Newton, MA Cannabis Regulations: Buffer Zones (2026)

1 sets the core buffer: an MTC or Marijuana Retailer cannot be located within a radius of 500 feet from an existing public or private school providing kindergarten through grade 12 education, unless the City Council makes an affirmative finding that the facility is sufficiently buffered so the school will not be adversely impacted by the marijuana establishment's operation, meaning the 500 feet is a presumption the Council can override on a case-by-case record, not an absolute bar. The measurement method matters as much as the distance: it runs in a straight line from the geometric center of the marijuana establishment's entrance to the geometric center of the nearest school entrance, unless an 'impassable barrier' as defined in Sec.

14, a highway, public or private way or path, inaccessible structure, body of water, or other obstruction, falls within that 500-foot straight line. When such a barrier exists, the distance is instead measured along the center of the shortest publicly accessible pedestrian travel path between the two entrances, which can lengthen the effective buffer compared to a straight-line measurement. 9 adds a separate half-mile buffer between any two MTCs or Marijuana Retailers, measured property line to property line, though co-located MTC and Retailer facilities on the same site are exempt from that particular buffer.

Applicants must submit a context map under Sec. 5 depicting all properties and land uses, including every K-12 educational use, within a minimum 1,000-foot radius of the proposed site and showing the measured distances required by the ordinance's buffer provisions.