On Sunday, March 1, changes to Haines tourism code reached their sunset date without replacement provisions in place.

Last year, the Haines Borough Assembly added the sunset provision at the end of the tourism code revision process with the intention of passing a new ordinance by the time the old code expired. However, this spring, the Tourism Advisory Board (TAB) requested that the assembly extend the sunset date to April 30 to give members more time to work on a final set of recommendations. The extension was listed on the assembly’s agenda for last week, but the meeting was canceled.

Though the old code expired on Sunday, the assembly will be able to retroactively extend it at their next meeting on March 10, Haines Borough clerk Alekka Fullerton said.

Last year’s changes were largely “clean-up changes which codified policy,” Fullerton said. The only substantial changes that expired on Sunday were changes to the price of tour permits and reporting requirements. She said it is unlikely that the unintended expiration of tourism code changes will have any material impact. It is unlikely that any tour permits will be processed between March 2 and 10, and the due date for reporting customer numbers is Nov. 1.

TAB members are continuing to work on finalizing recommendations before the anticipated deadline of April 30.

At present, these recommendations include: a flat $250 fee for tour permit applications, preservation of the public hearing requirement for new tour permit applications and a new definition of “commercial tour” that preserves exemptions for multi-day tours and guided hunting trips.

Hearing requirements for expanded tour applications were discussed at the board’s meeting last week. Currently, Haines code says that a tour permit application that “proposes to expand the capacity of an existing tour” must go through the public hearing process required for all new permits. TAB members agreed that while the community wants a voice in regulating tour expansion, a tour that expands by a small amount (from 250 to 253 people, for example) should not trigger a hearing.

Member Sean Gaffney said there needs to be fair, uniform criteria in code for what triggers a public hearing for an expanded tour.

Fullerton used a business contract as an example. If material changes were made to a contract, both parties would want the opportunity to revisit the contract.

TAB settled on a recommendation that would require tour permit applicants to estimate the maximum number of customers their tour will serve on a daily basis. If a tour exceeds their daily estimate by more than 10%, this would trigger the need for a new public hearing.

The board also discussed a section of code that lists the reasons a borough manager can revoke or suspend a permit. Members took issue with provisions allowing revocation or suspension “upon a determination that the operation of the permittee is causing a hazard or a disruption of pedestrian or vehicular traffic” or upon determination “that the area affected by the permit is required for another public purpose or for other reasons affecting the public safety and welfare.”

There could be circumstances under which a hazard is created after a permit was issued that would require permit suspension or a new set of requirements for the permit holder, Fullerton said, explaining the reasoning behind the provisions. She listed a mudslide cutting off road access as an example.

Members asked Fullerton to work on language that would replace the existing provisions with a general clause allowing the borough manager to change the terms of a permit to adjust to unforeseen circumstances threatening public safety. The board requested that Fullerton also work on a definition for multi-day tours that would exempt them from obtaining a tour permit but would still require that operators obtain a business license and report annual customer numbers.

TAB members also voted to retract their recommendation to move the heli-ski season start date to December. “It turns out the industry doesn’t really care and others didn’t like it, so there’s no real reason for TAB to push it,” chair Andy Hedden said. Heli-ski season currently begins on Feb. 1.

TAB’s finalized recommendations will be forwarded to the assembly along with recommendations from other advisory committees and borough staff. Fullerton said she thought it was likely borough staff recommendations would align with TAB recommendations on most topics, except for the public hearing requirement for tour permits. At previous meetings, Fullerton had said it was important to make changes to hearing requirements to lessen the burden on borough administration and permit applicants.

TAB hopes to finalize its recommendations this month to allow time for the assembly to pass an ordinance before the anticipated April 30 deadline.

During an update provided to TAB, tourism director Steven Auch said that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCCL) executives will be in town this week to assess the viability of Haines as a destination. Auch said his visit to RCCL headquarters in Miami at the end of February had gone well and that the company had expressed a particular interest in Haines as a more authentic destination. RCCL’s visit to Haines on Thursday is part of a larger tour of Alaskan ports.

The Tourism Advisory Board will meet next Thursday to continue work on tourism code revisions.