The Santa Barbara County Planning Commission pushed back its discussion on a cannabis odor ordinance until November to give more residents the time to understand and form their own opinions on the county’s proposed plans to improve mitigating the plant’s skunky smell.
“I feel like where we are is we just got inside the ballpark, but we haven’t had a chance to play the game so I’m counting on those who have been so attentive to the ordinance in the past and learning about the changes and implementation will be ready to go on or before the 4th of November,” 1st District Commissioner C. Michael Cooney said during the Sept. 25 meeting. “We can be ready, prepared, but we need the public’s input to do a good job.”
Because of an outpouring of residential concern and the Planning Commission running low on time after a near seven-hour discussion about an appeal of increased enrollment at Montecito’s Laguna Blanca School, commissioners unanimously agreed to postpone the date until Nov. 6.
“We had a very significant number of people, particularly in the 1st District, who felt they could use more time to study and develop an opinion—not only cannabis growers but neighbors of growers themselves,” 2nd District Commissioner Laura Bridley said during the meeting.
Santa Barbara County established odor abatement plan requirements in 2019 that call for certain operators to use the best available technology, like carbon scrubbers, to prevent odor from being smelled in residential zones.
Cooney’s district, which includes Carpinteria, had lot of odor complaints from neighbors as the indoor cannabis industry grew. Neighbors in Santa Barbara County’s 3rd District, which includes the Santa Ynez Valley and Buellton, have also complained about the area’s outdoor cannabis grows’ scent wafting onto their properties.
It’s difficult for the county to take action once complaints are filed, Cannabis Permitting and Enforcement Division Supervisor Gwendolyn Beyeler told commissioners. Weather, topography, and limited descriptions in the complaints hinder the county’s ability to identify “exact odor emission source” and take corrective action.
To improve the county’s odor enforcement capabilities, the Board of Supervisors approved a contract with Geosyntec Consultants in November 2022 to monitor cannabis odors from 2022 until 2025; conduct odor abatement plan inspections to document odor presence both on and off cannabis operation sites; and develop new odor thresholds and mitigation measures that would follow a complaint.
“It provides clarity for [Planning and Development], facility operators, and the public to enforce nuisances and prevent cannabis odors from being experienced in residential zones,” Beyeler said.
The initial study focused on the Carpinteria area, but the Planning and Development Department is evaluating possible measures for outdoor grows in the inland area, which supervisors requested in April.
No odor abatement plan is required for cannabis sites in the inland area within the Agriculture II zone unless cultivation exceeds 51 percent of the lot area, according to the staff report. Ag II allows for certain commercial agricultural operations on a single-family residential lot.
The Santa Ynez Valley Community Plan also requires odor abatement plans for certain uses. Five sites in the inland area have odor abatement plans—including using aromatic landscaping in cultivation areas and carbon filtration in processing areas—but residents still say they feel the impacts.
Buellton resident Theresa Reilly wrote in a public comment letter that she’s been voicing her concerns about cannabis odor for years, but her complaints were always considered “unverified.”
“It is not realistic to expect a resident to prove where odor is coming from when there are multiple farms upwind of Buellton and irritants vary depending on weather, temperature, wind, and time of day,” Reilly said. “While the odors this summer have been milder in Buellton than in the past, I have no assurance that this is not a fluke or temporary reprieve as the current harvest is approaching.”
