Planning commission backs ordinance to fix signage enforcement, limits lit signs during cruise season

The Planning and Zoning Commission voted 4-0 on March 25 to direct municipal staff to draft a resolution recommending Ordinance 25-01 to the Skagway Assembly. The ordinance would amend Title 19 to repair an unenforceable provision in chapter 19.04, define “internally lit” signs (for example neon and LED), clarify enforcement procedures for sign violations, and (originally) tie permitted sign colors in the historic district to the municipality’s historic paint palette.

The measure matters because the code as written contains circular references that municipal staff said make enforcement impossible; the proposed changes aim to restore an enforceable citation process and create a clear appeals path. During the meeting commissioners also adopted three amendments to the recommendation: a seasonal prohibition on internally lit signs from the first cruise ship to the last cruise ship of the season; a matching prohibition on rope/string/window lights for the same period; and removal of the proposed sign-color restriction from the draft resolution.

Carol Borsey, a liquor‑store owner who addressed the commission during the public hearing, said she relies on several internally lit fixtures that have been in her store decades and worried the change would impede business in the darker months. “I have internally lit signs that I've had in the liquor store for over 20 years,” Borsey said, noting she uses internally lit “open” signs and lit coolers to indicate when her business is open in winter.

A permitting official told the commission the central purpose of the ordinance is to repair a 2014 code rewrite that, as currently written, references itself and therefore is unenforceable. “When we read it, it was referring to itself, so it basically made it impossible for this section of the code to be enforced,” the permitting official said. The staff explanation said the draft also creates daily fines for ongoing violations and a simple appeals process run through the borough manager.

Charity, speaking as a member of the Historic District Commission, said the commission’s concern is preserving the appearance that supported Skagway’s national historic‑landmark designation. “The whole point of the signage is to keep Skagway compliant with everything that it signed up for when we became designated as a national historic landmark,” Charity said, arguing that bright neon and running LED signs compete with the historic streetscape and risk the district’s integrity.

Assemblymember Clotte, who described the ordinance’s route to the Planning and Zoning Commission, said Ordinance 25‑01 originated in Civic Affairs and passed first reading by the assembly on March 6. “Ordinance 25‑01 came from civic affairs and passed first reading by assembly on March 6,” Clotte said, adding that the amendment will correct the enforcement language in 19.04 that was broken by an earlier rewrite and will bring related updates before second reading.

On motions and amendments: the commission’s initial motion — to direct staff to draft a resolution recommending Ordinance 25‑01 to the assembly — passed 4‑0. Commissioners then approved an amendment to prohibit internally lit signs from the first cruise ship to the last cruise ship of the season (4‑0) and a separate amendment to prohibit rope/string/window lights during the same timeframe (4‑0). The commission also voted 4‑0 to strike the proposed sign‑color requirement from the draft resolution; commissioners said they were reluctant to make color rules for signs more restrictive than existing building paint‑palette rules.

The commission’s action is a recommendation to staff; the ordinance will return for the commission’s review of the drafted resolution and then go back to the assembly for final action at second reading. The permitting official noted that certain legally required notices and regulatory signs remain exempt from any prohibition in the code.

Votes at a glance - Motion to direct staff to draft a resolution recommending Ordinance 25‑01 to the assembly: Passed 4‑0 (Silva — yes; Kern — yes; Outkaup — yes; Maybe — yes). - Amendment: internally lit signs prohibited from first to last cruise ship of season: Passed 4‑0 (Silva — yes; Kern — yes; Outkaup — yes; Maybe — yes). - Amendment: rope/string/window lights prohibited from first to last cruise ship of season: Passed 4‑0 (Silva — yes; Kern — yes; Outkaup — yes; Maybe — yes). - Amendment: strike sign color requirement from the resolution: Passed 4‑0 (Silva — yes; Kern — yes; Outkaup — yes; Maybe — yes).

Next steps: staff will draft the recommended resolution incorporating the commission’s amendments; the draft will return to the Planning and Zoning Commission and then to the assembly for second reading and possible adoption.