A group of Templeton residents failed in their effort to stop a commercial cannabis operation from taking root in the rural town after the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors denied their appeal of the project’s permit.
“From the peaceful rural residential homes in the S. El Pomar, Templeton area, to the ranches where children play and horses and cattle roam, our quiet rural residential healthy lifestyle is under threat,” a petition from Save Our Templeton Neighborhoods said. “As residents, we are threatened by the proposed commercial cannabis project … owned by Eden’s Dreams, LLC.”
As of July 15, 532 had signed the petition. Residents alleged that the operation would bring in unwanted odor, noise, and further exacerbate the critically overdrawn Paso Robles Groundwater Basin.
Supervisors voted 4-0—with 2nd District Supervisor Bruce Gibson absent—to deny the appeal based on the mitigation plan offered by Eden’s Dreams.
“I’ve been to the property, and I’ve seen how shielded it is,” 5th District Supervisor Heather Moreno said at the July 15 meeting. “I’ve seen that kids are not going to just wander up to this indoor grow that is well into a property that is hilly and again, shielded by topography.”
The North County supervisor added that of the 532 people who signed the petition, only 109 of them live in Templeton. The remaining signees are not only spread out across San Luis Obispo County but are also from different states like Vermont and Georgia and even from other countries like New Zealand.
Eden’s Dreams first appeared before the county in 2018 as a proposal that included both indoor and outdoor cannabis cultivation components. In 2021, following the development of an environmental impact report and controversy around a neighboring cannabis project called City Boy Farms that was later withdrawn, Eden’s Dreams resubmitted an application in 2023. The revised project removed the proposed outdoor cannabis cultivation plan.
In January 2025, the SLO County Planning Commission approved a minor use permit for Eden’s Dreams applicant Elizabeth Ross. Save Our Templeton Neighborhoods member Robert Ballo appealed the permit approval.
At the July 15 appeal hearing, Ballo pointed to two vacant warehouses in Paso Robles and SLO as alternate locations for Eden’s Dreams to lease instead.
“Pretty straightforward, and I’m not even a real estate person,” he said. “By the way, I’m a filmmaker, and we’re starting a documentary about this. I’m telling you, we are just getting going.”
Eden’s Dreams, proposed to be located above the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin, would rely on a single existing groundwater well. It plans to offset water use at a 2:1 ratio.
That means, for a maximum demand of 3.7 acre-feet of water per year, 7.4 acre-feet of water must be offset by taking out 5.92 acres of irrigated vineyard on site. County staff informed supervisors that Eden’s Dreams would be subject to quarterly inspections. Water overuse could spell permit revocation for Eden’s Dreams.
Staff added that offsite odor wouldn’t be an issue because cannabis cultivation would fully take place indoors. The cannabis greenhouse would also have an “agrarian appearance” to match the rural aesthetic of Templeton. A noise study found that the project wouldn’t exceed allowed noise levels, according to staff.
Ian McCarville of Kirk Consulting, who works with Eden’s Dreams, told supervisors he contacted county code enforcement in April to see how they would handle complaints.
“Back then, they informed me that … what they would do is they would contract with a noise specialist who has a decibel reader,” he said. “It is my understanding that in recent times due to the Nipomo noise ordinance update that code enforcement is actually required to own decibel readers.”
After an alleged incident of trespassing on the property, some community members worried about the possible heightened risk of crime in the area.
McCarville said he reached out to local law enforcement for more information.
“What it sounded like was another neighbor who heard about the project who lives in the neighborhood was walking down one of the roads to see if they could see the project,” he said. “There was no crime committed and, ultimately, no report was filed because they never made contact with the individual.”
The Eden’s Dreams project will be developed in two phases. The first phase is scheduled to be implemented in one to three years, and the second phase within three to 10 years. Δ
This article appears in Jul 17-27, 2025.
Good to see this move forward.
There will always be naysayers of anything cannabis.
Wine grapes do so much more damage to the environment; along with consuming around 32 gallons of water for every glass of wine produced.
A little more research and reflection by the neighbors would be a good idea.