Stamford to Try Harbor Management

Stamford has decided to do what 18 other Connecticut communities have done and enact a harbor management plan, to give it more control over recreational, commercial and industrial activities. The Stamford Advocate gives a couple of examples of how it might help:

When a power company in 2003 proposed putting on barge-mounted gas turbine generator in the East Branch with an underwater cable that would deliver electricity to shore, the city had no authority to stop it, he said. State authorities rejected the plan.

A few years ago, when a barge moored offshore just in time for July 4 with a massive banner advertising a Web site, the city had no legal right to take action. The harbormaster, who reports to the state commissioner of transportation, did have the right to step in, Lyons said.