Kalakala gets a reprieve from compliance order

As an Oct. 23 deadline passed yesterday for the Kalakala Foundation to comply with a warning letter from city inspectors, Councilman Nick Licata, the Department of Construction and Land Use, and Mayor Paul Schell's office have come up with a simple proposal for the historic but rusty boat.

By moving the boat a little to the left, its moorage could comply with city code, negating the need to move it to avoid $75 per day in fines.

"Right now it is oriented southeastward. The proposal is that if the nose was just moved toward shore and the boat was more directly southward, it could pop out of the 50-foot intrusion," Licata aide Frank Video said.

"Everyone -- us, the mayor's office, DCLU -- all along have been trying to make this work," Video said. "This is a possible quick fix to allow the ferry to stay where it is and to fall in compliance."

Peter Bevis, head of the Kalakala Foundation, could not be reached for comment yesterday. He's been busy combing the Puget Sound area with a tape measure for a new home for the Depression-era ferry, a Seattle icon from 1935 to 1969, since receiving the warning letter from DCLU earlier this month. As the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported Oct. 3, the art-deco ferry violates the law because it pokes 50 feet too far into navigation lanes from its north Lake Union berth.

Though yesterday's deadline set in a warning letter has passed, Video said the Kalakala Foundation is not apt to be fined. Everyone in city government agrees that the intent of the letter was to get the attention of the non-profit group to solve the problem, he said. It has been a particularly frustrating predicament for Bevis, the Fremont sculptor who spearheaded the effort to rescue the famed boat from a muddy Alaska grave and tow it 1,700 miles home in 1998.

Despite popular support, the foundation has had to hurdle financial and legal obstacles in its quest to restore the boat. Over the summer, fire-safety codes prohibited more than 49 people at any time on the vessel's decks, dampening several planned fund-raisers.

No one has complained about the vessel's location, but DCLU inspectors flew over the moorage this summer and noted that the vessel was sticking into the navigation lane.

The notice that the vessel was out of compliance, however, sparked a frantic search for a new home. It also prompted some Port Angeles civic leaders to explore the possibility of giving the Kalakala a permanent home as a waterfront centerpiece there.

Bevis has said Port Angeles' interest is worthy of consideration. To see how viable it is, however, will involve planning a bus trip to Seattle so Port Angeles civic boosters -- and potential investors -- can see the boat for themselves.

P-I reporter Mike Barber can be reached at 206-448-8018 or michaelbarber@seattle-pi.com