Planning Commission to Deny Permit for Busted Herbal Angels Pot Farm
Project Would Be Too Big, Traffic Too Unsafe for Rural Community, Officials Say
The Santa Barbara County Planning Commission voted 5-0 this week to lay the groundwork for denying a zoning permit to Herbal Angels, a cannabis operation near Lompoc that was raided and shut down last year by Sheriff’s Office deputies. The operators proposed to grow 17 acres of cannabis, mostly under hoop houses, and erect two large processing buildings next to a rural neighborhood in Cebada Canyon, off Highway 246.
The unanimous vote sends a strong signal that the commission does not view industrial-scale cannabis operations as a good fit for residential neighborhoods, even rural ranchette neighborhoods such as the one on Cebada Canyon Road, where, prior to the raid in mid-December, Herbal Angels had been growing cannabis for three years. On Wednesday, May 27, the commission directed county planners to draw up the findings for denial; the final vote will be June 10.
Steve Junak, a Cebada Canyon resident, said he and his neighbors were “very happy” with the commission’s vote but should not have had to suffer so long with the offensive stench of marijuana, big commercial truck traffic, loud generator noise, ugly hoop houses, disruptive nighttime lights, and mysterious traffic at 3 a.m. in and out of Herbal Angels.
