Santa Barbara Harbor Commission votes to organize Commercial Fishing Committee

SANTA BARBARA—In an effort to help Santa Barbara’s commercial fishing fleets, Santa Barbara Harbor Commission voted in favor of creating a Commercial Fishing Committee for further investigation in gear storage and other needs. Waterfront Facilities Manager Karl Treiberg gave a brief presentation on how fishermen – according to public comments, largely the younger generation of commercial fishers – are seeing an “erosion” of storage space for their gear. City Council members had recommended the harbor commission look into the matters of storage after an appeal was presented for a storage decision at 35 N. Calle Cesar Chavez. Though the council members decided to move forward, one of the main purposes of the new Commercial Fishing Committee would be to address planning for OM-1 zoning, which encompasses a large variety of storage beyond ocean-related uses. Treiberg stated some of the uses “don’t really meet the spirit of the zoning,” which he added that back in 1986 the mission was to provide affordable storage for commercial fishing fleets. Historically, it was mentioned that Harbor Operations Manager Mick Kronman had sought a grant from the California Coastal Commission to obtain the storage that is in use today, which equates to around 10,000 sq. feet. Members...