Coon Rapids, MN Cannabis Regulations: Buffer Zones (2026)

Section 5-3112(1)(a) sets a 1,000-foot buffer between any cannabis business and a school, and a 500-foot buffer from a daycare, a residential treatment facility, or any attraction inside a public park that minors regularly use, naming playgrounds, athletic facilities, and splash pads as examples. Section 5-3112(1)(b) applies only the 1,000-foot school buffer to a hemp retail business, since a hemp-only retailer does not have to clear the daycare, park, or treatment facility distance that applies to full cannabis retailers. Section 5-3112(1)(c) protects a cannabis business that is already operating, or that has applied for registration, from being forced out if a school, daycare, treatment facility, or park attraction is built or moves within the buffer afterward, citing the nonconforming-use protection in Minn.

Stat. § 462.357, subd. 1e. Section 5-3112(2) limits advertising for a registered cannabis business to two fixed signs on the exterior of its building or property, and those signs must meet the same standards in Section 11-1203 that apply to every other sign in the underlying zoning district. Buffer compliance is checked at the preliminary compliance review the City runs before it approves a registration under Section 5-3104(3), and again at any of the periodic inspections the City conducts under Section 5-3105.