Big Win for Cannabis Industry in Superior Court

Santa Barbara Judge Upholds County Review and Zoning Permit for Busy Bee’s Organics Near Buellton

Sara Rotman, a co-owner of Busy Bee’s Organics and a defendant in the case, said that Judge Thomas Anderle’s ruling was “clear, well-reasoned, and sends a strong message that misusing environmental lawsuits as a weapon against the most sustainable and regulated crop in the world is a losing strategy.” | Credit: Daniel Dreifuss (file)

In a sweeping decision that puts a seal of approval on the county’s embrace of the fast-growing cannabis industry in rural areas, a Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge this week tossed out a citizens’ lawsuit that sought to shut down a 22-acre cannabis hoop-house operation on Highway 246.

Noting that “this is a very important case,” Judge Thomas Anderle ruled on Tuesday that the county’s environmental review and zoning permit for Busy Bee’s Organics, a mile west of Buellton, were fully in compliance with state laws and county land-use policies. The right time to sue, he said, was back in early 2018, when the county Board of Supervisors certified an environmental impact report (EIR) and adopted ordinances governing cannabis cultivation and licensing.

The judge roundly dismissed allegations by the Santa Barbara Coalition for Responsible Cannabis, the plaintiff in the case, that the county failed to consider or address the impacts of the burgeoning industry on vineyards, orchards, and row crops and instead swept them under the rug.