John Palminteri
CARPINTERIA, Calif. - A zoning permit for SFS Farms, 87 acres of outdoor cannabis cultivation at the western end of the Sta. Rita Hills, the county’s most successful wine region, was approved by the county Board of Supervisors this week with few concessions to the neighboring vintners.
SFS Farms, owned by investors in Colorado and Manhattan Beach, is the largest “grow” approved by the county to date. If it were up and running today, it would be one of the largest cannabis operations in the U.S.; 87 acres is about 65 football fields’ worth of pot.
“I do favor large-size grows,” Supervisor Steve Lavagnino, who represents the Santa Maria Valley, said at Tuesday’s “virtual” hearing, where, for the first time in more than a year, all five supervisors sat together at the dais, without masks.
Wineries appealing permit allowing over 80 acres of cannabis to be grown along Hwy 246
ksby
and last updated 2021-02-18 02:29:57-05
An area the size of more than 60 football fields along Highway 246 near Lompoc could soon be covered in cannabis.
Earlier this month the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission approved a permit for SFS Farms that would allow them to grow more than 80 acres of cannabis on their property.
Neighboring wineries are now asking the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors to put a stop to the project.
When it comes to making wine in the Santa Rita Hills, General Manager of Melville Winery, Kurt Ammann, says there s nothing like it.
By Melinda Burns
| 2:49 p.m.
It is the winter of discontent for many Buellton-area vintners and residents, as two more outdoor cannabis projects, one of them the largest in the county to date, have been approved for the picturesque Sta. Rita Hills wine region.
How and whether the county requires odor controls on these early projects – SFS Farms OpCo 1 at the western end of the Sta. Rita Hills and Central Coast Agriculture at the eastern end near Buellton – will set a precedent for nearly 800 acres of outdoor grows that are proposed for the region and in various stages of county review, critics say.
Bitter Feud in Wine Country: Will the county rein in the skunky smell from outdoor pot farms?
Central Coast Agriculture, a 32-acre project for cannabis cultivation under hoops at 8701 Santa Rosa Rd., was approved in January by the county Planning Commission. The project includes stricter requirements for odor control than other outdoor cannabis projects, but a citizens’ coalition says they do not go far enough. (Photo by Melinda Burns)
It is a winter of discontent for many Buellton-area vintners and residents, as two more outdoor cannabis operations, one of them slated to be the county’s largest, were approved for the picturesque Sta. Rita Hills wine region.