A zoning permit for Central Coast Agriculture Inc., a 30-acre cannabis “hoop-house” operation in wine country west of Buellton, was approved by the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors this week, just hours after the grower signed off on a comprehensive odor-control plan that his critics had been requesting for months.
Voting 4-0 on Tuesday, with one abstention, the supervisors praised both John De Friel, the owner and CEO of Central Coast Agriculture, and Marc Chytilo, an attorney for the Santa Barbara Coalition for Responsible Cannabis, a countywide group of farmers, vintners, and residents who advocate for tougher regulation of the burgeoning industry.
“The bar has been raised,” said Supervisor Steve Lavagnino, who represents the Santa Maria Valley. “We ended up with a better project at the end of the day.”