Dock and Pier Permits in Stonington Borough, CT

Two Governments, Not One: Why This Matters for Your Project

Most towns on this site have a single municipal zoning authority to work with. Stonington Borough is different, and it is worth being explicit about it rather than assuming the Town of Stonington's rules automatically apply here. The Borough is a distinct, separately incorporated unit of local government inside the Town of Stonington, with its own elected Warden (currently Michael Schefers) and its own Clerk-Treasurer and Assessor (currently Lisa Coleman). It maintains its own Planning & Zoning Commission and its own zoning regulations, which are separate from the Town of Stonington's zoning regulations that govern the rest of the town.

For a dock or pier project, that means the first real question is not "what does Connecticut require" but "which government's zoning applies to my specific parcel, and what does the Borough's own Planning & Zoning Commission require on top of it." This page cannot answer that for any individual property -- parcel-specific zoning determinations change, and this page will not guess. Confirm directly with the Borough's own offices, currently under Warden Michael Schefers and Clerk-Treasurer/Assessor Lisa Coleman, before assuming either the Town's or the Borough's rules apply.

State and Federal Permitting Sits on Top of Borough Zoning

Borough approval is very unlikely to be the only permit a dock or pier project needs. Any structure built in or over tidal, coastal, or navigable waters in Connecticut is also subject to review by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, through its Office of Long Island Sound Programs, and by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which regulates structures in navigable waters nationwide. That state and federal layer applies regardless of municipality -- it is not unique to Stonington Borough -- but it is additive here, not a substitute for the Borough's own zoning review.

This page deliberately does not publish a specific permit fee schedule, application timeline, or list of required drawings for any of these agencies, because none of that was confirmed in the research behind this page and fee schedules and procedural requirements change. For current requirements, go directly to the Connecticut DEEP Office of Long Island Sound Programs and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and pair that with a direct conversation with the Borough's own Planning & Zoning Commission before drawing up plans or budgeting for a project.

A Genuinely Exposed, Tidal Setting

The geography here is not incidental to the permitting question -- it is a big part of why the process is layered the way it is. Stonington Borough occupies a small peninsula, roughly half water within its 0.7 square miles, extending into Fishers Island Sound and Little Narragansett Bay, with Stonington Harbor forming its sheltered inner side. Little Narragansett Bay itself is formed by the Pawcatuck River, which marks the Connecticut/Rhode Island state line, and is sheltered by Napatree Point across that line in Watch Hill, Rhode Island. Any dock or pier here sits in a genuinely exposed tidal-water environment, not a quiet inland pond, which is part of why both Borough zoning and state/federal coastal permitting exist in the first place.

This page does not state a specific tidal range figure for Stonington Harbor, because no confirmed current figure was found in the research behind this page. A marine contractor, surveyor, or the permitting agencies themselves can provide accurate, site-specific tidal and flood data for a given parcel.

Existing Marina and Boatyard Infrastructure, as Scale Context

It helps to understand the scale of what already exists on this harbor before evaluating a private dock or pier project, even though none of the following is presented as a model for residential permitting. Don's Dock, just north of the Borough's shopping district on Water Street, offers roughly 200 slips plus moorings in Stonington Harbor for larger vessels. Dodson Boatyard maintains roughly 110 moorings, with 35 technicians and an on-site yacht broker providing full-service maintenance. Coveside Marina serves vessels up to 46 feet, also with full-service maintenance and off-season storage. That is a working harbor built out at commercial scale, and it is a useful reference point for understanding how developed this waterfront already is -- though it says nothing about what any individual residential dock or pier permit would look like.

This Is a Working Fishing Harbor, Not a Purely Recreational One

Anyone planning a private dock or pier here should understand that they are sharing the harbor with Connecticut's last commercial fishing fleet, operated by Empire Fisheries and others, out of this same harbor infrastructure. A 2021-dated snapshot counted roughly 10 fishing and scallop boats plus 8 lobster boats; a more recent October 2025 snapshot counted 7 active lobster boats plus 1 based in New London. Those two counts are dated snapshots, not a current fleet size -- the actual number of working boats on any given day will vary. The point that carries forward regardless of the exact count is that this is a genuine working harbor with active commercial vessel traffic, not a purely recreational marina setting, and that reality is worth factoring into how a dock or pier owner thinks about navigation, moorings, and harbor etiquette.

Flood and Storm Context for Construction Standards

Coastal Connecticut has real storm exposure, and it is worth understanding before building or replacing a dock or pier rather than after. During Hurricane Irene in 2011, the Borough saw a mandatory evacuation, roughly 21 houses boarded up, and roughly 40 boats hauled out of the water for protection -- a dated but real account of how seriously this harbor takes storm preparation. The far more destructive 1938 hurricane's dramatic damage at Napatree Point happened across the state line in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, not in the Borough itself -- useful regional context, but not a Borough-specific event, and it should not be conflated with Stonington Borough's own storm history.

Neither of those two storms tells a dock or pier owner what current floodplain requirements or construction standards apply to a new or replacement structure today. Confirm current floodplain and construction requirements directly with the Borough's own building and zoning office before finalizing any dock or pier design.

What This Means If You Are Planning a Dock or Pier Here

The honest summary is that a dock or pier project in Stonington Borough runs through more layers of government than a typical single-town waterfront project: the Borough's own Planning & Zoning Commission and zoning regulations, separate from the Town of Stonington's; Connecticut DEEP's Office of Long Island Sound Programs; and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. None of those layers can be skipped by assuming the others cover it, and this page does not know which specific rules apply to any individual parcel.

What this page deliberately does not invent: current permit fees, application timelines, tidal range figures, or construction cost estimates for any dock or pier project here -- none of that was confirmed in the research behind this page. Before committing to a design or a budget, confirm current requirements directly with the Borough's own Planning & Zoning Commission (currently under Warden Michael Schefers and Clerk-Treasurer/Assessor Lisa Coleman), the Connecticut DEEP Office of Long Island Sound Programs, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This page is independent research, not professional, legal, or engineering advice -- consult a licensed marine contractor, surveyor, or attorney familiar with Connecticut coastal permitting for guidance specific to your property.