Juneau Assembly introduced ordinance to allow for subport cruise ship dock. Public can comment Feb. 28 & March 14.

The Juneau public will have two opportunities to provide public comment on an ordinance amending the Long Range Waterfront Plan to allow for the creation of a cruise ship dock facility at the subport in Downtown Juneau. The City and Borough of Juneau Assembly introduced the ordinance Monday night and the public can testify on the ordinance during the February 28 Regular Assembly Meeting and again during the March 14 Regular Assembly Meeting when the ordinance will be up for public hearing.

While this ordinance allows for a cruise ship dock, it does not guarantee that one will be permitted or will be allowed to be constructed. Rather, the ordinance allows for a dock proposal to go through a complete public process and is the first of several permitting decisions the Juneau Assembly and Planning Commission must make regarding Norwegian Cruise Lines’ proposed development at the subport.

How to read the ordinance

The introduced ordinance, which is seven pages, includes the actual amendment language to the Long Range Waterfront Plan on pages 1 – 4. The amended language would allow for the creation of a dock facility at the subport capable of accommodating one large cruise ship as well as docking facilities for U.S. Coast Guard and NOAA vessels.

The ordinance, on pages 5 – 7, adds an Appendix B to the Long Range Waterfront Plan. The appendix includes two things:

• Page 5 lists the recommended criteria – established by CBJ’s Visitor Industry Task Force – for constructing a cruise ship dock at the subport.
• The Long Range Waterfront Plan, as is, establishes a framework for amendment. Pages 6 – 7 of the ordinance describes how aspects of the framework have been met.

How to provide public comment

Details on providing public comment at the February 28 Regular Assembly Meeting are here; details for the March 14 Assembly meeting are forthcoming. In the meantime, the public can email their comments in advance of the meetings to [email protected].

Learn more about the ordinance

• Read the ordinance and associated documents here.
• CBJ held a public meeting on the Long Range Waterfront Plan amendment on January 11.  Review the presentation slides here.
• CBJ accepted written comments through January 31. Read the comments here.
• Read the current Long Range Waterfront Plan, developed in 2004.
• The amendment in the ordinance is based on a recommendation of the Visitor Industry Task Force. Go to the VITF website and read the final report.
• More details can be found at juneau.org/tourism.

For more information, contact CBJ Tourism Manager Alexandra Pierce at [email protected] or 907-500-8677.