Ansonborough wants city regulation of cruise ship industry

As the neighborhood directly impacted by the planned Charleston harbor, the Historic Ansonborough Neighborhood Association (HANA) membership overwhelmingly passed resolutions last month urging the city to:

1) amend the city ordinances that govern tourism businesses to include the cruise industry within the regulation of the Tourism Commission;

2) execute an agreement between the State Ports Authority (SPA) and the City limiting the number of embarkations/disembarkation to two ships per week, each ship with a maximum of 3,500 passengers;

3) update the 1996 City Master Plan and traffic plan for peninsular Charleston to reflect not only the increased traffic generated by the cruise ship industry, the new hotel and residential buildings and the proposed re-alignment of certain streets, but also the already approved redevelopment of Ansonborough Field.

HANA recognizes the cruise ship industry has a role to play in the economic life of Charleston and broadly supports the plan for a new terminal at Union Pier and traffic improvements in the Port area. Charleston is a dynamic tourist destination due to regulation which has enhanced the quality of life in the historic district.

Present ships are large in comparison with the skyline of the historic district with capacity around 2,500 passengers. The proposed new terminal will accommodate 3,500 passengers and one ship at a time. However, 44 new cruise ships are being built to accommodate the 8 percent annual growth in the cruise industry. Many have capacity of more than 5,000 passengers.

Such huge vessels will dwarf the historic Charleston waterfront if allowed here, so HANA supports the SPA's proposed expansion of the terminal within the 3,500 passenger limit.

We thought the number of ships was controlled by the Carnival contract at a total of two per week, but this has proved wrong as this is "an average," which we found recently when two ships were here on the same day. As many as seven ships a week are scheduled.

Will there be more than "about" two ships per week? Absolutely! HANA assumes the SPA will encourage more business from this industry in the future. How many ships and passengers are appropriate to dump on Ansonborough and the Market?

HANA is concerned about the numbers of ships and passengers using the port. HANA agrees with Charleston Mayor Joe Riley, who said, "It is essential to monitor the impact of any industry on the quality of life in our city, and to ensure that no industry operates in a manner detrimental to safe, clean, prosperous living in our city.

"No industry is exempted from this standard. Part of the balance we seek in Charleston should be an appropriate scale of cruise ship activity. That means a cruise ship business we can support and manage in such a way that the community receives the economic benefits but does not experience a diminished quality of life. ..."

The city has legal power to regulate port activities. It already has at its disposal the means and the tools to manage the cruise ship industry, but it seems to lack the will, the resolve and the leadership to do so.

HANA calls upon the mayor and City Council to take the appropriate actions to effectively represent the interests of the full-time residents of Charleston and preserve the unique character, charm and ambience of not only our historic neighborhood, but our beloved city as a whole.

J. Kirkland Grant

President

Board of Directors

Historic Ansonborough

Neighborhood Association

Mary Street

Charleston