California Business and Professions Code §26054 bars cannabis businesses within 600 feet of schools, day cares, and youth centers; Orange County and most OC cities apply the buffer or ban cannabis outright.
Proposition 64 established a statewide minimum 600-foot buffer between any licensed cannabis retailer, manufacturer, or cultivator and the closest property line of a K-12 school, day care, or youth center. OC unincorporated areas ban commercial cannabis altogether under OCCO Title 7 zoning, and 31 of 34 OC cities likewise prohibit storefronts. The few cities allowing licensed delivery or storefront (such as Costa Mesa for non-retail and Santa Ana for retail) layer additional buffers on top of the 600-foot state floor, often 1,000 feet from sensitive sites. Buffers are measured property line to property line.
Operating inside a buffer is unlicensed activity, subject to immediate closure, civil penalties up to $30,000 per day, and revocation by the CA Department of Cannabis Control.
See how other cities in Orange County handle buffer zones.
See how Costa Mesa's buffer zones rules stack up against other locations.
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