Sitka, Alaska Rejects Third Petition to Cap Cruise Passenger Numbers

A proposed ballot initiative to limit cruise traffic in Sitka was denied last week. The initiative, petitioned by Small Town SOUL, sought to cap annual cruise visitors at 300,000 and daily passengers at 4,500.

Sitka’s municipal clerk and legal department examined the request and offered their recommendations. According to the city’s legal team, Michael Gatti and Taylor McMahon, the initiative was unenforceable, citing “misleading, confusing, and incomplete” terms.

Their response also mentioned that the request violates the United States Constitution’s “tonnage clause,” which prohibits charging vessels fees for using navigable waterways without providing a service.

Concerned stakeholders also submitted letters challenging the proposal. Juneau-based media outlet KTOO reported that the city received letters from the Sitka Dock Company, tour operator Allen Marine, and Royal Caribbean. Many of them stated that the proposed restrictions violate federal law, specifically the right to travel and the US Constitution’s “commerce clause.”

Gatti claimed that constitutionality is still too early to be considered. He wrote in the document, “Opponents of the proposed ordinance have raised certain constitutional challenges: citing the Commerce Clause, the Constitutional Right to Travel, the Takings Clause, and the Admiralty Clause. However, it is premature to address these arguments at this stage.” “The constitutionality of an initiative may be reviewed either before it goes to the voters or after it is enacted,” he added.

Too Soon to File Another Petition?

Additionally, the letters remarked on the frequency of the group’s appeals. Local regulations dictate that denied petitions must wait an entire year before a similar request is submitted, as long as the rejection wasn’t due to insufficient signatures. 

Last September, a group of residents applied for a petition to allow citizens to vote on passenger limits, which the city rejected in October.

However, Gatti reasoned that the guideline refers to the actual petition, not the request for one.

In Juneau, the municipal government and the cruise industry agreed to introduce passenger limits, although the exact numbers haven’t been announced.