Pasadena, CA Cannabis Regulations: Buffer Zones (2026)

066(D)(5) sets the location buffers for licensed cannabis retailers. A retailer cannot be established within 450 feet of another cannabis retailer, within 1,000 feet of any cultivation site, or within 500 feet of any testing laboratory, all measured from the nearest property lines of the affected parcels. Separately, no retailer may locate within 600 feet of any existing residential zone, within 600 feet of a childcare center, in-home family day care, youth-oriented facility, church, or substance abuse center, or within 600 feet of any park, library, or K-12 school, and a retailer cannot be sited inside a mixed-use project that includes a residential component at all.

066(E)(5): 600 feet from any residential zone, 600 feet from childcare centers, youth-oriented facilities, churches, and substance abuse centers, 600 feet from parks, libraries, and K-12 schools, and 1,000 feet from any other cultivation site or cannabis retailer, plus 500 feet from any testing laboratory. Both distances are measured the same way, in a straight line from the nearest property lines of the affected parcels, not by walking or driving distance. These buffers stack on top of the separate zoning-district limitation (retailers and cultivation sites are confined to specific commercial and industrial districts), so a parcel can be zoned correctly for a dispensary and still be disqualified purely on proximity grounds to a school, park, or residential zone.