Plans to construct a fifth cruise ship dock in downtown Juneau crossed a major hurdle Monday night. That’s when the Juneau Assembly sided with a state ruling that the project could legally move forward, despite health and safety concerns brought forth by a local activist.
But, Assembly member Christine Woll explained that the Assembly’s vote to accept the ruling doesn’t mean the project has the Assembly’s full stamp of approval.
“Please do not interpret our decision tonight as a policy decision around the Huna Totem dock,” she said. “This decision tonight is simply about whether we are legally allowed to.”
The proposed floating steel dock would be located along the Gastineau Channel next to the U.S. Coast Guard station. The project is proposed by Huna Totem Corp, an Alaska Native village corporation.
Along with the dock, Huna Totem has also proposed underground bus and car parking at the site, retail space and a welcome center. They’ve named the project Aak’w Landing.
Norwegian Cruise Lines originally purchased the waterfront property in 2019 but gave it to Huna Totem in 2022.
Juneau resident Karla Hart filed the appeal challenging the Juneau planning commission’s permitting of the dock last summer. She’s a longtime activist who has been at the forefront of several recent attempts to slow down the growth of cruise ship tourism in Juneau.
“I don’t know what I expected when I originally filed it I just felt as if we didn’t have a fair public process in the very beginning and I think we need one,” she said.
The main arguments in her appeal were that building the cruise ship dock would endanger public health and safety and that it did not abide by the city’s existing plan for the downtown waterfront.
But the hearing officer with the State Office of Administrative Hearings ruled that the permitting of the proposed dock will not “materially endanger public health and safety” and that it generally conforms with the waterfront plan.
After the meeting on Monday, Hart said she won’t challenge the ruling, but she will continue to follow the project’s next steps as it goes through the Assembly.
“I think that it’s good that now we move on with the real community discussion on whether we have a dock or not,” she said.
The dock and waterfront development plan still has a long way to go before breaking ground. The Assembly needs to approve a lease of the city-owned tidelands before Huna Totem can build it.
Huna Totem’s president and CEO Russell Dick said he is excited for that process to begin.
“As far as the appeal that was filed this was the appropriate decision by the Assembly. I think the administrative law judge got it right and we’re ready to move on to the next step,” he said.
The Assembly is expected to take up that issue in the coming months.
