The Santa Barbara County Planning Commission has started reviewing changes to the cannabis ordinance, with a focus on odor control.

The goal is to establish a more objective odor control standard for farms and to appease residents who have complained about the smell of cannabis around their neighborhoods.

Conflicts over the smells of cannabis have been a reoccurring topic for the Planning Commission, which has reviewed multiple appeals against local growers. In the past year, the panel has denied some appeals and approved others.

The board also has approved projects with the requirement that carbon scrubbers to filter emissions are installed.

According to Gwen Beyeler of the Planning and Development Department, the county received more than 1,200 odor complaints in 2021, about 1,000 complaints in 2022 and 400 in 2023.

Beyeler said the county is not sure why residents have stopped reporting odors.

“The decrease may be due to operators installing new and improved odor abatement technology or members of the public may have stopped submitting complaints — or both,” Beyeler said.

At a previous meeting, the commissioners asked county staff to develop an odor threshold and a measurement system, and potential penalties for violations.

Before any changes can be made to the ordinance, the Planning Commission must approve revisions and send them to the Santa Barbara Board of Supervisors. If adopted by the board, the revisions will be sent to the Coastal Commission.

County staff estimate that the ordinance will be adopted by 2026.

The Planning Commission will discuss the ordinance changes again at its Jan. 22 meeting.

Odor-Measuring Equipment

They were also asked to determine how and when odor measurements should be taken and what industry-tested tools can be used reliably.

One tool identified by staff was the Nasal Ranger Field Olfactometer, which can be used to detect smells. The ranger uses a measurement of dilutions-to-threshold, or D/T, to rate odors in the field.

For the ordinance, staff recommended that the county adopt an odor threshold of seven on the D/T scale, which they identified as a nuisance. The odors would be measured at the property line and any odors from the property must be under seven for three consecutive minutes.

Under the proposed changes, a measurement over seven would be considered a violation.

In determining the threshold and standard, Beyeler stated that staff looked at other counties and states with cannabis – such as Denver, Colorado. Denver uses the same threshold for its ordinance.

In her comments, Commissioner Laura Bridley expressed concern about setting the county ordinance threshold to seven on the D/T scale.

“I am not necessarily comfortable with this seven number given that it was based in Denver,” Bridley said. “We’re hearing a lot of information from the public that maybe that’s not the right thing.”

County staff also developed potential punishments for cannabis growers who violate the code.

Under the new guidelines, farms would be required to take corrective actions if they have three complaints from residents within 60 days and county staff finds they are above the odor limit.

Additionally, a grower can be in violation if it gets five complaints within 24 hours and county staff finds smells that exceed the odor limit.

If a grower violates either of these guidelines, they would be required to take corrective action. This would include requiring the operator to follow the odor abatement plan, or OAP, or how it plans to achieve compliance.

The operator would also have to run diagnostic tests on its equipment and provide documentation of the tests and any repairs. An operator also may be forced to revise their OAP.

Deliberation

During deliberation from the commissioners, they expressed concerns about the Nasal Ranger and how it would be used.

Commissioner Roy Reed said he appreciated that the staff was trying to find a scientific way to identify and measure odors. However, he seemed unconvinced by the studies presented by staff.

Reed suggested that county staff do more to inform the public about the nasal ranger and how it works.

“I think it would just make the process more understandable and more transparent for the thousands of people that it is going to affect,” Reed said.

Commission chair Vincent Martinez asked how the equipment would be paid for and the cost of maintenance.

“Who’s going to pay for it? Who’s going to buy it? Who’s going to maintain it and who’s going to pay for the maintenance of it?” Martinez asked.

Commissioner C. Michael Cooney said he would prefer to begin nullifying licenses for growers. However, he also supported moving the topic to an additional meeting.

“I think we are under the gun, and we need to get to another hearing and adopt a program that will move rapidly,” Cooney said.