A. Plaintiffs attack both the underlying findings and the operative provisions of 83-1 because it excludes the use of floating homes and the operation of floating home marinas in Bass River Township.

Applications for preliminary injunctive relief and summary judgment were heard and considered by the Court in April, 1983. On April 28, 1983, this Court made several summary findings and conclusions regarding some of the issues in this matter. Those determinations were embodied in an Order of Partial Judgment entered May 18, 1983, as follows:

1. For purposes of determination of the Plaintiffs’ arguments on preemption and burdens on interstate commerce, with the right reserved to the Defendants, however, to refute and rebut the Finding and Order hereby made, the Court Finds and Orders that the floating homes, subject matter of the litigation, are vessels for purposes of applying discussions of Admiralty Law and burdens on interstate commerce.
2. The Court further Finds and Orders that although the floating homes, subject matter of the litigation, are vessels, they are nonetheless designed primarily for homes for dockside use.
3. The Ordinance is clear on its face and precludes floating homes as defined therein, i.e., vessels, in fact, used, designed or occupied as permanent dwelling units, from being moored within the *207 confines of Bass River Township. The Ordinance does not operate to exclude vessels from free passage on the navigable waterways of Bass River Township.
4. The Court Finds and does hereby Order that Congress has not intended to preempt the regulation and control of ‘gray water’ discharge and does not bar nor prohibit either state or political subdivisions of states from enacting ordinances regulating and prohibiting ‘gray water’ discharge, provided such ordinances do not provide standards less stringent than those provided by Federal Law or regulation.
5. The Court Finds and does hereby Order that the impact of the ordinance on interstate commerce is incidental at best and not excessive when weighed and considered with local interests and local benefits and therefore it is Ordered that the ordinance does not impose an impermissible burden on interstate commerce.
6. The Court expressly reserves the following issues to be determined after a plenary trial, and the foregoing findings shall not limit the issues to be tried:
a. The issue of municipal estoppel as a result of the actions of members of the planning board or governing body and other municipal officials.
b. Whether the enactment of the questioned ordinance is a valid and proper exercise of the police powers, giving particular attention to the questions of whether the ordinance is void as being violative of due process or is void for being violative of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States; and further, whether the ordinance is a reasonable exercise of the police power.
7. The Court Finds and Orders that prohibition of the houseboats or floating homes in question does not make the ordinance in question invalid per se, but such issue shall be reserved to be addressed by the Plaintiffs at the time of trial. •

Trial upon the issues stated in paragraph 6 above was conducted before this Court on the dates of May 9-13, 17-19 and 23-26, 1983. Having received proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law (and replies thereto) from all parties, the Court submits this Opinion adjudicating those issues. 1

The Facts

A review of the description and use of plaintiffs’ floating homes is in order. Copies of diagrams of these units (part of trial exhibit D-6) are annexed hereto as Appendix B. Plaintiffs’ floating homes are documented as recreational vessels with the United States Coast Guard, in accordance with the Vessel Documentation Act of 1980, 46 U.S.C. § 65 et seq., and are subject to preferred ship mortgages filed with the U.S.C.G. at the ports of documentation. They are also registered as vessels with the State of New Jersey pursuant to N.J. S.A. 12:7-24.38. These vessels vary in length from thirty-two feet to forty-two feet and from twelve feet to fourteen feet in beam. Draft is less than one foot. Construction is of %" marine plywood covered in fiberglass. The frames (ribs) are 2" x 10", with frame spacing of 16". The superstructure exterior is covered in %" cedar siding, finished in one of a number of natural finishes, attractive in appearance. The vessels may be either towed from location to location or propelled by optional outboard engines. However, of the thirty-four floating homes built by Mariner through 1982, only three had tapered bows and none were ordered with an optional outboard. Each vessel is equipped with a U.S. C.G. approved Type III Marine Sanitary Device which complies with applicable U.S. C.G. and E.P.A. regulations. The retail price of these vessels ranges from approximately $50,000 to $70,000.

Plaintiffs’ floating homes are designed to be moored to docks with conventional mooring lines which can be removed with *208 out any special procedures or tools. The parties have stipulated that a floating home is neither “out of navigation” nor “substantially a land structure” as those terms are used in United States Coast Guard regulations. No evidence developed at trial, however, dilutes this Court’s pretrial finding “that although the floating homes, subject matter of the litigation, are vessels, they are nonetheless designed primarily for homes for dockside use.” May 18, 1983 Order, ¶ 2.

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Bluebook (online)
573 F. Supp. 205, 1983 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13694, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bass-river-associates-v-mayor-of-bass-river-township-njd-1983.