§ 8-20.1. Rental of personal watercraft.

(a)

Personal watercraft shall mean a small vessel which uses an inboard motor powering a water jet pump, as its primary source of active power which is designed to be operated by a person sitting, standing, or kneeling on the vessel, such as jet skis or wave runners.

(b)

A City of Galveston concessionaire's permit is not required and the provisions of this section do not apply to the rental or lease of personal watercraft in, on or over the Sea-Arama ponds or Henderson Lagoon, which are limited to the rental or lease of not more than four (4) personal watercraft at any one time.

(c)

It shall be unlawful for any person, corporation, partnership or other entity to lease or rent, or offer for lease or rent any personal watercraft in, on, or over those particular bodies of water commonly known as English Bayou, Offatts Bayou, or the Crash Boat Basin or within eighty (80) feet of the shoreline thereof. For the purposes of this section, the terms "lease" and "rent" do not include the providing of a boat incidental to a course of instruction by a not for profit organization that provides sailing or boating instruction.

(d)

Concessionaires and the number of watercraft that concessionaires may operate and rent shall be limited and shall be determined by the Galveston Beach Patrol and the Department of Planning and Community Development of the City of Galveston at the time the concessionaire applies for a permit. Concessionaires shall have at least one (1) watercraft available at all times to assist disabled personal watercraft.

(e)

Water courses and operation of personal watercraft.

(1)

Concessionaire shall establish a watercourse, which shall be triangular in design. Concessionaire shall mark all water courses with buoys which are a minimum of twenty-four (24) inches in diameter, international orange, in accordance with United States Coast Guard guidelines. All water courses shall be approved by the Galveston Beach Patrol before the city shall issue concessionaire a permit.

(2)

One (1) water course shall be allowed per location set forth for each concessionaire location, unless the Galveston Beach Patrol approves two (2) courses for a specific location.

(3)

Concessionaire shall clearly designate points of ingress and egress by uniform buoys which are a minimum of twelve (12) inches in diameter, and international orange. Ingress and egress channels shall be designated by two (2) parallel and straight buoy lines running perpendicular from the shoreline to fifty (50) yards offshore. The distance between the two (2) buoy lines shall be no less than ten (10) yards in width. Adjacent buoys in the buoy lines shall be equidistantly spaced no more than fifteen (15) feet apart. Both ingress and egress buoy lines shall be located outside of the "no swimming" areas. Buoy lines and course buoys may only be in the water during hours of the vendor's operations and all buoys, ropes, and anchors shall be removed at the end of each working day. The ingress and egress channel shall be clearly designated by vendor provided signage which is made of permanent material, two (2) feet by two (2) feet in size, implanted at the shoreline in front of the ingress-egress channel, which shall be removed at the end of each working day. The concessionaire is responsible for maintaining the ingress and egress channel clear of swimmers and waders.

(4)

Concessionaire shall not permit more than four (4) personal watercraft to be operated within a water course at the same time.

(5)

Concessionaire shall not permit any person to operate a personal watercraft within one hundred (100) yards of the shoreline except for ingress and egress. During times of ingress and egress the operator shall maintain headway speed only.

(6)

Concessionaires shall not rent personal watercraft on the Gulf beachfront except between the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

(7)

All watercraft rented by concessionaire shall be equipped with a governor which limits the maximum speed of the watercraft to thirty (30) miles per hour.

(8)

Concessionaire may rent watercraft to any person authorized to operate personal watercraft by state and federal law.

(f)

Before being issued a permit to operate a personal watercraft rental concession, concessionaire shall submit proof in a form acceptable to the city of successful completion of a boating safety course approved by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

(g)

Concessionaire shall not operate during conditions deemed unsafe by the Galveston Beach Patrol. All decisions made by the Galveston Beach Patrol shall be final. Concessionaire may not rent personal watercraft while the Galveston Beach Patrol is flying a "red flag" due to dangerous surf, high winds, or strong currents.

(h)

Concessionaire shall abide by all federal and state and local statutory laws, ordinances, rules, regulations, and guidelines to include with particularity, those laws, rules, regulations and guidelines of the United States Coast Guard and the Texas Water Safety Act.

(i)

Concessionaires shall provide adequate instruction to all operators before renting personal watercraft. Before renting personal watercraft, concessionaire shall have the operator sign a statement detailing operator's understanding of all rules, regulations, city ordinances, and stated laws regarding the operation of personal watercraft. Such statement shall be approved by the city prior to concessionaire being issued a permit for operation.

(j)

All signage shall be the responsibility of the concessionaire and must comply with the City Code section 19-55.1, "Rules for Beach Temporary Concessionaires."

(k)

Concessionaire shall obtain concession agreement from the park board of trustees for each concession site.

(Ord. No. 01-031, § 11, 6-14-01; Ord. No. 07-026, § 5, 4-12-07; Ord. No. 09-037, § 2, 5-28-09; Ord. No. 17-039, §§ 2, 3, 6-22-17 )