Board also to set hearing date to consider denying cannabis cultivation permit
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will receive a full demographic breakdown of the county’s COVID-19 cases.
In the update that will be given by Public Health Director Dr. Von Do-Reynoso, the board will be provided with the county’s response and operations regarding the coronavirus pandemic. The update is expected to focus on the recent outbreak in the city of Santa Maria, which has 528 of the county’s 1,917 cases.
The board will be asked to provide any direction, as appropriate, according to the staff report.
In other business Tuesday, the board will discuss setting a hearing date to consider the Planning and Development Department’s recommendation to deny an application from Santa Rita Valley Ag., Inc. for a land use permit to allow cannabis cultivation.
The discussion will come after the board 3-2 last week to ban commercial cannabis cultivation and processing in rural neighborhoods.
The appeal of the Planning Commission’s decision on the LUP application was scheduled for a hearing in March, but was continued multiple times for various reasons, including the applicant’s withdrawal of the LUP application and rescinding of the previous withdrawal. The item was last continued on May 5, according to the staff report.
On May 1, the property owner submitted a letter explaining that the lease is expired and no longer effective, revoking use of the property.
County staff has not received proof of authorization from the property owner to proceed with the proposed project, therefore recommending the board deny the permit because it is not consistent with the county Land Use and Development code requirements.
Tuesday’s meeting will begin at 9 a.m. and will only allow remote virtual participation. The meeting will be televised on local cable channel 20, online at countyofsb.org and on the CSBTV20 YouTube channel.
email: mwhite@newspress.com
