CPC Talks Nasal Rangers and Cannabis Odor Abatement

On February 19th, the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission approved the proposed changes to the county’s cannabis ordinance in a 5-0 vote. The changes require cannabis operators to install multi-technology carbon filtration or equivalent technology in their greenhouses to effectively mitigate cannabis odor.

The commissioners also established an odor threshold, to be measured using a Nasal Ranger, a device that quantifies odor strength. Trained county staff will use the Nasal Ranger to measure odor strength at property lines. They concluded that a reading of 7 Dilutions to Threshold (D/T) or higher for three consecutive minutes would violate the ordinance. According to the staff presentation, 7 D/T represents a “noticeable” odor intensity, detectable by the public.

The commissioners believe the county must respond promptly to odor complaints. However, they also acknowledged that if residents made complaints in the middle of the night, they would have to wait until the morning for the county to arrive. 

Before implementing the Nasal Ranger for official measurements, commissioners had the opportunity to try the device firsthand, leading to differing assessments. Vice Chair Roy Reed said he used the Nasal Ranger and believed it was less of a “toy” than he had previously thought. 

On the other hand, First District Commissioner Michael Cooney didn’t find the Nasal Ranger to be that impressive. “I have a lot of skepticism about the Nasal Ranger’s value in this whole process,” he said. “I wish I had some confidence that I didn’t gain when I used it.” 

Many Carpinteria residents believe the odor threshold should be zero. “There must be no odor at the property line,” wrote Sara Miller McCune to the commission. “7 dilution-to-threshold is a joke. I insist upon 0.” 

The commissioners approved “hardship extensions” for growers needing more than 12 months to install scrubbers due to documented challenges like supply chain disruptions or power supply upgrades. The extensions would go through the usual approval process: the Director of Planning & Development, the Planning Commission, and then the Board of Supervisors.

Although, some Carpinteria residents didn’t feel that growers should be allowed extensions at all. “When I hear that the Growers could be extended a hardship extension,” said Carpinteria resident Paul Roberts during public comment. “In my life, we’ve been extending them a hardship extension for seven years.” 

The commissioners disagreed on whether operators should be allowed additional extensions beyond the first, worried that the process may be dragged out. “I’m not gonna be happy that it could be up to two years if someone’s got a legitimate need for more time,” said Commissioner Cooney. 

The commissioners also disagreed on whether the Board of Supervisors, the Director of Planning and Development, or the Planning Commission should have the final say on appeals. “I don’t want the final decision maker to be the planning commission,” expressed Vice Chair Reed. 

Ultimately, they couldn’t agree, and the motion failed in a 2-3 vote. 

The Santa Barbara Board of Supervisors will see the item on March 18th. If they approve the recommendations, growers will have 12 months to implement the change or until the Coastal Commission certification takes effect. During this time, the operators must re-design their odor abatement plan, remove any vapor phase or misting systems, and install the new units to be operational. 

“We are now moving swiftly on action that has been long overdue: requiring the best solution to reduce the cannabis odor that has harmed Carpinterians for years,” said Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors Chair Laura Capps after the hearing. 

“Once the board takes action on March 18^th, those in the industry who have yet to install carbon scrubbers will need to do so.  Several already have. It will be a high bar for me to grant any extensions to this overdue and commonsense requirement. The cannabis industry has known for years that that this type of technology is the most effective and has already had plenty of time and financial resources to solve the problem.”