Vessels anchoring outside of Juneau’s harbors but within city waters will soon need a permit if they remain for more than 24 hours.
The Juneau Assembly approved the regulations crafted by the Docks and Harbors board. Most of the affected waters are 200 yards from the breakwater barriers at Juneau’s three harbors.
Juneau Port Director Carl Uchytil said the goal is to prevent boats from becoming a public nuisance or liability.
“We’re trying to be reasonable and understand that there are transient boaters that want to come through and use our tidelands and that’s exactly what we want to provide that resource,” Uchytil said after the vote. “We do not want to be wet storage for vessels that are evicted out of the harbors and have a place for safe anchorage.”
Deputy Mayor Jerry Nankervis cast the lone vote against approving the rules. He said he felt the language in the regulation should be returned to the Docks and Harbors board for fine-tuning. He was overruled. They go into effect in early March.
