Cresco Cannabis Appeal Fizzles at Coastal Commission

Carpinteria Valley Greenhouse Project Will Not Harm Arroyo Paredon Creek, State Officials Say

The state Coastal Commission made short shrift of an appeal of the Cresco California cannabis project on Foothill Road this week, unanimously finding that it raised “no substantial issue” that would require a fresh review of the company’s zoning permit.

The health of Arroyo Paredon, an “environmentally sensitive habitat,” was the focus of the Cresco cannabis project appeal filed by Maureen Foley Claffey. | Credit: Melinda Burns

The vote of the 12-member commission via Zoom on Thursday leaves in place the county Board of Supervisors’ December 7 approval of the Cresco project — 7.5 acres of cannabis cultivation in greenhouses and a 25,000-square-foot processing building at 3861 Foothill Road, on property owned by Rene Van Wingerden. It is one of the largest “grows” in the Carpinteria Valley; Cresco Labs Inc., a publicly traded company based in Chicago, is one of the fastest-growing cannabis companies in the world, with cultivation and retail operations in 10 states.

“We’re not here today to adjudicate the process of cannabis permitting in Santa Barbara County, broadly,” said Santa Barbara Mayor Pro Tem Meagan Harmon, who was appointed to the commission by Gov. Gavin Newsom last May with support from Concerned Carpinterians, a group that has quixotically sought stiffer regulations for the burgeoning industry in their midst.