Harbor board recommends moving American Cruise Lines lease forward with borough-control caveats

The Petersburg Borough Harbor Board recommended advancing American Cruise Lines’ application to lease roughly 2,200 square feet of tidelands at the end of Dock Street, but the board added caveats requiring borough control language in the lease and a second review by the Harbor Board before terms are finalized.

Board members and staff said ACL initially sought a partnership but returned to the borough with a request to lease the south-side mooring float site after partnership talks proved costly and complex. "They came back to the table, with, proposing that they lease the property and build their own facility there," a staff member said when summarizing the history of negotiations.

Members discussed the difference between ownership and contractual control. "I think what the public really wants is control, and we can do that through the lease," staff said, explaining that lease provisions can grant the borough operational protections without transferring ownership.

Questions from board members focused on lease term, subleasing, adjacent users and engineering standards. Staff said borough ordinance sets standard long-term leases at 50 years and that leases are revisited every five years; the application requested 60 years but "it'll revert to 50 because that's the law of the land," staff said. The staff also said any sublease would require harbor approval and that adjacent property owners would receive formal notice and a plat showing exact boundaries.

Board members asked that any new float connection be engineered and ADA-compliant. "We want whatever they're building not to be...a scab together project," staff said, urging stamped engineering and clear maintenance responsibilities.

During debate a member proposed an amendment to the motion requiring language that the borough retain appropriate control in lease terms and that the final lease agreement return to the Harbor Board for an additional review. The amendment was moved, seconded and approved by roll-call vote.

The board did not finalize lease text at the meeting. Staff said, if the board’s recommendation is forwarded, borough staff will draft lease language and the assembly will conduct required public hearings and further action.

What happens next: borough staff will prepare lease draft language consistent with the board’s caveats and the application will proceed through public notice, platting and assembly-level review.