The Port and Harbor Advisory Committee on March 24 unanimously recommended to the Haines Borough Assembly to allow limited commercial vessel storage in the Small Boat Harbor parking lot during the off-season.
The proposal is to allow storage of 10 commercial fishing boats in the four-acre lot along the waterfront that was built in 2020 with state sportfish funding.
Per the proposal, which harbormaster Shawn Bell said he worked out with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, boats could be stored in the lot between September and May. Stored vessels would need to be under 40 feet long.
The storage couldn’t interfere with recreational use of the lot or boat launch, and the borough would be financially liable for any damage caused by storage.
Harbor board members at past meetings voiced concern that commercial vessel storage might violate terms of the agreement between the borough and state, which funded construction of the lot using sportfish money.
At a Jan. 27 port and harbor meeting Bell said the borough would allow long-term boat storage at Letnikof Cove and only short-term storage for immediate repairs at the downtown harbor lot. But on March 24, Bell said commercial storage could be allowed under certain conditions.
“We would have to sign an agreement form to be added to the (Fish and Game) grant,” Bell said.
Longtime commercial fisherman Bill Thomas criticized what he perceived as the committee’s “anti-commercial” attitude, saying the 10-boat limit was too low. He previously testified that Letnikof wasn’t a good option for commercial vessel storage due to its distance from the harbor and lack of police supervision.
The size of the harbor lot was debated six years ago during public discussions about the borough’s harbor expansion project. Some community members worried the pavement would sit empty for most of the year and would damage the aesthetics of the waterfront.
The borough assembly meeting will take up the issue of using the lot for vessel storage at its next meeting, on April 12. The next port and harbor committee meeting is April 28.