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County reports $1.7M in Q1 cannabis tax receipts, sets March review on odor-abatement extensions
Summary
The county reported $1.7 million in cannabis gross-tax receipts for Q1, summarized acreage-cap reductions and dispensary application status, and scheduled March hearings to review extension requests for multi-technology carbon filtration (MTCF) odor-abatement compliance.
County staff presented the first-quarter fiscal-year 2025–26 cannabis taxation, permitting and licensing report on Jan. 27. Treasurer–tax collector figures showed approximately $1.7 million collected in Q1, exceeding last year’s Q1 ($1.3 million) and representing just over 33% of the adopted annual budget ($5.1 million).
Breakdowns by operator type in Q1 included roughly $794,000 from non-outdoor cultivation (indoor/greenhouse/artificial lighting), about $500,000 from outdoor cultivation and approximately $360,000 from non-cultivation operators (nursery, distribution, manufacturing, retail). Staff said 47 cannabis businesses were accounted for in quarter 1 and no Q1 delinquent payments were recorded (several operators reported zero gross receipts because they did not harvest during the quarter).
Planning staff reviewed land-use activity: acreage caps were reduced in the Carpinteria overlay (from 186 to 134 acres) and unincorporated-area cap (from 1,575 to 1,417 acres), with available acres remaining in both caps. Staff reported 28 operators are affected by newly adopted odor-abatement rules requiring installation of multi-technology carbon filtration (MTCF) equipment by March 18, 2026; 10 operators have installed compliant systems, 18 have not and 11 of those submitted extension requests by the Dec. 18, 2025 deadline. Planning director recommendations on extension requests will be presented at the board hearing on March 3, 2026.
On retail storefronts, staff said three previously approved dispensaries are in operation, Los Alamos remains under review (anticipated retail opening in 2027) and Eastern Goleta Valley's applicant is awaiting a certificate of occupancy and targeting Q4 for opening. Two top-ranked applicants in the Toro Canyon–Summerland Community Plan area withdrew; staff asked whether the board wanted direction on reopening the retail application process in that community-plan area. Supervisors opted to defer reopening and asked for more community outreach; staff noted the ranking list for that area expires April 30, 2026.
The board received and filed the Q1 report and directed staff to return with the MTCF extension recommendations on March 3.
