Chandler, AZ Cannabis Regulations: Buffer Zones (2026)
Key Facts
- Buffer from schools/parks/churches
- 1,320 feet
- Buffer between two facilities
- 5,280 feet
- Max facility size
- 5,000 gross sq ft
- Eligible zoning
- C-2/C-3 (facility), I-1/I-2 (cultivation)
- Buffer waivable by variance
- No: fixed by Code
Summary
Chandler keeps medical marijuana facilities and cultivation sites at least 1,320 feet from schools, parks, day cares, churches, libraries, hospitals, and residential zoning boundaries, and 5,280 feet from another such facility, under City Code § 35-2213(6) and Table 2213.2(B)(6). None of those distances can be reduced by variance or PAD.
6) Separation requirements. A medical marijuana facility or a medical marijuana cultivation site shall be located a minimum distance from the uses set forth in Table 2213.2(B)(6) Separation Requirements... No separation is required when a medical marijuana facility or a medical marijuana cultivation site is separated from another such facility or site by a freeway. The separation requirements set forth in Table 2213.2(B)(6) shall not be reduced through a variance, Planned Area Development (PAD), or any other manner. Table 2213.2(B)(6): Another medical marijuana facility, cultivation site, or infusion food establishment — 5,280 feet; Day care center, public or private — 1,320 feet; Public or private park — 1,320 feet; Place of worship — 1,320 feet; Charter school, public or private school or college — 1,320 feet; Residential zoning district boundary — 1,320 feet; Public library — 1,320 feet; Hospital, public or private — 1,320 feet.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 79).
Full Breakdown
Section 35-2213(6) sets fixed separation requirements for any medical marijuana facility or medical marijuana cultivation site, measured in a straight line from the closest exterior wall of the facility to the nearest property line of the protected use. 2(B)(6) lists the distances: 5,280 feet from another medical marijuana facility, cultivation site, or infusion food establishment (waived only when a freeway separates the two); and 1,320 feet from a public or private day care center, a public or private park, a place of worship, a charter school or any public or private school or college, a residential zoning district boundary, a public library, or a public or private hospital.
No separation applies when a facility and its affiliated cultivation site or infusion food establishment share the same premises or building. ' Facilities are further confined to specific zoning: a medical marijuana facility may only operate in a C-2 or C-3 district (or the matching PAD portion) with a zoning clearance, or in an I-1/I-2 district with a use permit, while cultivation sites and infusion food establishments are restricted to I-1/I-2 districts and PAD areas allowing those uses, always by zoning clearance. m.
Violations & Fines
The Zoning Administrator can deny, suspend, or revoke a zoning clearance for material noncompliance with § 35-2213, including a buffer violation, after mailing written notice; the holder has ten days to appeal to the Board of Adjustment before a suspension or revocation takes effect. Operating without the required zoning clearance or use permit, or inside a prohibited buffer, is also a Code violation enforceable as a civil infraction under Chapter 26 or, for repeat offenses, as a Class 1 misdemeanor under § 1-8.3 carrying up to a $2,500 fine.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far must a Chandler medical marijuana dispensary be from a school?
Can Chandler grant a variance to shrink the marijuana facility buffer?
What zoning districts allow a medical marijuana facility in Chandler?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Chandler
Compare Chandler to another location·View the Arizona cannabis regulations overview
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Buffer Zones in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Maricopa County handle buffer zones.