Mixed Messages: County Sues a Carpinteria Valley Cannabis Grower, Then Okays a Permit
It’s Been a Smelly Five Years with Little Relief at the Polo Condos, Neighbors of Island Breeze Say
Island Breeze Farms — a cannabis greenhouse operation that was sued by the county in 2021 for allegedly creating “a continuing public nuisance,” failing to make progress on a zoning permit application, and engaging in “unfair competition” — was granted a permit this spring by the county planning department, confounding Carpinteria Valley residents who thought the project would be shut down.
“It’s a perfect example of a broken system,” said Jeremy Norris, who lives next door to Island Breeze, a “grow” on two acres at 3376 Foothill Road at the western end of the valley. The “skunky” stench of pot from the grow has caused him and his family to suffer headaches, not to mention cost him rental income, Norris said, adding, “If they’re approved, they will devalue my property and make my financial life more difficult. There have been warm days when you feel sick breathing the air around you.”
Across the street, residents at the exclusive Polo Condos say they have protested for years — in emails, phone calls, odor complaints, letters, and a meeting at the club with county officials, including Das Williams, their county supervisor — that the smell of pot wafts into their homes, particularly during summer and especially at morning and night, when the greenhouse roof vents are opened wider to allow heat to escape. The entrance gate to the condos is 50 feet from Island Breeze.
