Mesa County, CO Cannabis Regulations: Buffer Zones (2026)

Table 6-1's "Marijuana Cultivation" row carries a footnote reading: cultivation of marijuana within 1000 feet of a school, as defined in the Colorado Marijuana Code, will require a Conditional Use Permit, with school defined as a public or private preschool or a public or private elementary, middle, junior high, or high school, or institution of higher education, citing Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann. Section 44-10-103(67). That footnote attaches only to the cultivation use type in Chapter 6, Use Regulations. 03, which requires public notice and a hearing with site-specific findings before approval.

Because the borrowed state definition sweeps in preschools, every level of K-12 school, and institutions of higher education, a college campus triggers the buffer the same as a public elementary school. The buffer targets cultivation alone; it does not revive marijuana retail sales, which Table 6-1 marks "Not Permitted" in every zoning district countywide regardless of distance from a school. The table separately conditions marijuana growing, processing, product manufacture, research, development and testing on Conditional Use Permit review wherever that use type is listed at all.