Santa Barbara County Marijuana Business Ordinances

Santa Barbara County California Marijuana Business Ordinances (Updated 2017)

​In Santa Barbara County, all cities have banned recreational marijuana businesses. While permitted medical marijuana business activities vary from city to city, the majority of Santa Barbara cities also passed memorandums prior to the passage of Proposition 64 last year in order to ban medical marijuana businesses in their cities.
 
Here is a breakdown of the city ordinances that apply to marijuana activities in each city for Santa Barbara County:

Buellton
 
Recreational and medical marijuana businesses are prohibited in Buelton. The City County passed Ordinance No. 17-01 in January that placed a 45-day moratorium on recreational marijuana businesses. The ordinance prohibits non-medical marijuana facilities citywide, prohibits any person or entity from cultivating marijuana at any location in the City (with a limited exception for personal indoor cultivation of six marijuana plants or less), and prohibits non-medical marijuana facilities from delivering to any person in the City.

The moratorium was also permitted to be extended for up to 10 months and 15 days after notice public hearing is held along with an extension for up to 10 months and 15 days. In September, 2016, the City Council enacted a 45-day ban on marijuana businesses, both recreational and medical and renewed the ban for up to a year from the original date of passage.

Carpinteria

Last year, the Carpinteria City Council approved an ordinance that places a number of restrictions on where recreational marijuana may be cultivated within the city. Under the ordinance, outdoor cultivation of recreational marijuana may only occur in backyards and without any exterior visual evidence. Cultivation is also banned within 600 feet of schools, day care centers, and youth centers.

Goleta

Goleta currently only permits two medical marijuana dispensaries which were grandfathered in when the city placed a moratorium on additional dispensaries.

Guadalupe

Guadalupe currently permits medical marijuana dispensaries. However, the city has not yet implemented city ordinances pertaining to recreational cultivation.
 
Lompoc

​Lompoc recently rejected an ordinance to impose heavy regulations on marijuana cultivation within the City. Currently, marijuana dispensaries are banned in the City of Lompoc, per the Marijuana Ordinance passed in January 2016. As of April 2017, marijuana regulations are still up for discussion by the City Council.
 
Santa Barbara
 
In Santa Barbara, recreational marijuana businesses are banned per an interim emergency zoning ordinance enacted by the City Council in November 2016. Although the ban was set to only go into effect for 45 days, the City Council was granted the ability to extend it for up to two years.
 
Santa Maria
 
In Santa Maria, nonmedical marijuana operations were temporarily banned in February by the Board of Supervisors. The purpose was to allow the staff and board time to adopt a permanent ordinance, which includes plans for licensing, permitting, and tax and fee schedules.
 
Currently, marijuana cultivation, packaging, and distribution of recreational marijuana are banned. Regarding medicinal marijuana businesses, the city currently has no ordinance in place to regulate the operations.
 
Solvang
 
The Solvang Municipal Code already prohibits medical marijuana dispensaries and cultivation, whether for personal or commercial use. However, it does permit the delivery of medical marijuana to qualified patients under the Compassionate Use Act. Last year, the City Council approved an ordinance prohibiting the manufacturing, processing, laboratory testing, labeling, storing and wholesale and retail distribution of cannabis.
 
The ordinance was set to expire in 45 days. However the City Council was granted permission to extend it for 10 months and 15 days, then extend it again for one year with a four-fifths vote.