Santa Barbara County supervisors want a way to objectively measure cannabis odor so that staff can verify community complaints and enforce the county’s own rules.
The smell of marijuana has been one of the biggest impacts from the growing industry, and complaints have been concentrated where there are the most operators — the Carpinteria Valley.
Community groups and planning commissioners have argued that carbon scrubbers are the best available technology for odor control and should be installed in the area’s greenhouse grows.
Operators have pushed back, partly because of cost, and county planners said it can be difficult to get the electrical upgrades necessary to run that equipment.
At Tuesday’s meeting, supervisors asked staff to recommend a way to objectively measure odor, set a threshold for verifying complaints and identify an operation — or cluster of operations — as the source.
Even though cannabis farms in the Carpinteria Valley are required to have odor control, it’s difficult to impossible for the county to track odor to its source, making enforcement unlikely.
Supervisors also told staff to study power infrastructure in Carpinteria, and make it easier for operators to improve their odor control technology through the permit system.
The motion also asked staff to look into odor control requirements for outdoor grows in the inland area.
Supervisors voted 3-2 on the direction to staff. Some were frustrated at the lack of action, and others were cautious about more big changes to the ordinances.
Supervisors Joan Hartmann, Steve Lavagnino and Das Williams voted in favor, and supervisors Laura Capps and Bob Nelson voted against the motion.
“I think we’ve made some mistakes on our cannabis ordinance with seat of the pants ideas,” Hartmann said.
“Before we vote to require this, I want to understand what the implications are. It’s easier for me to say, this is the result I want, you figure it out, than it is for me to say, this is how to do it and get this result.”
Capps said she was frustrated that the board was asking for more reports.
“I don’t know what studies are going to get us that we don’t have today,” she said. “We had the opportunity to do something. I think we know what works, we know the best available technology right now.”
These studies are expected to take about six months before coming back to the Board of Supervisors.
Planning & Development Director Lisa Plowman said the direction to spend more time on the cannabis ordinance means her staff will delay work related to SB 9 and short-term rentals.