The date for the anticipated special election on limiting cruise traffic in Sitka has been moved back two days, from May 30 to May 28.
The city’s decision to move the date comes after the group sponsoring the ballot initiative, Small Town SOUL, questioned the city’s legal interpretation of the charter when setting the date for the election.
After SOUL raised its concerns, Municipal Clerk Sara Peterson told KCAW that she asked the city’s attorney, Rachel Jones, for a second legal review, to determine if they should reset the date. After digging into election case law, Jones determined that May 30 was indeed too late. When considering the new legal interpretation of the charter and city code requirements, Peterson now had a very small handful of dates to choose from, ultimately landing on May 28.
If approved by the voters, the ballot initiative would set an annual cap of 300,000 cruise passengers, a daily cap of 4,500, and limit port calls to six days a week. It would also require the city to administer permits and fine cruise ships for violating the new rules.
When the Sitka Assembly met on Tuesday (3-18-25), it approved, on first reading, the special election ballot initiative with the May 28 date. It will come before the assembly for a final reading at its regular meeting on March 25.
