Fontana, CA Cannabis Regulations: Buffer Zones (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing law
- Fontana Municipal Code Sec. 33-29(a)
- Buffer distance
- 600 feet, property line to property line
- Protected uses
- K-12 schools, day cares, parks, youth centers
- Also buffered
- Adjacent-city boundaries
- Retailer-to-retailer buffer
- 600 ft, separate rule under Sec. 33-30(a)
- Penalty
- Misdemeanor, up to $1,000 fine, Sec. 33-36/1-7
Summary
No commercial cannabis business in Fontana can locate within 600 feet of a school, day care center, park, youth or recreation center, or the boundary with an adjacent city, under Sec. 33-29(a). The distance runs in a straight line between property lines, ignoring any buildings in between.
No commercial cannabis business may be located within a 600-foot radius of a school providing instruction in pre-school, kindergarten or any grades one through 12, a day care center, a park, a youth and recreation center, which is in lawful existence at the time a successful application for a commercial cannabis permit was submitted to the city, or the boundaries with adjacent cities. The distance specified in this section shall be the horizontal distance measured in a straight line from the property line of the school or other protected use to the closest property line of the lot on which the commercial cannabis business is located, without regard to intervening structures.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 64 | Zoning and Development Code: Supplement 17).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 33-29(a) sets Fontana's cannabis buffer as a 600-foot radius measured horizontally in a straight line from the property line of a protected use, pre-K through grade 12 school, day care center, park, or youth and recreation center, to the closest property line of the lot where the commercial cannabis business sits, without regard to intervening structures. The rule only protects uses that were in lawful existence when the operator's commercial cannabis permit application was submitted, so a school or park built after a cannabis business is already permitted does not retroactively force it out.
The same subsection adds a 600-foot buffer from the boundary with any adjacent city, which functions as an inter-jurisdictional spacing requirement on top of the sensitive-use buffers. Sec. 33-29(s) separately requires every commercial cannabis business to give its community relations contact information to all businesses and residences within 600 feet, reusing the same distance as a notification radius. Storefront retailers face an additional, distinct 600-foot buffer from each other under Sec. 33-30(a), measured the same way between property lines, so the 600-foot figure in Fontana's code does double duty as both a sensitive-use buffer and a retailer-to-retailer spacing rule.
Violations & Fines
Locating or operating a commercial cannabis business within the 600-foot buffer violates Sec. 33-29(a) and exposes the permittee to the penalties in Sec. 33-36: a misdemeanor punishable under Sec. 1-7 by a fine up to $1,000.00 and up to six months in jail, with each day of continued operation in violation counted as a separate offense, plus city authority to seek civil or administrative abatement as a public nuisance.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is the 600-foot cannabis buffer measured in Fontana?
Does a new school built nearby force an existing cannabis business to close?
Is there a separate distance rule between two cannabis stores?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Fontana
California rules heatmap·Compare Fontana to another location·View the California cannabis regulations overview
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Buffer Zones in Nearby Cities
How other cities in San Bernardino County handle buffer zones.