Chelan County, WA Cannabis Regulations: Buffer Zones (2026)

Chelan County Code Section 11.100.040 sets the buffers that apply to every state-licensed cannabis producer, processor and retailer in the unincorporated county. The 1,000-foot school and park buffer is measured as the shortest straight-line distance from the cannabis licensee's property line to the property line of the protected use, and it applies countywide regardless of zone. Beyond that general buffer, indoor production and processing carry their own setbacks: in the Rural Industrial zone the buffer follows the minimum setback distances in Section 11.26.020(4); in the Rural Residential/Resource 20, Rural Residential/Resource 10 and Commercial Agricultural Lands zones, indoor operations must keep a 100-foot buffer from all property lines, measured from the building foundation.

The hearing examiner may reduce that 100-foot indoor buffer through a variance under Chapter 11.95, but never below 30 feet, and video surveillance aimed at a neighboring property is barred regardless of any reduction. Outdoor production, allowed only in the RR20 zone, must sit at least 1,500 feet from any property line not owned by the licensee; the hearing examiner may cut that to a floor of 1,000 feet only if the applicant proves no habitable structure sits inside the reduced buffer. Operations on legal lots recorded and actually operating before September 29, 2015 may count neighboring lots toward the outdoor buffer if every abutting owner consents in writing and no residence sits within the buffer area. These buffer distances cannot be waived through Chapter 11.97 nonconforming-use provisions or an administrative modification; only the Chapter 11.95 variance path applies.