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Goodyear, AZ Cannabis Regulations: Buffer Zones (2026)

Significant Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Residential buffer
500 feet
School buffer
1,000 feet
Day care/park/library/church buffer
1,000 feet
Adult business buffer
1,000 feet
Substance-abuse facility buffer
2,000 feet
Other dispensary/cultivation buffer
5,280 feet (1 mile)

Summary

Goodyear's Zoning Ordinance keeps medical marijuana dispensaries far from sensitive uses: 500 feet from any residential property line, 1,000 feet from schools, day cares, parks, libraries, churches, and adult businesses, 2,000 feet from drug or alcohol treatment facilities, and one full mile (5,280 feet) from any other dispensary or unaffiliated cultivation site.

A medical marijuana dispensary shall not be located within five thousand two hundred and eighty (5,280) feet measured in a straight line in any direction from the closest exterior building wall of the medical marijuana dispensary to the closest exterior building wall of any other medical marijuana dispensary or any medical marijuana cultivation location, unless the cultivation facility is associated with said dispensary, in which case no separation is required. ... A medical marijuana dispensary shall not be located within five hundred (500) feet measured in a straight line in any direction from the closest exterior building wall of the medical marijuana dispensary to the closest property line of any property in a residential district (not including residentially-zoned public street right-of-way), as described in Section 2.2 of this ordinance. ... A medical marijuana dispensary shall not be located within one thousand (1,000) feet measured in a straight line in any direction from the closest exterior building wall of the medical marijuana dispensary to the closest property line of a public, private, parochial, or charter kindergarten, elementary, secondary or high school.

View official code

Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 26-1648, passed April 27, 2026).

Full Breakdown

28(B) of the Zoning Ordinance sets six separation standards a proposed medical marijuana dispensary must clear before the Zoning Administrator will approve it. The site cannot sit within 5,280 feet, exactly one mile, of any other medical marijuana dispensary or of a medical marijuana cultivation location that isn't affiliated with it; an affiliated cultivation facility is exempt from that mile buffer. 2, not counting a residentially-zoned street right-of-way. It cannot sit within 1,000 feet of the property line of a public, private, parochial, or charter school of any grade from kindergarten through high school, nor within 1,000 feet of a licensed preschool, day care, or childcare center, nor within 1,000 feet of a public park, library, or community center, nor within 1,000 feet of a church or other place of worship.

A dispensary also cannot sit within 2,000 feet of a licensed residential substance-abuse treatment or rehabilitation facility, or within 1,000 feet of an adult business. Every distance is measured as a straight line from the dispensary's closest exterior building wall to the other use's closest property line, or, for the dispensary-to-dispensary buffer, wall to wall. 25(B), so the practical siting map for any cannabis retailer in Goodyear looks the same regardless of license type.

Violations & Fines

Siting a dispensary inside any of these buffers without correcting the location is a Zoning Ordinance violation under Article 7: the City can pursue a civil sanction of $100 to $1,000 per offense, or refer the case for prosecution as a class 1 misdemeanor punishable by up to $2,500 in fines, six months in jail, and three years of probation, and it can deny or revoke the Zoning Permit outright.

Frequently Asked Questions

How close can a dispensary be to a school in Goodyear?
Not closer than 1,000 feet, measured in a straight line from the dispensary's exterior wall to the school's property line, under Zoning Ordinance Section 3.11.28(B)(3).
How far must a dispensary be from a residential neighborhood?
At least 500 feet from the property line of any land in a residential zoning district, not counting a residentially-zoned street right-of-way, per Section 3.11.28(B)(2).
Can two dispensaries operate a half-mile apart in Goodyear?
No. Unaffiliated dispensaries and cultivation locations must stay 5,280 feet, a full mile, apart unless the cultivation facility is affiliated with the dispensary, in which case no separation applies.
Do these buffers apply to recreational marijuana stores too?
Yes. Section 3.11.25(B) applies the identical set of six buffer distances to combined medical-and-recreational 'dual facility' stores.

Sources & Official References

Other rules in Goodyear

All Goodyear rules

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