A recently released Santa Barbara County Grand Jury report condemned the Santa Barbara Board of Supervisors regarding the implementation of the cannabis industry in the county.
According
to the report, the Grand Jury accuses the board of ignoring public outcry regarding
the odor, allowing an excessive amount of licenses and production, as well as
ignoring environmental impacts. In addition, the group alleges county officials
showed poor ethics and created an unverified affidavit system, among other
issues.
“Instead
of a balanced approach carefully evaluating how the cannabis industry would be
compatible, both as to amount of acreage and location, the board simply opened
the floodgates. These ordinances must be amended,” the report said.
The
report added that due to these actions, life in Santa Barbara County has been
altered even “perhaps forever.”
The
major objection the report found with the county’s handling of this situation
was from the ad hoc committee, created in 2017, which was meant to review and
create regulations for adult use and cannabis cultivation in the county.
According
to the report, the meetings were not open to the public and therefore in
violation of the Brown Act.
“The
creation of a non-Brown Act Ad Hoc Sub Committee that was not open to the
public led to a lack of transparency and distrust by Santa Barbara County
residents,” the report found.
Additionally,
the committee’s number one objective was to “develop a robust and economically
viable legal cannabis industry to ensure production and availability of high
quality cannabis products to help meet local demands, and, as a public benefit,
improve the County’s tax base,” the report found, leading to excessive grants
of business licenses despite outcry from the public.
The
Grand Jury also stated in the report that the number one complaint they
received from citizens was the “skunky smell” that is produced by cannabis
operations.
The
Grand Jury received two letters from the Carpinteria School Board reporting
“ill effects, such as headaches from the nauseating odor” at Carpinteria High
in late afternoons due to the cannabis stench.
Additional
complaints came from the Santa Ynez Valley including Buellton, the Santa Rita
Hills AVA wine tasting rooms, Cebada Canyon and Los Alamos residents.
The
Grand Jury alleges that the committee’s goal to develop a robust cannabis
industry overrode the many concerns regarding the smell.
The
report also cited that by allowing cannabis operations to be so close to
traditional agriculture has led to “disastrous results.”
One
example given was the Santa Rita Hills AVA wineries and vineyards. The strong
odor released from the cannabis locations makes it so that the two types of
operations could never coexist.
For
one, tasting rooms rely on pleasant smells to not upset customers.
Additionally, when strong odors are introduced to customers it ruins their
perceptions as to what they are tasting.
“The
heavy skunky odor, of even just a few cannabis plants, can elicit a strong
response from people nearby,” the report read.
The
affidavit system was also heavily critiqued, saying that “The Board’s disregard
for potential abuse is incomprehensible.”
Finally,
another major critique the Grand Jury called into question was the board’s
ethics.
During
ad hoc meetings, notes and minutes were not prepared in order to avoid any
Public Records Act requests for those documents.
“The
lack of a paper trail does not fit with the concept of open government which
seeks input from all interests. This unchecked process led to an imbalanced
perspective,” the report read.
The
report also noted a number of emails found between cannabis lobbyists or
growers and board members were “unnerving.”
“The
tone of these emails appeared at times as if to direct specific actions to the
board members and gave the perception of an attempt to command instead of
recommend,” the report said.
Ultimately,
the jury believes the board, “failed the people of Santa Barbara County.”
“Now
they must amend the cannabis ordinances to regain the people’s trust.”
The
jury recommended a number of things to the board. A few of them are:
Directing
the Santa Barbara County Planning and Development Department Director to
prepare Environmental Impact Reports addressing each region of Santa Barbara
County after holding public hearings to evaluate public concerns.
Directing
the Santa Barbara County Planning and Development Department Director to
develop Project Objectives for the Environmental Impact Reports that reflect a
balance between cannabis, traditional agriculture, and the residents of Santa
Barbara County.
Requiring
all future ad hoc committees be open to the public and subject to the Brown
Act.
Developing
standards that require Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors members to
publicly disclose all access granted to lobbying individuals or groups,
especially while a matter involving these individuals or groups is before the
Board of Supervisors.
Amending
the Land Use and Development Code and Article II, the Coastal Zoning Ordinance to
require all pending cannabis land use permit applications be subject to a
Conditional Use Permit review.
Requiring
all applicants with cannabis use and development permit applications and
licenses pending, who claim legal non-conforming status, to prove their claimed
status before the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission.
The
board has 90 days to respond to the report. A full copy can be found at:
http://www.sbcgj.org/2020/Cannabis.pdf.
Santa
Barbara News-Press
Jorge Merecado jmercado@newspress.com
July 4, 2020
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