Hank Sims / Today @ 8 a.m. / Agendizer

STATE of the FLEET: Local Fishing Industry Takes Center Stage at the Eureka Planning Commission Meeting Wednesday

If you’re interested in the state of the fishing industry in Humboldt County — and in Eureka specifically — you might want to tune in to this week’s meeting of the Eureka Planning Commission.

In the earlier part of the meeting, the commission will hear about work undertaken by one of its members, Michael Kraft, who, with the help of city staff, has undertaken a bit of temperature-taking on the state of the Humboldt Bay fishing fleet.

One of the major points of this study is to inform future work on the city’s zoning code — specifically the part of the code that relates to the coastal zone. How can we be sure our zoning code is serving the fleet unless we’re sure we know what the fleet needs?

You can find summaries of the interviews undertaken by Kraft and others so far at this link. Among the interviewees: several local fishermen; Ashley Vellis, the mastermind behind last summer’s Dockside Market; Leroy Zerlang of Zerlang & Zerlang Marine Services; and others.

One of the biggest sore spots, according to almost everyone interviewed: Ice. The industry needs ice in massive quantities in order to function, and it has been a serious pain point. From the report:

Ice is available but very expensive in Eureka ($350/ton vs. $140–$250/ton in nearby ports). There is not an easy short-term answer to this. The lease on the plant is up in 2032.

Swan Asbury, the city’s economic development manager, has been participating in the project. Last week she told the Outpost that it’s been a worthwhile endeavor even above and beyond the specific applications to the zoning code that the Planning Commission will eventually consider.

“For me — for economic development, you know — it’s 75 small businesses, and they’ve had so many California regulations that impact them,” Asbury said. “We’re just kind of trying to understand what the buyer situation is, and what the ice situation is, and just trying to understand better what’s going on with them right now.”

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Later in the agenda, the flip side of this — a hearing on the much-further-along update to the city’s zoning code for inland areas. This latest update was prompted by a desire to streamline the city’s design review process, making it a much more objective affair and allowing more developers to acquire over-the-counter permits rather than having to argue for their proposed building’s appearance at the city’s Design Review Committee.

But in the process of doing that, staff found a bunch of different parts of the code that could use some freshening, and those other updates will be the focus of Wednesday’s meeting. (The design stuff is supposed to come back before the commission on a later date.)

According to the staff report — see here — the changes that will be talked about Wednesday are informed by two principles: DarkSky International‘s principles, which also prompted changes at the county level earlier this year, and the city’s own newish policies on short-term rentals. So expect a lot of talk about Airbnbs, and dimmer or more ground-focused lightbulbs.

The Eureka Planning Commission meets Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 5:30 p.m. in council chambers at Eureka City Hall — 531 K Street. Full agenda below. Remote participation instructions at this link.

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Eureka Planning Commission

Dec. 10, 2025, 5:30 p.m.

A. ROLL CALL

B. SALUTE TO THE FLAG

C. OATH OF OFFICE

1. Oath of Office

D. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

1. Planning Commission Meeting Minutes

E. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS

F. PUBLIC HEARINGS - CONTINUED

G. PUBLIC HEARINGS - NEW

H. OLD BUSINESS

1. Commercial Fishing Sub Committee Report

I. NEW BUSINESS

1. 2026 Inland Zoning Code Update

J. STAFF REPORTS AND COMMUNICATIONS

K. OTHER REPORTS AND COMMUNICATIONS

L. ADJOURNMENT

M. NOTICES

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