Santa Barbara County is finally doing something about an issue that’s garnered 3,700 complaints since 2018, and zero enforcement.
Can you guess what got residents so fired up that they sent what amounts to almost two complaints a day to their elected officials over the past six years? Here’s a hint: It’s green. It’s legal. And it’s kind of a big deal locally.
It’s cannabis, and the county Board of Supervisors is tired of locals raising such a stink.
Second District Supervisor Laura Capps said on Jan. 14 that there is an elegant solution to the stench wafting out of indoor cultivation sites in the county.
“We know what works. The complaint system hasn’t worked. Folks are fed up, and we do have an answer out there, and I feel as though it’s our job to achieve that and pursue that answer that is working,” Capps said.
Changing the rules surrounding indoor cannabis odor would mean “less acrimony, less litigation, less money, less time here, less time for you in the Planning Commission, and we can move on to other things,” she said.
There are a couple of steps between now and March before the supervisors approve the rules that would require growers to install multi-technology carbon filtration or the equivalent technology to mitigate odors. Cannabis cultivators would have a year to comply, and how many carbon scrubbers and where they need to go would depend on the size and layout of the operation.
Supervisor Joan Hartmann from the 3rd District is in favor of putting some enforcement teeth into the new mandate, saying essentially that those who don’t comply should lose their business licenses. Plus, she urged the county to have a goal in mind—just how much less skunky odor is the county talking about?
“What is the result?” she asked. “We have a terrible system now. … We need a threshold standard, and I believe that that is being developed, and I believe that that is absolutely critical to a complete system.”
Props to the growers who are speaking up for themselves, like David Van Wingerden of Farmlane, who installed carbon scrubbers when the technology first came out four years ago.
“We’ve not had one complaint,” he said. “If what we have is working, why would we need better technology?”
You won’t, according to 4th District Supervisor Bob Nelson. It seems that the county isn’t interested in creating a one-size-fits-all mandate, hence the “or equivalent technology” phrasing.
But whoever is named in those aforementioned complaints will need to get their odors eliminated if the board approves the new rules in March.
Regarding another issue—or person, rather—that’s green and kind of big deal locally: Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood learned the latest from the Central Coast’s resident lean green machine, Lou Ferrigno.
The former Mr. Universe is as impressive and imposing as ever, taking up new hobbies, making films left and right, and conquering old fears. Heck, if Hollywood isn’t keeping the Hulk actor busy enough, maybe the county could use his brawn on the enforcement side of its cannabis laws.
The Canary will stay out of the Hulk’s way. Send comments to canary@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jan 16-26, 2025.
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