Santa Barbara County supervisors decided to reduce the amount of cannabis cultivation allowed in the county’s permitting system.
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors approved the changes on Tuesday to reduce the Carpinteria Valley cap by 52 acres, to a new total of 134 acres. The board lowered the maximum acreage for the rest of the county unincorporated areas by 158 acres, for a new total of 1,417 acres allowed for cannabis cultivation.
The change comes as Santa Barbara County looks to adjust to falling cannabis tax revenue. Cannabis brought in a high of $15.7 million during the 2020-21 fiscal year, but that number dropped to just under $6 million in 2023-24. The county taxes cannabis cultivation, distribution, retail and other business operations.
Another issue is the ongoing odor complaints from Carpinteria Valley residents. The board has responded by requiring cannabis operators to install carbon scrubbers and undergo more frequent inspections for their greenhouse farms.
Despite the county’s efforts to crack down on cannabis odors in Carpinteria, locals say the smell is getting worse. Even Second District Board Supervisor Roy Lee says he can smell it at his home.
“I just want you to know it’s getting worse, not better,” Roy Lee said.
According to Jeffrey Wilson, the assistant director for Planning and Development, the county has received 136 complaints this year and has responded to calls that requested a follow-up.
He added that the county has six inspections for cannabis operators.
“Looking at the existing tools that we have, we have an opportunity to focus on holding operators accountable to the approved odor abatement plan,” Wilson said.
Wilson added the county is waiting for the amendments to the abatement to be approved by the California Coastal Commission, but it is actively identifying hotspots for odors.
The department is also developing ways to conduct unannounced odor inspections to see if operators are using the required equipment.
Supervisors also discussed a report from the Santa Barbara County Grand Jury and its analysis of the county’s cannabis ordinance. The report noted that the county was set to lose money regulating the industry compared to what it was bringing in from tax revenue.
County staff acknowledged that the Grand Jury was accurate in much of its report. However, they stated that the county had already responded to falling revenue by cutting back on operating costs and adjusting the annual budget to reflect the drop in revenue.
Supervisor Laura Capps thanked county staff and the CEO’s office for their help in adjusting to the change in cannabis revenue. She pointed out that the county had already began making changes to its budget when the report was issued in June.
“The Grand Jury really did their work here, but we were also very much aligned, almost by the week, and got the timing right. (We) did much of the work that they’ve outlined, that we should have been doing,” Capps said.