Under California MAUCRSA Business and Professions Code Section 26054 and LA County Code Title 22.140, commercial cannabis premises in unincorporated LA County must sit at least 600 feet from K-12 schools, daycare centers, and youth centers, measured property line to property line.
State law sets a 600-foot baseline buffer between cannabis retailers and schools, daycares, and youth centers. LA County's Title 22.140 zoning amendments, advanced alongside the Equity Program, layer additional buffers from public parks, libraries, treatment facilities, and other licensed cannabis premises in unincorporated areas. Distances are measured property line to property line. Pre-existing licensed sites are generally permitted to continue if a sensitive use later opens nearby, but new applications are denied if any buffer is breached on the application date. The county Department of Regional Planning verifies buffer compliance during land-use review before DCBA license issuance.
Operating within a buffer makes a premises ineligible for a county cannabis license, voids existing approvals, and triggers Title 22 zoning enforcement penalties plus state action by the Department of Cannabis Control against the state license.
See how El Monte's buffer zones rules stack up against other locations.
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