What’s that smell? Flower town’s shift to pot creates stink
CARPINTERIA, Calif. — This picturesque coastal town cradled by mountains and sandy shores is a scene out of a Southern California postcard. Residents of Carpinteria say they feel lucky to live in what they consider a slice of paradise.
But change is in the air. And sometimes, they say, it stinks.
That’s because marijuana has become a new crop of choice in the farmlands surrounding this tight-knit community of 14,000, which has long helped fuel the U.S. cut flower industry.
Residents say a thick, skunk-like odor from the marijuana plants settles over the valley in the evenings and before dawn. To keep out the stench, they have tried stuffing pillows under doors, lighting incense and shutting windows, a reluctant choice because it also keeps out the cool ocean breezes that are part of the town’s allure.
“We don’t want a marijuana smell,” said Xave Saragosa, a 73-year-old retired sheriff ’s deputy who was born and raised in the town and lives near a greenhouse that grows marijuana. “We want fresh air.”
Carpinteria, about 85 miles from Los Angeles, is in the southeast corner of Santa Barbara County, a tourist area famous for its beaches, wine and temperate climate. It’s also becoming known as a haven for cannabis growers.
The county has amassed the largest number of marijuana cultivation licenses in California since broad legalization arrived Jan. 1 — about 800, according to state data compiled by the Associated Press. Two-thirds of them are in Carpinteria and Lompoc, a larger agricultural city about an hour’s drive to the northwest.
Virtually all of Carpinteria’s licenses are for small, “mixedlight” facilities, which essentially means greenhouses.
The result is a large number of licenses but small total acreage. Only about 200 acres of the county’s farmland is devoted to marijuana, compared with tens of thousands sown with strawberries and vegetables, said Dennis Bozanich, who oversees the county’s marijuana planning. The area’s greenhouses have their roots in Carpinteria’s cut flower industry, which was sapped after the U.S. government granted trade preferences to South American countries in the 1990s to encourage their farmers to grow flowers instead of coca, the plant used to make cocaine.
Greenhouses that once produced flowers are seen as ideal for marijuana. In Carpinteria’s climate, the greenhouses heat and cool easily and inexpensively, and the plants thrive. It takes only about three months to grow cannabis in these conditions, so farmers can get multiple harvests each year.
Some residents said the stench has decreased in recent months as some growers installed systems aimed at reducing the smells. Others said the problem persists.
The county passed rules in February requiring growers to submit odor abatement plans and designate a representative to handle complaints. They are expected to take effect in some county areas this year and in Carpinteria following a review by state coastal regulators.
Californians voted to legalize marijuana in 2016, but counties and cities have a say on whether they allow cannabis production, distribution or sales.
Even before the ballot measure, Santa Barbara County recognized a number of farmers were growing marijuana to supply the state’s medical market. So officials started looking at establishing odor, security and other rules.
All of the county’s licenses are to grow medical marijuana, Bozanich said, though the state allows some crossover into the adult market.
In Carpinteria, some residents worry property values will fall if the town keeps reeking of pot.
Toni Stuart, an 80-year-old retired Episcopal priest, said the odor doesn’t creep into the area near the beach where she lives, but she worries about the community changing.
“I would not like Carpinteria to be the ‘cannabis capital’ of Southern California. I like it the way it is. It’s a very quiet, unpretentious beach town,” she said.
“If people want to grow cannabis instead of flowers or avocados or macadamia nuts — I suppose that’s their right. But they’ve got to think about their neighbors.”