Santa Barbara County’s path toward enforcing new restrictions on cannabis greenhouses is one step shorter—thanks to a recent conditional green light from the California Coastal Commission. In March, the county Board of Supervisors adopted a plan requiring cannabis growers with indoor cultivation operations to follow new odor mitigation protocols, set to go into effect in […]
Cannabis Corner
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Rule-bender: One Buellton cannabis grower has paid about $2 million in penalties for air quality violations
In the span of two years, Central Coast Agriculture—a cannabis cultivator with facilities in Buellton and Lompoc—agreed to pay nearly $2 million for breaking state and local air quality laws. That sum doesn’t include two pending violations issued by Santa Barbara County’s Air Pollution Control District (APCD) in 2025 awaiting resolution, according to the agency, […]
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Board of Supervisors reduces cannabis acreage cap, responds to grand jury report
While the maximum acreage allowed for cannabis cultivation across unincorporated Santa Barbara County will decrease by the end of September, the new limit won’t impact current growers—which are essentially grandfathered in under a recent Board of Supervisors directive. At its Aug. 26 meeting, the board voted 5-0 to reduce the acreage cap from 1,575 to […]
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Got odor?: County’s updated cannabis ordinance establishes threshold for odors from indoor grows
While standing on the property line of a licensed cannabis grower in a little more than one year’s time, a trained operator of a Nasal Ranger device will need to measure 4 or less D/T—dilution over threshold—for three minutes to determine whether the grower complies with the now amended cannabis ordinance. Arriving at this number […]
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County Planning Commission approves Buellton cannabis cultivation project
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 […]
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Lompoc cannabis manufacturer to pay Air Pollution Control District $1.3 million for air quality violations
The Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) will secure one of the largest settlements in its history after Central Coast Agriculture agreed to pay $1.3 million for air quality-related notices of violations. “The magnitude of this settlement reflects the significance of the violations and the amount of emissions over three years,” APCD Executive […]
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Guadalupe increases cannabis licensing renewal, inspection fees
Like many other jurisdictions, Guadalupe is working out kinks within its cannabis ordinance. The Guadalupe City Council unanimously voted during its May 28 meeting to increase pre-license, inspection, and annual regulatory fees for commercial cannabis businesses, and pushed staff to enforce a $3,000 community benefit fee that operators have yet to pay nearly a year […]
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Odor, environmental concerns delay decision on Buellton cannabis project
The Santa Barbara County Planning Commission voted 4-0 (with 5th District Commissioner Vincent Martinez absent) during its May 8 meeting to push its decision on a cannabis cultivation project near Buellton to July 10 so the project could further analyze odor, viewshed, and other environmental impacts. “I’m very cognizant, because I’ve been in the middle […]
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State completes Santa Barbara County cannabis business licensing audit
Santa Barbara County will change its cannabis licensing application as it implements suggestions from the State Auditor’s Office. “To my knowledge, this is the first time cannabis has been audited at the state level. It’s relatively new with recreational level,” Deputy County Executive Officer Brittany Odermann told the Sun. “It’s typical that the Legislature will […]
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Cannabis conundrum: Santa Barbara County looks at new cannabis tax models after revenue transparency and forecast concerns
When Santa Barbara County opened the doors to legal cannabis operations in 2017, officials designed a tax system without precedent. “There was no model to work from because we were the first ones in the boat,” 5th District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino said. During this time, consultants presented the county with two options: taxing the gross […]
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County Planning Commission OKs Los Alamos cannabis shop
With an address across the street from a popular bar, an upcoming dispensary in Los Alamos raised more concerns about jaywalking than smoking from one member of the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission. “Bell’s a wide street and it doesn’t have much lighting, and I think you’re going to get a lot of jaywalking back […]
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Two cannabis dispensaries move forward with Guadalupe City Council support
With plans to bring two new cannabis shops to downtown Guadalupe, two separate retailers recently entered into similar agreements with the city. Public hearings for both projects, Root One and Element 7, were held back-to-back during the Guadalupe City Council’s Sept. 12 meeting. As part of their applications, each retailer was required to outline “the […]