New regs would crack down on Seattle liveaboards

Jun 13 2011 in Currents by Deborah Bach

Proposed changes would impact liveaboards in Seattle, including around 600 people living on about 300 boats at Shilshole Bay Marina.

The city of Seattle is proposing new regulations that could dramatically limit liveaboards and place new requirements on marinas where they live.

The regulations, part of a broader overhaul of the city’s Shoreline Master Plan, propose to limit liveaboards to 25 percent of slips at any marina, define as a liveaboard anyone spending more than four nights a week aboard their boat and require marinas to register and report on the number of liveaboard vessels. Additionally, house barges would be defined as vessels with self-propulsion and steering equipment.

The provisions, which have not yet been finalized, were met with sharp criticism from the Shilshole Liveaboard Association.

“We’ve had liveaboards on vessels since the mid-1800s in Seattle, and we believe (the proposed regulations) pose a threat to the continued availability of that lifestyle to others going forward,” SLA President Gail Luhn said.

The city lists three main priorities for the Shoreline Master Plan: preferred shoreline uses, public access and environmental protection. But Luhn said while marinas are identified as “ecologically impaired” in the city’s documentation in support of the proposals, there is no evidence in the materials supporting that assessment, nor any data demonstrating that liveaboards are negatively impacting the environment.

Luhn said the proposed changes seem to be driven by a perception that liveaboards produce more greywater — wastewater generated through activities such as dishwashing and cleaning — than boaters who don’t live aboard. The city, she said, does not appear to have considered the level of water pollution caused by liveaboards versus other sources, such as stormwater runoff.

“They considered marinas to be ecologically impaired environments, period. There were no studies, no research, nothing,” she said. “There is no good science out there that anybody can find or that the city has been able to point us to.”

A public hearing on the proposed changes was held March 8. Luhn said the liveaboard associations were not notified about the hearing or consulted about the changes, and only learned about the upcoming meeting through someone at the Port of Seattle.

Representatives from the Shilshole and Lake Union liveaboard associations attended the meeting and were told the proposed changes were based on input from a citizens advisory committee, Luhn said, but there were no liveaboards on the committee.

Maggie Glowacki of the city’s Department of Planning and Development declined to be interviewed about the proposed changes or say why the city has decided to target liveaboards. Via email, Glowacki said that the revisions have not been finalized and the city is now meeting with liveaboards to seek their input. The department will be proposing to change the definition of liveaboard from what was initially put forth, she said.

“We will be working through the rest of the live-aboard proposal with the live-aboard community and staff from the Department of Ecology and the Department of Natural Resources.”

A public comment period on the changes – extended following the public hearing – closed May 31. Glowacki said the city is now reviewing feedback and expects to issue a revised draft proposal in July.

The proposed revisions raise many questions – for example, would boaters who stay aboard for more than four days weekly during peak season only be considered liveaboards and counted toward the proposed 25 percent limit? If liveaboard slips are restricted in number, would that drive up the cost of those slips? Will the additional administrative costs involved with registering and tracking liveaboards be passed along to boaters?

Luhn said while current liveaboards would be grandfathered under the proposed regulations, marinas with more than 25 percent liveaboard slips would have to reduce down to that limit through attrition. And liveaboards would likely not be able to transfer their liveaboard status if they move to another marina, she said.

The proposed regulations, Luhn said, could drive liveaboards underground, limiting the ability to monitor their compliance with environmental regulations, and would further limit a needed form of affordable housing.

The SLA sent a letter to the city at the end of May, suggesting alternatives to the proposed regulations. Those include defining as liveaboards boaters who stay aboard more than 30 days out of a 45-day period or more than 90 days annually; allowing marinas to set their own liveaboard caps and excluding any vessels that manage their grey water; and requiring all vessels, liveaboard or not, to follow environmentally friendly practices as a condition of moorage.

“I am hoping that the Department of Planning and Development responds favorably to the citizen input that they’ve received,” Luhn said, “because it’s been well thought out, well-researched and well-intentioned to both try to meet the goals of the city and preserve the environment, as well as preserving the liveaboard lifestyle.”

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About Deborah Bach


Deborah Bach is the editor and co-founder of Three Sheets Northwest. She is an avid sailor and long-time professional journalist. You can find Deborah aboard Three Sheets, an Island Packet 38, with her husband Marty and their cat Lily.

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