COLUSA, CA (MPG) – A group of concerned Colusa residents is appealing Colusa City Manager Jesse Cain’s July 15 decision to grant a Minor Use Permit for a commercial-grade slaughterhouse slated for development on the southwest end of the Colusa Industrial Park, about one mile from a residential neighborhood.
Opponents of the project, “Colusa Humans Against Offensive Odors” spoke at the public hearing at City Hall on the appropriateness of a minor use permit for an operation they believe poses significant environmental and quality-of-life concerns, including odor, noise, and potential ground water contamination.
CHAOS representative Mark Tomey said Colusa is already dealing with odor-producing businesses on the park, which public officials have said in hindsight would have been approached differently or denied.
“Our community already faces challenges attracting new residents and businesses, in part due to the lack of commercial services, and in part because of well-documented odor and water quality issues,” Tomey said. “The impacts from existing cannabis operations, the mushroom farm, and the fertilizer production plant are evident. Introducing yet another odor-producing facility in Colusa, particularly one associated with meat processing and animal byproducts, risks compounding these issues.”
The facility, called Colusa Meat, has been designed to process cattle, swine, sheep, and goats, and would occupy one acre of a 10.92-acre parcel and utilize a state-of-the-art 3,600-square-foot structure, with refrigeration. Plans include outdoor storage pens with water, food, and shade access, along with a newly constructed parking area.
Ed Hulbert, Colusa Industrial Properties’ chief executive officer, described the site as “ideal” due to its proximity to the park’s existing industrial wastewater infrastructure and the 30-acre pasture that has hosted a small herd of cattle for over a decade without public complaints.
Colusa Meat owner Brent Nobles, who currently operates mobile slaughter services for local meat producers, said a facility at the industrial park, which has been in the works for four years, could process as many as 80 head of cattle per day and would meet both California and USDA inspection and sanitation standards, allowing him to process meat for commercial sale in local butcher shops.
“The demand for a USDA-approved slaughterhouse is huge,” Nobels said, noting others in the region are struggling to keep up or are no longer in compliance with today’s stringent standards.
Nobels said livestock would be processed indoors, Monday-Friday, and likely within 12 to 24 hours of being delivered to the facility. All inedible parts (hooves, horns, intestines, etc.) would be properly collected in barrels, promptly refrigerated, and delivered to a rendering facility in Sacramento. Nobels said a USDA food safety inspector will be on site to assure meat with USDA designation meets federal standards for safety, sanitation, and labeling.
Wastewater from rinsing animal carcasses, which includes blood and minute organic material, will be treated at CIP’s licensed industrial wastewater pond in line with California water quality standards and recycled for irrigation, said Jake Kley, who oversees the system. Animal waste will be spread, dried, or composted.
Cain, in the capacity of Planning Director, approved the Minor Use Permit, citing the project is CEQA-exempt due to the industrial park’s established zoning entitlements and prior environmental review.
“I’m real familiar with this project,” Cain said. “I am real familiar with our General Plan, the county’s General Plan, and everything that we did when we adopted CIP. I believe that this project is good for the City of Colusa. I also believe it is an allowable use in the current zoning where it is being proposed, and the conditions of approval for the minor use permit, I think, are adequate for the kind of facility that they are constructing.”
Cain’s decision came after extended discussion on the slaughterhouse’s impact on the quality of life in Colusa.
Opponents of the project said the issue was not just about zoning, but preserving the livability and character of the city, which continues to inch toward the once-isolated industrial park, previously located in the unincorporated area south of the Colusa County airport.
“While M-2 zoning may allow for a Minor Use Permit as the sole entitlement required, this does not inherently make such a facility appropriate for the location in question,” Tomey said. “The site is in close proximity to existing residential development under construction – initiated by the project’s own proponent – as well as near another planned residential community (Wescott Ranch) being pursued by Colusa Industrial Properties. Both developments are directly associated with the applicant behind this proposed slaughterhouse, raising serious concerns about the compatibility and long-term vision for this area.”
The City Council is expected to hear the appeal at an upcoming meeting, where residents plan to voice their concerns and request a reversal of the administrative permit, due to the nature of the project.
If the appeal is successful, CIP could be required to reapply to the Colusa Planning Commission under a more rigorous permitting process; however, concerned residents, including some in favor of the project, said the Colusa City Council, at a minimum, could add strict and enforceable conditions of approval.
“My concern is trust,” said Don Bransford. “The mushroom plant is a disaster. The marijuana plants are no different. And so now, you are saying ‘trust us?’ That’s difficult. Now you are introducing animal waste. To my knowledge, there is no animal waste out there and that is a whole different ball of wax.”
Nancy Loudon, who lives in the southwest part of town, said she supports new business and appreciates Nobels’ work, but is skeptical of developers once again promising “you won’t even know it’s there.”
“When the south wind blows, we can’t even go outside, much less water our plants on Sunday mornings or open our windows at night,’” said Loudon, recalling past assurances. “On paper, this (project) sounds great, and I like the idea of bringing business in…but I don’t want to get another five or 10 years down the road and things are not happening the way they are explained – and we can’t back out.”
A petition circulated to stop the project also cited property devaluation, animal cruelty, and lack of public involvement in decisions affecting their neighborhoods. Whether the slaughterhouse moves forward may hinge on how the City Council weighs economic development against public sentiment.
Although typically restricted to only authorized vehicles, Hulbert invited concerned citizens to drive into the park via Niagara Avenue to view the spacious grounds, home to or permitted for heavy industrial uses, such as large-scale manufacturing and fabrication, warehousing, recycling, composting, trucking and freight services, open storage for bulk materials, large-scale food production, and agriculture processing. The park also hosts the Colusa Ducks skeet shooting range.
Hulbert said Colusa Industrial Park has approximately 50 acres available for build-to-suit industrial development and may acquire adjacent property currently in rice production.
Because most zoning codes specifically exclude animal slaughterhouses from the definition of agriculture, M2 zoning is one of the few classifications anywhere in California where such a facility could be considered appropriate, city officials said.