Kirkwood, MO Cannabis Regulations: Buffer Zones (2026)

Kirkwood's zoning code layers two separate 1,000-foot buffers onto marijuana facilities under § 25-36(u). The first, in § 25-36(u)(2), requires that a marijuana or medical marijuana facility be initially located a minimum of 1,000 feet from a church, place of worship, elementary or secondary school as defined by the State, or a child day-care center. The second, in § 25-36(u)(3), separately requires a minimum of 1,000 feet between the facility and any other marijuana facility or medical marijuana facility, preventing dispensaries or cultivation sites from clustering even where the district otherwise allows them.

Both distances are measured according to the published regulations issued by the State of Missouri rather than a locally defined method, tying Kirkwood's buffer directly to the state's marijuana facility siting rules administered by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Because the buffer from sensitive uses is described as applying to where the facility is 'initially located,' it functions as a siting condition checked at the time of licensing and site plan approval rather than a continuing operational restriction that could later be triggered by a school opening nearby.

Combined with the B-3/I-1 district limits in § 25-36(u)(1), these buffers substantially narrow where in Kirkwood a marijuana business can actually be sited, since qualifying commercial or industrial parcels also have to clear both 1,000-foot separations.