Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Aquaculture topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission affirms aquaculture treated as coastal-dependent industrial in Humboldt Bay plan
Summary
Commissioners clarified that aquaculture — including processing on land — is being treated as coastal-dependent industrial for the Humboldt Bay Area Plan. Staff said the Coastal Commission treats aquaculture as agricultural in many places, but Bay-area processing and land-based activities justify an industrial classification for planning purposes.
Commissioners asked how the plan's coastal-dependent use hierarchy applies to aquaculture and whether aquaculture is treated as agriculture or industrial. Staff explained the Coastal Commission commonly considers aquaculture an agricultural use, but much of the Bay-area activity involves processing on land that functions as coastal-dependent industrial activity.
"I would say that aquaculture is an is a coastal dependent industrial," staff explained, noting that growing activities in the Bay (seaward) are outside county land-use jurisdiction while processing and shore-based infrastructure fall under coastal-dependent industrial classifications. Commissioners agreed the plan can and should clarify these distinctions to avoid confusion when the port overlay and zoning are applied.
