A county plan to address the Carpinteria Valley's marijuana “stench” went before the Planning Commission this week amid a flurry of letters from residents saying it doesn't go far enough. Ta.
Inspectors with “trained noses” would identify odor complaints in the Valley, a mecca for the cannabis greenhouse industry, by measuring odors along greenhouse property lines, according to a proposal by the county Planning and Development Department. I will investigate. They sniffed the air through a nasal ranger, a hand-held device that resembled an oversized hair dryer.
Pot odors rated by inspectors as stronger than “pronounced” and lasting for at least three minutes may prompt growers to adjust odor control equipment, conduct diagnostic tests, or implement better technology. It is necessary to take some measures such as
The county will continue to inspect the greenhouses themselves quarterly for the first year of operation, as they currently do, and then annually thereafter without notice. Producers will be required to install “hours-in-service” meters that indicate when equipment has worked or not.
According to a staff report, these amendments to the county's 2018 Cannabis Ordinance provide “measurable and enforceable objective standards or thresholds” that will help the Planning and Development Department “to reduce cannabis-related nuisance odors” in the valley. This will help “appropriately identify, assess and enforce.” to the committee.
Implementing odor regulations would require a commission recommendation, a majority vote from the county board of supervisors, and final approval from the state Coastal Commission, a process that could take more than a year.
The county has approved land use permits for 33 cannabis greenhouse projects around the city of Carpinteria. 20 of them are currently in operation. |Credit: Kindly
“Are you disrespecting voters?”
The county Planning Commission heard a summary of the staff report Wednesday, well behind schedule, but continued the hearing until Nov. 6 for oral public comment. The commission was inundated with 20 letters last week, including statements from Concerned Large Manufacturers, the Responsible Cannabis Coalition, the Carpinteria Valley Association and the City of Carpinteria. It widely criticized the proposed odor regulations and called for more time to consider them.
The smell of pot wafts through the vents in the roof of the greenhouse. |Credit: Melinda Burns
Coalition board member Lionel Neff said property line inspections and odor thresholds would be “an important step in the right direction.” However, he said, “The proposed amendments do nothing to address the persistent nuisance that plagues our communities…Members of our community have suffered for many years, and this proposal will allow us to move quickly enough.” “It does not lead to a solution.”
For starters, some residents will wait until Carpinteria City Councilman Roy Lee, County Supervisor-elect, takes office on Jan. 1 to replace Carpinteria native Das Williams in District 1. , said the county should not take any action regarding odor control. Chief architect of the Cannabis Ordinance.
“Isn't it disrespectful to the voters of District 1 to force a vote on the ordinance amendment right before the new District 1 superintendent takes office?” asked Tim Bliss, who lives on Casitas Pass Road. Ta. Another member of the Bliss family joined a lawsuit the coalition filed last year against Valley Crest Farms and Ceres Farms, two cannabis greenhouse facilities located at 5980 and 6030 Casitas Pass Road.
Most of the 20 “cultivation facilities” currently operating in the valley, including Valley Crest and Ceres, have “plants” designed to mask pot odors after they leak into the outside air through vents in the greenhouse roofs. It relies solely on the “fog spray” system. County records show only six greenhouse facilities have carbon filters called “scrubbers,” which have been shown to remove most pot odors before they can escape through the vents.
A letter from city staff and civic groups to the commission reiterated a longstanding request that the county amend its ordinance to require all cannabis greenhouses to have scrubbers.
“Required Carbon Scrubber Requirements and Monitoring if You Live in a Carpinteria Home Adjacent to a Cannabis Facility and Your Children Study or Play at a Carpinteria School Near the Cannabis Facility Please set a threshold for that,” said Reese Duca, a longtime Valley resident.
“A lot has been achieved.”
According to a staff report, Santa Barbara engineering firm Geosyntech Consultants conducted 335 trips with nose rangers at Valley Greenhouse property lines during two four-day periods this year, once in May and once in August. The researchers recorded measurements of wood and evaluated the smell of the wood. Cannabis. The majority of these measurements are classified as “no odor,” “faint or transitory odor,” or “mild to transitory odor,” all of which are below the county's proposed test threshold. Masu.
More pronounced marijuana odors can be found at the greenhouses on Foothill Road (3500 and 4400 blocks, 4500 block near Carpinteria High School), which have been the subject of resident complaints for years, and in the 5600 and 5700 blocks of Casitas Pass Road. recorded in blocks.
The county is proposing to measure pot odors along greenhouse property lines with nose rangers if enough residents complain. |Credit: Kindly
Geosyntec also tested three greenhouse operations indoors. As expected, strong levels of odor were detected. However, at the greenhouse property line, the odor decreased to negligible levels. The data shows that odor control technology can “significantly reduce cannabis odors from inside a facility compared to outside,” the staff report said.
From December 2022 to April 2024, Geosyntech inspected 50 “mist” systems and scrubbers at 22 cannabis operations in the valley. and two near Buellton. In most cases, the company found that producers were complying with county-approved odor control plans and that the systems were working.
CARP Growers, an industry group representing most of the valley's greenhouse owners, said in a letter to the commission that Geosyntec's efforts are “comprehensive and address the need for major changes to the county's cannabis ordinance.” It seems to be evasive.” The group opposed what it considered an “arbitrary” threshold for odor monitoring at property lines. He also pointed out that many greenhouses are located “quite far away from residential areas.”
Growers said they support requiring annual odor control inspections of greenhouse operations, but the cost should be deducted from the county taxes they pay.
“It is clear from the work contained in the staff letter prepared by your staff and consultants that much has already been accomplished regarding cannabis odor control,” the group said.
“Underprivileged community”
Since early 2016, Valley residents have filed more than 3,900 odor complaints with the Planning and Development Department regarding pot odors and the “laundromat” odor of spray systems, according to county records. However, there is still no way to determine which “growth” is responsible.
Despite the prevalence of misting systems, the smell of marijuana lingers in hotspots around the valley, including La Mirada, Padaro Lane, Polo Condominiums, the Cate School campus and along Foothill Road. . So far this year, carpenters have filed 253 odor complaints with the county, down from 1,200 in 2021. But some residents say they no longer have to go through the trouble of filling out forms.
“As a resident of Carpinteria, I have had to smell marijuana almost every day for seven years, so I ask that you please make this correction right,” Marylee Peebles wrote to the commission. I have attached copies of a number of complaints from the foothills of La Mirada. drive.
“Carpinteria has become a disadvantaged community,” Peebles said. “We put up with odors that can cause physical ailments like asthma, limit our ability to socialize outdoors or keep windows open, and reduce property values… I almost stopped reporting this year because I don't think it's useful.
With cannabis greenhouses all over the Carpinteria Valley, it's hard to pinpoint the source of cannabis odor near the city. |Credit: Kindly
Some residents said the proposed odor threshold for greenhouse property lines should be lowered to “faint” or “very faint” instead of “noticeable.” Others, including Peebles, argued that it should be zero. “I definitely don't want to smell it,” said one resident. Some called for the county to fine producers and revoke their licenses if they fail to control odors.
Many of the letters objected to continued reliance on odor complaints. Under the county's proposal, measurements at greenhouse property lines would only begin if three people filed complaints within 60 days or five people filed complaints within 24 hours. Residents also pointed out that the Nose Ranger would not help areas such as La Mirada, which are not next to the greenhouse. Depending on the location, the smell can be carried by the wind.
Supervisor-elect Lee wrote to the commission regarding the proposed ordinance amendment, saying that “a thorough review of the existing odor complaint system” that has long frustrated many voters should be “prioritized.”
“We have a significant opportunity to correct these deficiencies and restore public confidence in local governance,” Lee said.
The concept of measuring pot odor at greenhouse property lines was considered by the Planning Commission several years ago, but was never adopted. And in 2022, the County Board of Supervisors entered into an on-call odor monitoring contract with Geosyntec. Then, in April, the board asked the Department of Planning and Development to propose odor ordinance amendments for the Carpinteria Valley.
In two separate ongoing studies, Geosyntech and Southern California Edison are investigating the potential power demands associated with installing scrubbers in valley greenhouses, according to staff planners. The Planning and Development Department is researching ways to improve odor control in outdoor cannabis operations, primarily on Buellton's west side. Of the 44 open field or under-hoop “grows” permitted in North County, only five require the installation of odor control devices.
Melinda Burns is an investigative journalist with 40 years of experience covering immigration, water, science and the environment. As a community service, she provides free reporting to multiple Santa Barbara County publications simultaneously.
