I just returned from the August 20 Santa Barbara County Board of
Supervisors meeting at which they were considering the second level of appeal
against a permit for G&K Farm to grow cannabis in Carpinteria. I live very
close to G&k Farm and so had a personal interest in attending. I just have
two comments:
First, I
was saddened by the fact that of the 39 citizens who were allowed to speak,
well more than 50 to 60 percent were employees of cannabis growers in
Carpinteria. In some cases they were on the legal team for G&K. So the
chair of the board rightfully refused to allow those to speak because
presumably they are not residents.
But even among those residents permitted to speak, the vast majority were
employed by the growers. To me this shows that these hearings are probably of not
of much value. How hard is it for employers to get these employees to show up
and speak? On the other hand it takes a great deal of independent concern and
effort for a single citizen to find out where and when the meeting occurs then
to make the effort to come to a supervisors meeting. So I hope the supervisors
consider carefully who they heard from today.
Second, it
seems to me that the fundamental issue is obviously odor. Giving the benefit of
the doubt to G&K Farm, that they are a model of observing all the rules and
regulations, and perhaps they are, the fact remains as one local non-employee
speaker said, “The stench and the odor are still horrible!”