The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will consider implementing new development standards and permit requirements regarding certain commercial cannabis activities.
In July 2019, the board directed staff to have the Planning Commission come up with recommendations or strategies to help mitigate the odor and other impacts of cannabis operations along urban-rural boundaries, as well as conflicts with existing agriculture operations. Following four public hearings, the Planning Commission adopted a resolution and recommended the board amend the County Land Use and Development Code and added the requirement of a conditional use permit for all cultivation and related activities. In addition, the commission recommended the board amend an article of the Coastal Zoning Ordinance to ensure odor abatement plans wouldn’t be detrimental to the health, safety or general welfare of the neighborhood and would be compatible with the surrounding area.
“By making this change to the development standard for odor abatement plans, the Planning Commission’s recommended odor control requirements would be aligned with the standards for approval of the CUPs that would be required for cannabis cultivation and related on-site processing activities,” the staff report reads.
Under the proposal, all coastal zone cultivation operations, including cultivation, distribution and processing, would require a conditional use permit that is appealable to the Coastal Commission. This would also apply to certain inland operations, according to the staff report.
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