Taking aim at an industry it views as disruptive and out-of-control, a citizens’ coalition is suing the Board of Supervisors and the owner of Busy Bee’s Organics, a 22-acre cannabis project on Highway 246 that was unanimously approved for a zoning permit last month.
In a lawsuit filed on April 23 in county Superior Court, the Santa Barbara Coalition for Responsible Cannabis, Inc., a nonprofit group, alleges that Sara Rotman, the owner of Busy Bee’s, and her agents, illegally expanded a medicinal operation from a single greenhouse in early 2016 to more than seven acres in 2018 – and that the supervisors broke their own zoning rules by validating that expansion with an after-the-fact permit.
The coalition claims that the county failed to properly review the environmental impacts of cannabis on the lucrative wine-tasting business in and around Buellton, including the pungent smell of marijuana plants; and that the county broke state law by allowing cannabis operations such as Busy Bee’s to qualify for tax breaks as agricultural preserves.
Coalition backers are seeking a court order to void Busy Bee’s permit and halt its operations, pending further review.
“This lawsuit is a last resort,” said Debra Eagle, a coalition board member and the general manager of Alma Rosa Winery at 7250 Santa Rosa Road. “Respect and moderation is all we are asking for.”
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