MUKILTEO, Wash. — Some people in Mukilteo say a fish plant promises to plague their neighborhood with problems from traffic to a foul smell. Pacific Seafood wants to build a massive processing plant right across the street from homes in north Mukilteo. People who live off 44th Avenue West in Mukilteo always knew something would be built there. The storage bays and vacant trailer aren't much to look at anymore.
“We’re not opposed to business, many of us who are working on this are current or former small business owners,” explained Ron Johnson, who lives three blocks away. He says the problem is the site has been targeted by the wrong business.
“All of these buildings would be torn down,” he explained, pointing to the old structures. “This property and the large property next door were consolidated for this project.” Pacific Seafood wants to build an 83,000 square foot fish processing plant, and much to Ron and his neighbors’ chagrin, the land is already zoned for it. But Ron says this street can’t accommodate the traffic that goes along with 100 plus employees and semis making deliveries. Another concern is the possibility of a fishy smell; Ron says there is an odor in the air near the current facility. There’s just one Pacific Seafood truck at the new location and Ron says “people [say] on warm days they can smell odors coming off the truck.”
Ron was right about there being lots of semis; when we visited the current plant we watched truck after truck squeezing by, and that facility is four times smaller than the proposed one. That's why Pacific Seafood told our news partner The Everett Herald that they liked the 44th Avenue West spot; the general manager says they've outgrown their building.
“We know that the residents nearby have concerns and comments and we want to hear all those,” explained Marko Liias with the city of Mukilteo. So the Liias says there will be plenty of public hearings before the project gets green-lighted. Ron is hoping for a red-light; he says fish just won’t make the best neighbors. “What we would like to see is something that fits in more with the neighborhood,” Ron concluded. Pacific Seafood is holding an informational meeting for the public Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Mukilteo City Hall.
KIRO
