§ 53.16. Special use.

 (a)  Property owned or controlled by the Commission is intended for use as is related to fishing, boating and other public purposes of the Commission. Except with the express written permission of the Executive Director or his designee, it is unlawful to use Commission-owned or -controlled property for personal, organizational or commercial purposes other than the intended use of the property.

 (b)  The Executive Director or a designee may issue special activity permits for special uses of Commission property to persons and organizations such as scout, church groups, fire and rescue organizations, Red Cross and like organiza-
tions, when it is determined that the use will not damage Commission property or interfere with its use for its normally intended purposes by members of the public. The sponsors of a special activity permitted to take place on Commission property shall have a copy of the permit issued under this authority in their possession during the activity or event and shall, upon request, display the permit to authorized Commission personnel.

 (c)  It is unlawful to launch or retrieve swimming aides, such as inner tubes, from Commission-owned or -controlled access areas.

 (d)  Commission-owned and -controlled access areas are for the use of the fishing and boating public and may not be converted to a commercial use that impairs free public use of the areas. The Commission finds that the commercial practice of renting or loaning large numbers of watercraft, including boats, canoes, kayaks and other devices, for launching and retrieval at Commission access areas does impair general free public use of the public facilities. It is unlawful for a commercial enterprise to use Commission-owned or -controlled access areas for the launch or retrieval of more than eight watercraft rented, loaned or supplied from one source within a 1 hour period except with the advance written approval of the Executive Director. The commercial enterprise that rents, loans or otherwise provides watercraft for launch or retrieval at Commission-owned or -controlled access areas shall be responsible to ensure that the watercraft are not used in violation of this subsection. This subsection does not apply to persons who operate an authorized concession at Commission-owned or -controlled access areas. As used in this subsection, the term ‘‘commercial enterprise’’ means a business that rents or loans watercraft for consideration.

   The provisions of this §  53.16 issued under the Fish and Boat Code, 30 Pa.C.S. § §  305, 322, 741, 928, 2102, 2307, 2711, 5122, 5123 and 5124.

   The provisions of this §  53.16 amended December 28, 1984, effective December 29, 1984, 14 Pa.B. 4691. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (87970).