The port commission has started work on a proposed ordinance intended to solve the problem of inactive vessels taking up moorage space while a growing waitlist strains harbor capacity.

Commissioners discussed the idea at their Sept. 4 meeting. Harbormaster Steve Miller said there are about 25 to 30 boats waiting for moorage space, prompting the look at new rules.

Inactive vessels taking up space is an ongoing problem, Miller reported to the commission.

Harbor staff “have been working diligently to address vessels that have been identified as potential sinking hazards or that have remained inactive in their stalls for more than one year. To date, we have issued letters to 12 vessel owners whose boats raise these concerns,” Miller reported.

“It is critical that inactive or unsafe vessels are either brought into compliance or removed from the harbor.”

In a summary statement for the port commission, Miller wrote: “The proposed ordinance establishes clear, enforceable standards for identifying and managing inactive vessels within Wrangell’s harbors. By defining inactivity, imposing storage charges and setting requirements for condition surveys and insurance at specific milestones, the ordinance addresses long-standing challenges with limited moorage availability.”

He said defining what counts as inactivity could be a sticking point if Wrangell proceeds with an ordinance. “Someone living on a boat would make that vessel an active vessel.”

The next step, Miller said, is for the borough attorney to formally prepare an ordinance for the commission to review.

The port commission would be the first stop. If commissioners recommend approval, the ordinance would move to the borough assembly for its consideration, amendment, rejection or approval after a public hearing.

Miller said opening stalls for active boats would benefit local businesses. “An active harbor means people are buying fuel and participating in the local economy,” he said. “We’re looking out for the city and the economy.”

The goal is to encourage turnover in scarce moorage stalls while setting clear standards for use, the harbormaster said.

The measure under consideration mirrors a Petersburg ordinance adopted earlier this year. Under that law, a vessel is deemed inactive if, within any 12-month period, it has not left its assigned stall and the harbor under its own power and remained outside the harbor for more than 24 consecutive hours.

Boats 32 feet or smaller without sleeping accommodations are considered inactive if they have not been out of the harbor more than 24 nonconsecutive hours in that period, according to the Petersburg ordinance.

Once labeled inactive, owners are charged a storage fee equal to the moorage rate on top of regular moorage until the boat is active again.

“By requiring periodic marine condition surveys after 24 months of inactivity and adequate insurance coverage after 36 months,” Miller’s report on the proposed Wrangell ordinance explained, “the ordinance mitigates risks of sinking, environmental harm or costly damage to public facilities.”

Under the initial draft proposal, the Harbor Department would mail written notice to a vessel owner’s last known address of record; the owner could appeal the determination of inactivity.

Last year, the port commission and borough assembly spent several months considering an ordinance to require all vessel owners to maintain insurance on their boats moored in the harbors, but eventually decided to drop the idea over concerns of the cost to boat owners.