Neighbors of the Santa Barbara Fish Market warehouse say it has been 500 days since they first complained to Santa Barbara officials about the fishy smells and noises coming from the business, which the city attorney has said is operating outside zoning code.
That’s why a handful of Eastside residents who live near the processing facility at 528 N. Quarantina St. gathered Monday morning, bringing a large banner and bucket of dead fish into the city’s Community Development building on Garden Street.
“We’re just tired of not getting anywhere,” said Dave Blunk, who lives on Cota Street right by the warehouse. “We’re just kind of raising a stink again.”
Blunk and fellow protesters showed up at the same office last July to speak with planners, who explained the fish market would be allowed to operate for an undetermined amount of time before ceasing operations or bringing its use in line with zoning rules.
City Attorney Ariel Calonne has been working with Santa Barbara Fish Market owner Brian Colgate since then, but residents wanted an update this week.
While food product manufacturing is allowed in that particular commercial zone, which is surrounded by a residential area, seafood processing is not, Calonne said.
He told Noozhawk he’s just weeks away from finalizing a zoning enforcement agreement with the fish market, which would allow the business to continue operating in its location with “extraordinary restrictions” that would limit hours of operation, require odor management and more.
Because city planning staff already approved the warehouse, Calonne didn’t think permits could be taken away.
“The rationale is that no business is allowed to create a public nuisance,” he said. “The zoning enforcement agreement addresses this as if it were a nuisance abatement problem by adding very substantial mitigation measures. Some neighbors have been in support and some not.
“In my judgment, the city would have a difficult time asserting or enforcing the city zoning ordinance because the business owner was allowed to spend many tens of thousands of dollars improving the business.”
Reached later in the day, Colgate said he was optimistic communication with neighbors would improve. He also said the fish market’s normal everyday processes should meet mitigation standards.
Santa Barbara Fish Market has been in town more than 10 years and operates out of 117 Harbor Way, where it sells locally-harvested seafood products and fish from around the world.
The city says the Santa Barbara Fish Market is using the warehouse to receive, process and package fresh seafood products.
Blunk said he wasn’t interested in establishing any type of operating agreement.
“To me, that’s breaking the (zoning) ordinance again,” Blunk said.
He handed out fliers Monday with his neighbor, Abbey Fregosa.
“Everybody should be concerned about this,” Fregosa said, noting the warehouse could’ve started operating in any neighborhood. “We’re in it for the long haul because this is where we live.”
Calonne said he’s communicated with Blunk and others on numerous occasions, noting that a zoning enforcement agreement would identify the names of neighbors Colgate needs to provide contact information to.
— Noozhawk staff writer Gina Potthoff can be reached at gpotthoff@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.