Hurricane council urges narrow review of home‑kitchen rules after local couple’s $50,000 build

A local couple who built a commercial kitchen at their residence told the Hurricane City Council on Aug. 6 that they were told by city staff the project was possible, then later told a home‑based business license could not be issued for the type of food they planned to produce. Harry and Kristen Altina said they invested about $50,000 and sought a license to produce chips and salsa for local sales and events.

City staff explained current city code follows state “cottage kitchen” rules, which allow shelf‑stable baked goods sold in limited circumstances but exclude products such as salsas that contain vegetables and require different laboratory controls. Gary (city staff) told the council the applicants built a commercial kitchen and therefore must meet commercial licensing standards rather than the cottage‑license framework.

The Altinas said they had consulted several city and state reviewers, submitted inspections and were led to expect approval before learning that the cottage license would not cover salsa. "We did everything we were told to do," Kristen Altina said while describing months of work and local market sales. Harry Altina added that the kitchen was inspected and appears ‘‘clean and new’’ and that they run a farmer’s market and support local events.

Council members raised concerns about unintended consequences of a broad code change. Several members said allowing commercial production in residential zones could lead to nuisances — smells, increased traffic, grease traps and potential restaurant‑style operations — and would undermine neighborhood character if not tightly constrained. One council member asked whether conditional use permits or narrow parameters (for example, no on‑site customers, limits on employee numbers and prohibitions on meat/dairy processing) could address the applicants’ needs while protecting neighbors.

Staff said the city has model ordinance language to consider and recommended further research and options. The council directed staff to explore narrower alternatives to a wholesale ordinance rewrite — including conditional use review, defined limits on allowed home‑kitchen activities, and alternatives that would address the Altinas’ situation specifically — and to return with recommendations and legal options for a planning commission referral.

The council voted to continue the item for later discussion and to seek options that would benefit the city more broadly than a single exception. The council did not authorize a license at the meeting; staff stated that, under current code, the Altinas cannot be issued a city business license for the commercial kitchen configuration they described until code changes are complete.

What’s next: Staff will draft options (including conditional‑use language and narrowly defined allowable activities) and return the discussion to council and planning commission for public notice and hearing.