The Petersburg Borough Assembly tonight, Feb. 17, will decide whether or not to raise harbor fees.
Passing the ordinance for a third and final time would increase wide-ranging fees for using the town’s harbors, starting in March.
Harbor fees were last increased in 2022. Petersburg’s harbor department and local harbor and ports advisory board recommend the increase to “bring harbor revenues in line with expenses,” according to the ordinance’s language.
The Assembly will also take a final vote on an ordinance to vacate a right of way on Seventh Street, near the corner of Gauffin Street and Aaslaug Street. It would convey the strip of land to the Borough and combine it with the adjacent land to create a sellable lot on Lake Street. The Borough intends to sell it for residential development.
The Assembly is also considering whether to zone a parcel off Dock Street near the U.S. Coast Guard float in Petersburg. This borough-owned tidelands parcel is currently not zoned, and would be zoned Industrial, within the Marine Industrial Overlay zone subdistrict.
Property zoning laws regulate how an area can be used. The Assembly adopted the marine industrial overlay zoning law last year as a way to make sure Petersburg’s industrial waterfront property is used for marine purposes.
American Cruise Lines has applied to lease the parcel from the Borough to build a gangway and mooring float to have a guaranteed space to dock its small cruise ships during the summer. The Borough is currently negotiating the lease contract terms with the company for the parcel. Zoning this portion of tidelands would help the Borough control its use. The Assembly voted in favor of zoning the parcel for the first time on Feb. 2.
Because it is the second time the Assembly is considering this ordinance, there will be a public hearing tonight during the assembly meeting for community members to share their thoughts about it.
KFSK will broadcast the assembly meeting live at 6:00 p.m.
Recordings of past meetings are available here: KFSK’s Borough Assembly archive.
