Hollywood, FL Cannabis Regulations: Buffer Zones (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- § 3.23(G), Zoning and Land Development Regulations
- Buffer distance
- 500 ft from any school's real property
- Waiver path
- Public hearing finding under Fla. Stat. § 381.986
- Variance policy
- None permitted under § 3.23
- Measurement method
- Linear, closest property line to property line
Summary
Hollywood bars a medical marijuana treatment center dispensing facility from locating within 500 feet of any public or private elementary, middle, or secondary school under § 3.23(G). The city can waive that buffer only through a public hearing finding that the site promotes public health, safety, and welfare.
G. A medical marijuana treatment center dispensing facility may not be located within 500 feet of the real property that comprises a public or private elementary school, middle school, or secondary school, unless the city approves the location through a formal proceeding open to the public at which the city determines that the location promotes the public health, safety, and general welfare of the community, as provided for in F.S. § 381.986.
Full Breakdown
23(G) of the Zoning and Land Development Regulations sets a flat 500-foot buffer between a medical marijuana treatment center dispensing facility and the real property of any public or private elementary, middle, or secondary school; the measurement runs to the school's whole parcel, not just its building footprint. 986, that locating the dispensing facility there promotes the public health, safety, and general welfare of the community; short of that finding, the 500-foot line is absolute. 23(J)(4) that keeps a smoke shop 2,500 feet from an established dispensing facility.
All distance separations in this article are measured linearly, from the closest property line to the closest property line, whether by an actual line on the ground or an imaginary line through the air, and the code forecloses variances from any of them. A prospective operator has to plot every school parcel within 500 feet before applying for the Certificate of Use the city requires to open.
Violations & Fines
A dispensing facility sited inside the 500-foot school buffer without the required public-hearing approval is a zoning violation the city refers to the Special Magistrate under Chapter 36, carrying fines up to $1,000 per day the violation continues and up to $5,000 per day for a repeat violation under § 36.29, on top of any Certificate of Use revocation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How close can a dispensary be to a Hollywood school?
Can the city ever waive the school buffer?
Does the school buffer apply to charter or private schools?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Hollywood
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Hollywood to another location·View the Florida cannabis regulations overview
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