Assembly in 5-4 vote opts to delay consideration of making five-ship limit mandatory rather than voluntary

Mark Sabbatini
8 hours ago
5 min read

Concern expressed as city attorney says lawsuit is certain if agreement with cruise industry turns into a law; supporters of change say it ensures the city controls ship limits

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

Making Juneau’s limit of five cruise ships a day a city ordinance rather than a voluntary agreement with the industry was put on hold by a 5-4 vote during a Juneau Assembly Committee of the Whole meeting on Monday night.

Supporters of the change said the limit has been popular among residents since it was imposed in 2024 and enforcing it via an ordinance will ensure the city, rather than the cruise industry, determines limits on traffic.

"We have seen the numbers from our surveys, that our community wants it to be Juneau that sets that limit of how much tourism, how does it grow?" said Christine Woll, one of three Assembly members proposing the ordinance. "The survey every year says the majority of people from Juneau really appreciate tourism and the majority of Juneau wants the city to do more to manage it."

Making the limit a mandate hasn’t been pursued before because Juneau and other cruise port cities were waiting for the outcome of a lawsuit in Maine involving the legality of local governments setting limits. A federal judge this May ruled the city of Bar Harbor can impose its limits of 1,000 passengers a day, but only during the peak months of July and August due to the extent of impacts during that peak period.

That limited ruling means the City and Borough of Juneau will have to justify a mandatory limit on cruise ships and/or passengers, according to City Attorney Emily Wright.

"Based on this case, the CBJ must comprehensively look at the burden versus the benefit of any legislation," she wrote in a memo provided to Assembly members before the meeting. "The Assembly should discuss whether there are less burdensome alternatives to legislation, and if you reject those less burdensome alternatives, you must explain why."

During Monday’s meeting, Wright also noted "I will say there is no scenario where you don’t get sued" and that she cannot predict the outcome of such a lawsuit.

Concern about disrupting a seemingly cooperative relationship with the cruise industry — which also has agreed to a daily passenger limit that began this year and other efforts to mitigate impacts — as well as the legal uncertainties were expressed by some Assembly members reluctant to move ahead on the mandate.

Mayor Beth Weldon proposed delaying consideration of the ordinance until recommendations are provided by a Visitor Industry Task Force, which was formed last December and is scheduled to present its findings to the Assembly this fall. She noted those recommendations may suggest additional "less burdensome" remedies that can resolve concerns residents may have without a legal fight.

"The (voluntary five-ship limit) is a less burdensome option because it's a voluntary compliance and so far it has worked," she said. "And they are agreeing with the five-ship limit. They're agreeing to the passenger caps. This year we will see the first time that they have arrived later and there's no hot berthing. So so far they're doing all right with us."

"I think data is going to be important on this and we can keep it in the back pocket in case one of (the cruise lines) doesn't play well with others," Weldon added.

Assembly Member Alicia Hughes-Skandijs, who along with Paul Kelly co-sponsored the proposed ordinance, said the task force’s list of issues to address didn’t include the five-ship limit — and in any case it’s a matter that should be decided by the Assembly after residents have had a chance to weigh in with comments.

"This is the first time we've talked about legislating limits and had a draft of an ordinance that we could put before the public, and hear what the public thinks about that, and hear whether they think it's a good time to do that," she said.

Ella Adkison, an Assembly member who chairs the tourism task force, said she also favored advancing the ordinance to the full Assembly for public comment and consideration given the ruling in the Maine lawsuit.

"Now we have the opportunity to make this very popular public good ironclad and we're hesitating, and that seems to me like we were just wanting to kick the can down the road, like we’re not wanting to make this official," she said. "We regulate every other industry. This is another industry, and this is something that everyone has agreed upon and has been time-tested."

Among the Assembly members supporting the motion to wait for the task force’s recommendations was Maureen Hall, who said "it'd be good to be able to have these conversations in a collaborative instead of more combative role."

"I get that we can do this one-sided — the Assembly with several folks weighing in from the community — but we still need both parties to show up for our negotiations over the use of passenger funds," she said. "And I'm not saying we're bowing in to the industry. I'm saying I think we have a lot to gain by continuing with collaboration. So I would prefer to wait until we have more of the data, particularly the impact on the hospital."

Assembly Member Neil Steininger also supported the delay, saying Assembly members should have more information, including the task force’s recommendations, before deciding on the mandate given its significant legal implications.

"I don't want to waste a lot of money on attorney work if we haven't done the homework ourselves before we jump into a decision," he said.

Hughes-Skandijs said she believes if the ordinance were to pass immediately that city officials will still be able to quickly gather information from Bartlett Regional Hospital, Capital City Fire/Rescue and other local entities to show sufficient impacts to justify the mandate. Also, she said, if the Assembly doesn’t act on imposing mandatory limits she anticipates residents may attempt to do so through a citizens’ initiative.

"I would welcome it at that point and I would probably help it as a community member myself," said Hughes-Skandijs, who announced earlier this year she is not seeking a third term in the Oct. 6 municipal election.

Attending Monday’s meeting was Karla Hart, who is running for Assembly this year and has in past years helped lead unsuccessful ballot measures imposing cruise tourism limits. She said after the meeting she knows potential future measures have been discussed among like-minded supporters, but no specific proposal exists and she has no plans to pursue another ballot measure.

Among the future questions about the five-ship limit is whether it would apply to a two-ship private cruise port Goldbelt Inc. is proposing on land it owns along the west coast of Douglas Island. Concerns are being expressed about either possibility. Downtown businesses are worrying about having three ships instead of five each day at nearby docks. Some residents, meanwhile, are objecting to the impacts of seven daily ships bringing well over 2 million passengers to Juneau each season.

Woll noted the ordinance wouldn’t affect Goldbelt’s proposed project since "this would be the exact same policy that we currently have in place," and the mandate wouldn’t be permanent since it could be modified by the Assembly in the future.

Deputy Mayor Greg Smith, who presided over the meeting and cast the final decisive vote in favor of waiting for the task force’s recommendations, said he doesn’t want to disrupt the existing voluntary limits since they seem to be working.

"We are seemingly effectively negotiating and discussing, and having a positive relationship with the cruise lines, which I think is a good thing," he said. "If we're at war it will be messy for everyone. I guess I'm kind of like don't kick the dog if it's not misbehaving."

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.