A county plan for tackling the "skunky" smell of pot in the Carpinteria Valley was presented to the Planning Commission this week, amid a flurry of letters from residents who said it didn't go far enough.
Under the proposal by county Planning & Development, inspectors with "trained noses" would investigate odor complaints in the valley, a mecca for the cannabis greenhouse industry, by measuring the smell along greenhouse property lines. They would sniff the air through Nasal Rangers, handheld gadgets that look like oversized hair dryers. Any odor of pot rated by an inspector as stronger than "noticeable" and lasting for at least three minutes would require the growers to take some action — adjust their odor control equipment, conduct diagnostic testing, or install better technology.
County inspections of the greenhouses themselves would be performed quarterly during the first year of operations, as they are now, and annually thereafter, unannounced. Growers would be required to install "run-time" meters showing when their equipment was or was not functioning.
These amendments to the county's 2018 cannabis ordinance would provide "an objective standard or threshold that is measurable and enforceable" and would help Planning & Development "to better identify, evaluate, and enforce cannabis related nuisance odors" in the valley, according to a staff report to the commission. For implementation, the odor controls would require a commission recommendation, a majority vote of the county Board of Supervisors and final approval by the state Coastal Commission, a process that could take more than a year.
