Yellowstone County, MT Cannabis Regulations: Buffer Zones (2026)

Q, applies these separation standards to every marijuana dispensary sited in the county's unincorporated jurisdictional zoning area, which excludes Billings, Laurel, and Broadview since each has its own zoning authority. The 600-foot buffer runs from the exterior of the dispensary's occupied building space to the property line of the protected use, not from lot line to lot line, so a large parcel can sometimes still work if the building itself sits far enough back. G. 1(b) forbids reducing, adjusting, or varying the distance, the Consolidated Yellowstone County Zoning Commission has no discretion to approve an application that falls inside the buffer, no matter the site plan.

A dispensary already operating when the buffer took effect but now boxed in by a newly built school or church is treated as a legal nonconforming use under Article 27-1500, not shut down outright, but it is restricted from expanding under the nonconformity rules. 2 layers on a second restriction: a dispensary cannot be combined on the same site with a marijuana cultivation, transportation, testing laboratory, or manufacturing use unless the required separation distances are independently met for that additional use, and every marijuana use counts as a primary use for zoning purposes.

Applicants pull definitions of marijuana business terms straight from Titles 15, 16, and 50, MCA, except where Section 27-1803 supplies a county-specific definition. The joint City-County Planning Division reviews siting against this buffer before any zoning compliance permit or special review application for a dispensary can move forward.