Trouble is brewing for the Salt Spring Island Coffee Company after its rezoning application for a new roasting facility on its namesake island was turned down.

Plans for the new roasting facility included an organic garden, a coffee-educational centre, and more than 30 jobs for residents of the normally idyllic holiday island.

But on Thursday owner and founder Mickey McLeod found out his rezoning application for the location was turned down by the Islands Trust organization, which regulates land use on the Gulf Islands.

"I'm quite disappointed, and not so much that they said, 'No.' It's the process of how long they took to say 'No.' At least have an answer. I would have liked to have an answer months ago," said McLeod.

Residents had expressed concerns about odour from the roasting and possible environmental effects on Ford Lake, a nearby protected wetland.

Salt Spring Island Trustee George Ehring said the Islands Trust will try to find land on the island for the facility, but said it will be difficult.

"Even if they were to find, let's say, an industrial-zoned land on the island, we still might have to rezone it to accommodate either the agricultural use or the educational use," he said.

But McLeod said the delay has already cost him thousands of dollars in interest, and after months of waiting, he is planning to sell the Saltspring Island property and build the facility on Vancouver Island or the mainland.