City attorney talks about extending ‘city limits out to the center of each river’ in New Bern.
New Bern Board of Aldermen adopted an additional article to Chapter 86 — “Waterways” of the Code of Ordinances on June 9, 2026, that “establishes rules and regulations to prohibit the abandonment of vessels in navigable waters within the city’s jurisdiction as permitted by North Carolina general statutes. It also allows us to find boat owners and is another tool on our belt when we do have abandoned boats that are within the city limits that we can address them in a quick manner,” according to City Manager Foster Hughes.
The meeting was held at City Hall in New Bern, NC.
The city manager told the board that they contact the Wildlife Resources Commission if a boat isn’t in the city limits. He also said the main channel of the Neuse (River) and the Trent River are not within the city limits.
City Attorney M. Scott Davis told the New Bern Board of Aldermen “We will be looking at extending the city limits out to the center of each river in areas where it’s not currently. There are places where we cross the river because we’re contiguous. There are places where we go to the center of the river, and there are places where we follow the shoreline. So, in places where we follow the shoreline, we’re going to push those limits out to the middle of the river. So, you’ll see that either in July or August in the agenda.”
He added, “I can’t recall the last time we’ve been able to find an owner.”
The city is also working on a river crossing under the river between Olde Towne and Kelso Road for the electric system.
Watch the full discussion here:
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The Board of Aldermen will meet on Aug. 11, 2026, at 8 a.m. in the second-floor courtroom at City Hall, according to the meeting schedule which is subject to change.
Video recordings are usually uploaded to City 3 TV, city’s Facebook page and/or YouTube channel. Meeting agendas and packets can be found here.
By Wendy Card, editor. Send an email with questions or comments.