Harbor Districts are the local government agency that is responsible for managing harbors. Some Harbor Districts are Special Districts and operate independently while some operate as a subset of the city or county in which the harbor resides. The roles that Harbor Districts fulfill, the operations that they oversee, the areas that they manage are as unique as the individual harbor and has led to the joke: “If you have been to one harbor, you have just been to one harbor.”

Through our work over the next three years we aim to gain a better understanding of the roles harbors can play, their powers within local governments and how they can best support their local communities.