Editor’s Note: Since this piece was posted, the writer learned that the regenerative carbon scrubbers were not causing the constant noise, but it was the fans and blowers of the air handling system. He asks the grower to take the design back to the drawing board and come up with something that is not so horribly loud 24 hours a day.
Cannabis in Carp Still Stinks
And Now the Fans and Blowers Make an Incessant Noise
Let’s talk about the fact that five years since Supervisor Das Williams decided to install the largest cannabis grows in the state in Santa Barbara County, it still stinks — plenty.
I recognize that I am a retired firefighter and my wife, an artist, is a retired teacher. So, in S.B.’s political world, we have no clout.
That said, something needs to be done.
Whoever cooked up the odor reporting/violation system made sure there were gaping holes to ensure that no cannabis grower had to make any meaningful changes. It is a nightmare, as all Carpinteria knows. (Our friends in Santa Ynez and north have been seriously adversely impacted — and have my sympathy and support — but I’ll limit my comments to Carpinteria Valley where I live.)
Unless you can cite a specific address or parcel number by sniffing the air, there is no way to report cannabis “skunk” odor. I live next to a major grower — Ed Van Wingerden’s operation — who finally installed a carbon scrubber odor system that seems to work. (The trade off was a constant noise problem which I will address.)
Still, cannabis “skunk” odor does drift into our neighborhood. We assume it probably stems from grow(s) to the north and west of here, but no one can pinpoint an address for the origin or a parcel number. There are so many cannabis grows — most of which are in violation of the few rules that the county recognizes. Consider that for the county to recognize an odor violation, you must cite smelling it your home but not those of grows that you walk, bike, or drive by that pollute the air of our entire community?
Carbon scrubbers seem to be doing a good job, but many growers do not use them and continue to do whatever they want. They make their yearly contribution to the local supervisor and know that there will be no genuine enforcement.
The other evening, I was returning from Ventura and could smell the cannabis “skunk” odor from the 101 freeway and Casitas Pass area. That’s the new normal, as is smelling it around Padaro/Santa Claus, usually 24/7.
So how does one identify the addresses and parcel numbers? Or the area east of the Polo Club? That area is a cluster of major growers. The Padaro and La Mirada Drive areas have cannabis odor most of the time. And has for years.
As anyone living in Carpinteria knows, reporting odor violations pretty much accomplishes nothing. Evidently, that’s the way Supervisor Williams wants it. Otherwise, he could clean up our air with the stroke of his pen. Go figure? Maybe it has something to do with the oft-reported six-figure contributions he has taken from the cannabis industry?
Noise is our second concern. Case in point, our cannabis-growing neighbor implemented carbon scrubbers early December 2022. The odor control and the noise levels were initially good. I thought maybe cannabis growers and neighbors could be friends again. But on May 25, 2023, something changed. On May 25, a growling, incessant noise began. The grower had installed an industrial level fan blower that has generated noise 24 hours a day, seven days a week since May 25.
Another Catch 22: The noise level does not actually exceed the so-called county noise ordinance for agriculture (yes, cannabis is now afforded the same breaks as growing oranges), but it is loud enough to fill our yard and patio with a din. The noise never stops. It is a form of torture.
Most mornings I can hear the noise inside my dining room while sipping coffee and reading the news. I understand the usual farming noises and have no problem with them, but this is constant 24-hour-a-day noise, seven days a week. I want to have a good relationship with my cannabis-growing neighbors, but this noise issue is not acceptable. Our community deserves peaceful, quiet, and odor-free neighborhoods. We don’t want noise to be the price to pay for odor control.
Santa Barbara County must have mandatory cannabis odor and noise regulations — and ones that are enforced. The Cannabis Ordinance must be amended to ensure there is full compliance.
Paul Ekstrom has been a Carpinteria resident for 50 years.
