The “Cruise Ship Limits” petition in Juneau, restricting the number of daily cruise ship passengers and shortening the cruise season, did not collect enough signatures to appear on the fall 2025 municipal election ballot.
Karla Hart, the petition’s sponsor, needed at least 2,720 valid signatures from registered voters by the May 19 deadline, but the petition fell short.
Hart was able to get enough signatures for last year’s “Ship-Free Saturday” petition, but that measure ended up failing during the October municipal election, with 59% of voters disapproving it.
The petition that has now failed would have created a similar citizen-mandated ordinance that would limit cruise ship passengers disembarking in Juneau to 12,000 per day, except for ships with fewer than 200 passengers. It would shorten the cruise ship season to May 1 through Sept. 30, prohibiting ships from visiting for seven months out of the year. Now, ships typically arrive in mid-April and end their season in mid-October, but the “shoulder seasons” have minimal impact on the city due to lower numbers. There was no language in this petition to ban ships on Saturdays.
In Sitka, a special election is under way to determine if there should be limits on cruise ships. That election is in the early voting phase and ends on May 28. It seeks to limit cruise ships that have over 250 passengers, as well as restrict cruise ships from the port before May 1 and after Sept. 30. Ships would be limited to six days a week. The initiative would cap daily cruise ship passengers at 4,500 and annual passengers at 300,000 per cruise season. There are other provisions involving scheduling, permitting, reporting, and enforcement.
This will never be over as long as Hart remains in Juneau.
For whatever reason, this is the hill she wants to “die on”.