City Ordinance Passes On Commercial Tours

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Category: News

Created on Thursday, 30 January 2025 15:22

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By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
    The Assembly voted Tuesday night to adopt on final reading an ordinance revising a permit system for commercial operators on city lands.
    The ordinance passed 6-0 with little debate and goes into effect November 1, in time for operators to apply for their permits that go into effect Jan. 1, 2026.
    The goals of the ordinance, planning staff said, are to streamline and modernize the permitting process for the 29 some companies that currently offer guided tours or other wilderness experiences on city land. Seventeen of those permits are for guided tours to Baranof Warm Springs on the Chatham Strait side of the City and Borough of Sitka.
    Another outlying recreational site covered by the ordinance is Goddard Hot Springs, 16 miles south of town. City recreational lands that receive substantial commercial recreation use include the Thimbleberry and Heart Lake trails, Swan Lake, and Herring Cove/Beaver Lake.
    Parks and Rec coordinator Kevin Knox said today the number of permits has been growing in recent years in line with growth in the local tourism industry. From 2009 and 2022 the average number of permits per year was six. That number rose to 10 in 2023, and to 29 in 2024.
    The Sitka Tourism Task Force, after hearing concerns about increased commercial uses on city recreational lands, recommended examining the overall use of the city’s trail system by commercial operators, and preserving local enjoyment of city recreational assets.
    The ordinance was on track to pass late last year, in time to go into effect for the 2025 season. But at the Dec. 17 meeting the Assembly agreed to look more closely at the ordinance, give the public more time to review, and put off implementation for a year.
    The Assembly heard from a few members of the public, including High Output Tours owner Bethany Lowrance, who asked the Assembly to consider eliminating the requirement for a city badge, since many companies have uniforms and badges already. She also asked for the implementation date to be moved up to October 1, to give commercial operators more time to apply for a Jan. 1, 2026, permit.
    Also from the public, Valorie Nelson spoke against the ordinance, expressing concerns about fees, limits on capacity and permit requirements that could lead to limiting her own access to city recreational sites.
    Parks and Rec Committee member Ben Hughey, who is director of Sitka Trail Works, spoke in favor, commenting that in his opinion the current process for granting permits doesn’t work well. He said there’s a need to find a balance.
    “I do believe we can really successfully coexist between commercial outfitters and recreational use of our trails, especially given the scheduling of many of those activities,” he said. “There was a lot of public input in this, and the city staff worked really hard, and I’m looking forward to seeing reforms.”
    The Planning Department, Parks and Rec staff and Parks and Rec Committee have been working for about a year on the ordinance to revise the permit process.
    Knox said today he was pleased to see the ordinance pass without changes, and now he’s looking forward to the next step: Assembly approval of a commercial recreational land use plan. That plan would provide guidance on capacity and set other use limits on commercial use of city property, and be used in determining whether a permit is granted.
    Under the current process, permit applications go to the Parks and Rec Committee for consideration at its monthly meetings. Recommendations to approve or deny a permit go to the city administrator, and are based on such considerations as whether there’s polluting or degrading of the environment, endangering public health, safety and welfare, and interference “with the use and enjoyment of the area by other members of the public.”