A. Sunken vessels or watercraft shall be public nuisances. The owner of any sunken vessel or watercraft shall raise and remove the sunken vessel or watercraft within a reasonable time after the sinking of the vessel or watercraft. The time in which an owner shall have to remove the sunken vessel or watercraft shall be determined by the city, based on the circumstances surrounding the removal, including, but not limited to, weather, the difficulty of removal and the degree of the public nuisance. Failure to raise and remove a sunken vessel or watercraft within the time required by the city shall be a civil infraction. If the owner fails to remove the sunken vessel or watercraft, or if the owner cannot be ascertained, the city may remove the vessel or watercraft and dispose of the vessel or watercraft and its contents in accordance with Chapter 6.32 RCW.

B. Any vessel or watercraft dragging its anchor or mooring in such a manner as to impede navigation or endanger other vessels or improvements shall be considered a nuisance. If the owner fails to secure the dragging vessel or watercraft, or if the owner cannot be ascertained, the city may remove the vessel or watercraft and dispose of the vessel or watercraft and its contents in accordance with Chapter 6.32 RCW.

C. Abandoned floats, buoys and all other structures used for the purpose of anchoring or mooring vessels or watercraft of any kind shall constitute public nuisances. For the purpose of this section, a float or buoy is “abandoned” if it is not registered with the Department of Natural Resources and has not been used for more than 30 consecutive days. Any person causing or permitting such nuisances to be placed in the waters within the city’s jurisdiction shall be deemed to have committed a civil infraction and shall immediately remove such nuisances. If the person or persons causing or permitting such nuisances cannot be ascertained or located, the city may remove, or cause to be removed, the nuisances. The methods for disposing of the abandoned floats or buoys shall be governed by the provisions of Chapter 6.32 RCW.

D. Except as permitted by BIMC 12.24.115, any vessel or watercraft that is left unattended in the Waterfront Park harbor, whether at a city boat dock, linear moorage, or otherwise, for a period exceeding 48 hours shall constitute a public nuisance and the owner of such vessel or watercraft shall be deemed to have committed a civil infraction. The city may remove or cause to be removed these nuisances as provided in BIMC 12.24.050. (Ord. 2007-01 § 3, 2007: Ord. 98-47 § 3, 1999; Ord. 96-33 § 3, 1996; Ord. 87-12 § 4, 1987; Ord. 81-17 § 4, 1981)