Can a New York town outside the four counties listed in Town Law § 130(17) regulate the size and horsepower of motorboats on a lake within its borders?

Plain-English summary

Chenango Lake sits entirely within the Town of New Berlin, with the City of Norwich owning roughly 92% of the lakefront. The town attorney asked whether the town, the city, or Chenango County could regulate motorboat size and horsepower on the lake.

The AG worked through three separate statutory authorities and reached the same answer for each: the town cannot regulate motorboat size and horsepower without explicit state authorization.

Town Law § 130(17) authorizes towns to regulate the speed and to regulate and restrict the operation of vessels within 1,500 feet of shore. The same subsection authorizes regulation of anchoring, mooring, sewage, and garbage. But it limits regulation of "the size and horsepower of inboard and outboard motors" to towns in Westchester, Saratoga, Warren, and Suffolk counties. New Berlin is in Chenango County, not on that list.

The town asked whether it could supersede that limitation using its general home-rule power over the Town Law (Municipal Home Rule Law § 10(1)(ii)(d)(3)). The AG said no. Jurisdiction over New York's navigable waters belongs to the state (Navigation Law § 30; the Commissioner of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation has primary authority). The Legislature has delegated narrow and specific authority to local governments through Town Law § 130(17), Navigation Law § 46 (county vessel regulation zones), and Navigation Law § 46-a (city and village vessel-operation rules). Without a specific state grant, towns lack authority over navigable waters. Home-rule supersession cannot manufacture authority the state did not grant.

For the city and county, the AG addressed their possible roles. Navigation Law § 46 lets a county (or, if the county declines, a city or village) establish "vessel regulation zones" to set speed limits. Earlier AG opinions had read § 46 narrowly: it authorizes speed limits but not bans on types of vessels. Navigation Law § 46-a lets cities and villages regulate speed and operation within 1,500 feet of shore but, like Town Law § 130(17), does not expressly authorize size and horsepower limits. The legislative history of § 46-a (deriving from a 1935 Village Law provision) shows the same structural intent: when the Legislature wanted to permit motor-size regulation, it added that authority explicitly (as it did for the four-county subset).

The bottom line: the town can regulate the speed and operation of vessels but cannot limit motorboat size and horsepower. The path to such regulation runs through Albany, not town hall. The AG suggested the town consider proposing state legislation extending the § 130(17) motor-size authority to Chenango Lake or its town.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1997. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Why does the state keep such tight control of motorboat regulation?

Navigation Law § 30 declares jurisdiction over navigable waters a state function, primarily because waters often cross municipal boundaries and benefit from uniform rules. Recreational boating, commercial transport, and environmental protection all interact in ways the Legislature wanted to coordinate statewide. Delegations to localities are narrow by design.

What is a "vessel regulation zone" under Navigation Law § 46?

A defined area of a body of water within or adjacent to the municipality, within which the municipality may set speed limits for vessels to promote safety. The county may act first; if it does not, a city or village adjacent to the water may. The AG's prior opinions read § 46 as a speed-only tool, not a vessel-type or motor-size tool.

Could the City of Norwich, which owns most of the lakefront, restrict access?

That is a separate property-rights question. Municipal ownership of land bordering the lake does not by itself create municipal authority to regulate the navigable waters. The state retains that authority subject to its specific delegations.

What about the lake's status as not navigable?

The opinion treats Chenango Lake as a navigable water within the state's regulatory framework. New York's definition of "navigable" for these purposes is broader than the federal admiralty definition. Local counsel investigating any particular water body should confirm its status under state law.

Is there any path forward for residents who want quieter or smaller boats on the lake?

The opinion suggests state legislation. The town could draft a bill extending Town Law § 130(17)(1)(a)'s motor-size authority to Chenango County (or to Chenango Lake specifically) and persuade its legislative delegation to introduce it. The Navigation Law has been amended over the years to address particular bodies of water in just this way.

Background and statutory framework

NY Const Art IX, § 2(b)(10) authorizes the Legislature to enact special laws relating to particular local governments under certain conditions. Municipal Home Rule Law § 10(1)(ii)(d)(3) authorizes towns to supersede Town Law provisions when acting within home-rule scope, but only on subjects within home-rule authority.

Navigation Law § 30 vests primary jurisdiction over navigable waters in the state. Section 46 authorizes vessel regulation zones for speed limits. Section 46-a (deriving from a 1935 Village Law provision, L 1935 ch 346) authorizes city and village regulation of vessel speed and operation within 1,500 feet of shore.

Town Law § 130(17), derived from a 1938 Town Law amendment (L 1938 ch 309), authorizes towns to regulate vessel speed and operation within 1,500 feet of shore. The motor-size and horsepower authority is limited to towns in Westchester, Saratoga, Warren, and Suffolk counties.

Op Atty Gen (Inf) No. 84-53 confirmed the state's primary jurisdiction over navigable waters. Op Atty Gen (Inf) Nos. 94-26 and 83-75 held that vessel-regulation-zone authority under § 46 is a speed-limit power only, not a vessel-type ban power.

Citations

• NY Const Art IX, § 2(b)(10).
• Municipal Home Rule Law § 10(1)(ii)(d)(3).
• Navigation Law § 30, § 46, § 46-a.
• Town Law § 130, § 130(17).
• L 1935 Ch 346; L 1938 Ch 309.
• Op Atty Gen (Inf) Nos. 84-53; 94-26; 83-75.

Source

• Landing page: https://ag.ny.gov/libraries-documents/opinions/opinions-year
• Original PDF: https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/opinions/I_97-29_pw.pdf

Original opinion text

NY CONST, ART IX, § 2(b)(10); MUNICIPAL HOME RULE LAW
§ 10(1)(ii)(d)(3); NAVIGATION LAW §§ 46, 46-a; TOWN LAW § 130;
L 1938 CH 309; L 1935 CH 346.
The town may not enact a local law superseding Town Law
§ 130(17)(1)(a) to regulate the size and horsepower of motor boats
permitted upon Chenango Lake. It may regulate the speed of vessels
and regulate and restrict the operation of vessels upon any waters
within or bounding the town.
June 19, 1997

John D. Cameron, Esq.
Town Attorney
Town of New Berlin
P. O. Box E
New Berlin, NY 13411

Informal Opinion
No. 97-29

Dear Mr. Cameron:
You have asked a number of questions about the authority of
the Town of New Berlin, the City of Norwich and Chenango County to
regulate the operation of motor boats on Chenango Lake. You advise
that the lake is located entirely within the town and that the city
owns approximately 92% of the lakefront. You also have raised
other questions dealing with entirely separate matters to which we
will respond separately.
Town Law § 130 states that the town board, after a public
hearing, may enact, amend and repeal ordinances, rules and
regulations not inconsistent with law for a variety of purposes,
including regulating the operation of vessels upon waters within or
bounding the town. Section 130 authorizes the town board to
include provision for the issuance and revocation of permits, the
appointment of officers or employees to enforce such ordinances and
for the collection of any reasonable uniform fee in connection
therewith.
Subsection 130(17) on regulation of vessels authorizes a town,
except when prohibited by State or Federal law, to enact ordinances
[r]egulating the speed and regulating and
restricting the operation of vessels and, in
the counties of Westchester, Saratoga, Warren
and Suffolk the size and horsepower of inboard
and outboard motors, while being operated or
driven upon any waters within or bounding the
town to a distance of fifteen hundred feet
from the shore . . ..
Town Law § 130(17)(1)(a). The subsection also authorizes
regulations within fifteen hundred feet concerning anchoring or
mooring of vessels, including those used as living or sleeping
quarters, restricting and regulating sewage disposal and garbage

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removal from vessels, and designating public anchorage areas. Id. §
130(17)(1)(b), (c), (d) and (e).
This subsection authorizes the town to enact significant
regulations regarding motor boats within fifteen hundred feet of
shore, but it limits the authority to regulate the size and
horsepower of motor boats to towns in four designated counties.
You have asked whether Municipal Home Rule Law § 10(1)(ii)(d)(3)
permits the town to adopt a local law that supersedes Town Law
§ 130(17) and regulates the size and horsepower of motor boats
permitted to operate on Chenango Lake.
Municipal Home Rule Law § 10(1)(ii)(d)(3) authorizes towns to
enact local laws superseding the provisions of the Town Law on
subjects that fall within the towns' home rule powers, unless the
Legislature expressly prohibits adoption of local laws on a
particular subject. Jurisdiction over New York's navigable waters
is held by the State and specifically by the Commissioner of Parks,
Recreation and Historic Preservation. Navigation Law § 30; Op
Atty Gen (Inf) No. 84-53. Some powers over navigable waters have
been delegated to local authorities, but those grants are narrow
and specific.
The provisions of Town Law § 130(17) discussed above, for
example, give towns a precisely defined authority to regulate
certain activities on a portion of the State's navigable waters.
See also, Navigation Law §§ 46 and 46-a (which authorize counties
and other municipalities to establish vessel regulation zones for
limited purposes in defined circumstances); Navigation Law article
4 (which gives local enforcement officers the authority to enforce
certain specific provisions on particular lakes). It is our
opinion that without a specific grant of authority by the
Legislature, the town otherwise lacks the authority to regulate
navigable waters. Thus, we conclude that the town may not enact a
local law superseding Town Law § 130(17)(1)(a) to regulate the size
and horsepower of motor boats permitted upon Chenango Lake.
You also have asked about other municipalities' authority to
regulate the use of motor boats on the lake. Navigation Law § 46
provides that the governing body of a county, or, if the county
takes no action, the governing body of a city or incorporated
village may establish a "vessel regulation zone" for all or part of
a body of water within the county or for the part of a body of
water adjacent to a city or village. A governing body may
establish such a zone to promote the safety of the people and the
best interests of the municipality. The municipality may regulate
the speed of vessels within the zone. We previously have concluded
that the intent of this section was to authorize speed limits but
not to permit the ban of certain types of vessels or activities.
Op Atty Gen (Inf) Nos. 94-26; 83-75. Thus, this section does not
authorize the county or city to limit the size and horsepower of
motor boats operated on the lake.
Navigation Law § 46-a authorizes a city or village to adopt,
amend and enforce local laws, rules and regulations not

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inconsistent with State or Federal law to regulate the speed and
regulate and restrict the operation of vessels while being operated
or driven upon any waters within or bounding the city or village
within fifteen hundred feet of the shore. This provision also
authorizes regulation of the anchoring and mooring of vessels,
including those used for living or sleeping quarters, restriction
and regulation of garbage removal from such vessels, designation of
public anchorage areas and regulation of their use. Again, this
section does not expressly authorize regulation of the size and
horsepower of motor boats. Legislative history demonstrates that
the section was not intended to authorize such regulation. Section
46-a derives from a provision of the Village Law enacted in 1935.
L 1935 ch 346. The same language was used in a 1938 addition to
the Town Law which eventually became Town Law § 130(17), set forth
above. L 1938 ch 309. The language of the two provisions remains
similar. However, when the Legislature wished to empower towns in
specified counties to regulate the size and horsepower of motor
boats, it added a provision to section 130(17) making an express
authorization. If it had intended Navigation Law § 46-a to confer
a similar power, it would also have added an express authorization
to that provision. Since it did not, section 46-a cannot be read
to authorize regulation of the size and horsepower of motor boats.
See also, the discussion of vessel regulation zones above where we
also construed the authority to regulate speed as not including the
authority to ban types of vessels.
We note that the Town Law was amended to authorize regulation
of the size and horsepower of motors on boats in four counties.
The Navigation Law has been amended on numerous occasions to
establish regulations applicable on specific bodies of water.
Navigation Law §§ 44-a, et seq. You might consider proposing State
legislation to regulate boating on Chenango Lake.
The Attorney General renders formal opinions only to officers
and departments of State government. This perforce is an informal
and unofficial expression of the views of this office.
Very truly yours,
SIOBHAN S. CRARY
Assistant Attorney General