An appeal of an 86.8-acre cannabis cultivation project near Lompoc was rejected Wednesday by the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission, whose members said that decision likely will be appealed to the Board of Supervisors anyway.
After more than five hours of presentations, discussion and public comment, commissioners voted 4-1 to deny the appeal of a land use permit granted to SFS Farms OpCo 1 to cultivate cannabis on a 959.59-acre site off Highway 246 in the Santa Rita Valley about 4 miles east of Lompoc.
Third District Commissioner John Parke cast the dissenting vote on the motion to deny the appeal filed by Chad and Ron Melville, owners of Melville Winery, joined by Dan Gainey of Gainey Vineyard and four others.
“I think we have to approve this project in some part, but I want it to be reduced to 42 acres [on the west side],” Parke said, which would provide a 1,500-foot buffer between the cannabis and the Gainey wine grapes adjacent to the east side of the property.
Read more at lompocrecord.com