Help us bring sustainable living to Connecticut!   Connecticut Community Boating is a 501c3 charity dedicated to ensuring no child is left ashore. We have taught more than 5000 people to sail for FREE in the last seven years.   We were working to create a floating boathouse that we originally were working towards so we might have a place to store our gear and would have a floating office and classroom in a spot that is otherwise undevelopable. It has sat unused for the last 100 years because it is so unusable.    The CT Dept of Energy and Environmental Protection in our state came down on us like a ton of bricks threatening legal action if we did not haul the 20 ton "dock" from the water immediately. We explained to them that in fact it was a vessel, registered under State law and inspected by the USCG, and hauling a 20 ton concrete vessel with a 16'X24'' house on it is not as easy as "just haul it".  They said, "that does not obviate the need to acquire a structures and dredge permit" which they have refused to issue from the start.   So what to do??   Soon thereafter,  we learned that the City of Bridgeport where we are located, buoyed by the stance of the Connecticut DEEP, issued a Notice to Quit saying they would illegally seize our vessels (we have a fleet of sail boats) and our docks (we have a 60' floating dock) and all our moorings, (we have two dozen mushrooms anchors) as well as evict us from the federal/state dock permit we hold for the facility we call the Bridgeport Boat Basin.    This has lead understandably to a very LOUD and public battle in the news around here and one that is happening Natonwide. We intend to take this issue to the US Supremes if we have to as this is a fundamental right of every American to live on the water if they chose. We have retained pro bono counsel and have a case filed for a temporary injunction against the City in the appellate court.    Originally, this was supposed to just be our little facility, but as history has proven out, thi issue is much broarder with Homes in Florida, Seattle and most recently in Lake Mead being threatened and in some cases being evicted from their homes by the hand of Governement officials.

 We want to bring Floating Homes back to Connecticut and prtotect homes across the US, andneed all the help we can get. I would like to ask for your assistance.   If you think Off-grid, sustainable, floating homes are a way Coastal residents can live affordably in this declining economy, with rising sea levels, increasing costs for construction and limited shore front property, I ask you to sign this petition. 

Thank you Capt. Chris German

For More information about our efforts, including a view of documents associated with our claims, please view our website www.ctcommunityboating.org