Island Breeze Farms, a small greenhouse pot operation across Foothill Road from the Polo Condos at the western end of the Carpinteria Valley, has been denied a zoning permit by the county Planning Commission. It is the first time the panel has turned down a cannabis project in the region.
The 4-1 vote on Nov. 13 comes as the county, pressed by valley residents, is starting to reexamine the industry-friendly regulatory environment it created with the cannabis ordinance of 2018. A county proposal to start measuring the "skunky" smell of pot at greenhouse property lines in response to complaints from residents is under review at the commission. A special hearing on the matter has been set for Jan. 22.
According to county planning staff, it's impossible to pinpoint which of the 20 active cannabis greenhouse operations clustered around the City of Carpinteria are to blame for the pungent odor of marijuana that continues to plague "hot spots" in the valley. In effect, 3,900 odor complaints filed with the county since early 2018 have not been enforced.
One of the neighborhoods where the smell lingers is the Polo Condos, an exclusive community of more than 300 people next to the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club. Island Breeze, located at 3376 Foothill just 100 feet from the entrance to the condos, has been a target of numerous odor complaints from residents over the years. So have other, larger cannabis greenhouse operations in the vicinity, including, most notably, G&K Produce at 3561 Foothill and Autumn Brands at 3615 Foothill.
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