A spillover crowd of more than 200 people descended on Carpinteria City Hall Monday night to speak out about the growth of the cannabis industry in the Carpinteria Valley.
Carpinteria, widely known as a sleepy beach town known with “the world’s safest beach,” is now at the center of global debate over cannabis cultivation.
Many local residents say the “skunk” smell of marijuana is choking the community, and causing health problems for those who get a whiff of the plant.
Supporters, many workers in the grower industry, contend that the concerns over odor are overblown because of the negative stigma attached to cannabis. They also say that the industry is a booming economic driver for the Carpinteria Valley.
The council voted 5-0 Monday night to adopt a resolution stating its concerns about the proliferation of cannabis farming, and send letters to Santa Barbara County, the county Air Pollution Control District, the California Coastal Commission and other state representatives.
The council wants the county to consider not allowing any more permits, adding a 1,000-foot buffer from property line to property line, and setting a finite date to implement odor control. The council also is urging other local cities to send similar letters.
“The city has repeatedly expressed its concern regarding the impacts and unintended consequences of permitting commercial cannabis activities within the valley, particularly those in close proximity to the city’s jurisdictional boundaries, including odor, traffic, noise, lighting, public safety, over-concentration of cannabis activities, and the potential for serious public health, safety and welfare issues,” the resolution states.
Some of the critics called on Carpinteria to implement a moratorium on cannabis cultivation.
“We need an immediate moratorium on anymore pot licenses,” said Ann Louis Bardach, a nationally renowned journalist, author and local political activist.
Bardach blasted First District County Supervisor Das Williams for allegedly cozying up to the pot growers.
“Our First District supervisor has one primary constituency, and that is pot growers,” she said.
She said every cannabis license in Humboldt County allows for six acres of cultivation, and that Santa Barbara needs to put a cap on outdoor cultivation acreage.
“I had to drive through what we call ‘skunk alley,’” Bardach said. “It smells. You can all go on a tour with me and smell it with me. We used to call it Foothill Road. It used to be beautiful, bucolic, serene, and now it has stenches going anywhere from one to 10 and beyond.
“Worse than the smells are sometimes even the non-smells, the headaches and respiratory illnesses,” Bardach said.
Autumn Shelton, CFO and co-owner of Santa Barbara County-based Autumn Brands, defended the growth of cannabis in the Carpinteria Valley.
“Cannabis has been misunderstood,” Shelton said.
She said the federal government has stigmatized cannabis and made it into a dirty word.
“The world is unwinding years of ingrained fear and Carpinteria can too,” Shelton said.
She said that responsible cultivators are using odor-control techniques, but there may be some illegal growers who aren’t.
“Let’s work together to find the black market growers,” Shelton said.
Grower Ed Van Wingerden said many of the concerns about cannabis are irrational.
He said the smell of cannabis cannot spark hay fever, asthma or other allergies.
“To put the blame on cannabis is completely unfounded,” said Van Wingerden, who owns 60 acres of avocado groves and leases space to cannabis growers. “Why are we focusing on cannabis, a plant that can be stinky, but has great benefits.”
Carpinteria City Councilman Gregg Carty said he is “looking forward to working together and working this out.”
“How did it ever get to this point,” Carty said. “I feel Carpinteria has been the squeaky voice in the back of the room when it comes to the county of Santa Barbara. These resolutions and these letters gives us a chance to give voice and be heard.”
Councilman Al Clark said Carpinteria needs to slow down.
“We are not meaning to shut cannabis down or anything like that,” Clark said. “The economic benefits are great. The jobs are great, and we don’t want to slow the process down, but unfortunately the process is not good. We do have an over-concentration of use in Carpinteria.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
