While cannabis odor has concerned John Parke in the past when it comes to project proposals, the Santa Barbara County 3rd District Planning Commissioner voted alongside his colleagues to approve a cannabis processing project near Buellton and deny an appeal from neighbors during the July 31 Planning Commission hearing.
“We have several experienced commissioners who have learned to probe these projects. We did that as well as we could, and we have found nothing that should tell us that this appeal should be approved,” Parke said during the meeting.
Sierra Botanicals LLC—an existing operator in the county that received its land use permit to cultivate cannabis on 2.3 acres in 2019—requested to use its 3,149-square-foot barn to process cannabis on-site, with about 60 percent of it coming from other operators, according to the county staff report. Processing will consist of cutting, drying, curing, storing, and packaging products with up to 10 permanent employees added to help with operations. Sierra Botanicals will use carbon scrubbers, the best available technology, to help with odor abatement.
“Sierra Botanicals has been an annual license holder in Santa Barbara for more than three years, and even when there’s been challenges with the regulators, Sierra Botanicals has consistently made the choice to work with the regulators and adjust to their feedback to be a partner with the county in the cannabis industry,” said Kapono Curry, founder of Bay Kinetic consulting who represented Sierra Botanicals.
Edward Seaman and Patricia Paulsen filed an appeal to a Sierra Botanicals LLC project that requested a land use permit to allow cannabis processing on its site with an existing, permitted operation. Seaman, the Restoration Oaks Ranch general manager, told the Sun that he filed his appeal because of odor concerns and the size of the cannabis “footprint” in the area as more cannabis projects come down the pipeline near his property.
Restoration Oaks Ranch provides farmstays, blueberry harvests, and agroecology education events throughout the year, according to Restoration Oaks’ website.
“We have children on our U-pick farm every day. Sierra Botanicals’ operations already smell, and we already get their odor,” Seaman said. “That does affect me, my livelihood, and our community. … If you have the smell of the drug industry wafting over, then you’ve completely changed the experience, and that’s going to hurt us.”
He added that “the reminder of the drug industry” wafting over the farm will impact families trying to connect with their children in an outdoor environment.
“If your family is trying to keep you away from drugs, going to a place that’s supposed to be outdoor, pure, safe, fun enjoyment and having the drug industry encroaching on that environment is bad,” Seaman said. “It’s bad for society, and it doesn’t belong here.”
However, Parke and other commissioners agreed that Seaman’s arguments were beyond the scope of the project because cannabis operations are legal in California, and odor concerns were controlled to the best possible extent within the land use permit.
“The Planning Commission isn’t the place to talk about the advisability of using a product that’s legally allowed to be produced in Santa Barbara County,” Parke said. “If you’re vegan and you don’t like cows being eaten or turned into shoe leather, that doesn’t mean it’s relevant for the Planning Commission to consider when we look at the zoning on a cattle ranch.”
Parke added that the land use permit doesn’t require an odor abatement plan for ag II land and is not authorized to add a neighborhood compatibility standard for approval.
Moving forward, Seaman said he will have his eyes on TAT Ventures LLC, another cannabis project near his property. Commissioner Parke requested the commission delay its discussion of TAT Ventures’ project for further analysis on odor, among other concerns. TAT Ventures LLC will need a conditional use permit and odor abatement plan in place for approval.
“I’m going to appeal this every step of the way. The 28th, they’ll make a decision,” he said. “My argument is: It’s not compatible with us.”
