Pontiac, MI Cannabis Regulations: Buffer Zones (2026)

Section 3.1110, Buffer Distance Restrictions, of the Pontiac Zoning Ordinance sets the proximity limits for medical marihuana facilities citywide. Subsection A bars any facility within 1,000 feet of an operational public or private school, 500 feet of a licensed commercial childcare organization registered with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, 500 feet of a public park with playground equipment, and 500 feet of a religious institution recognized as tax-exempt by the Oakland County Assessor. For C-1, C-3, C-4, M-1 and M-2 zoned properties located outside the city's three Medical Marihuana Overlay Districts (MMOD Nos.

1, 2 and 3, established under Section 3.1108 along Walton Boulevard, Cesar Chavez, and within the C-2 Downtown District), an added 250-foot buffer from residentially zoned property applies, measured at right angles rather than along the street centerline. Subsection B specifies that distances to schools, childcare centers, parks and religious institutions are measured along the street centerline between fixed points projected at right angles from each facility's primary entrance, and that vacant residentially zoned lots are measured to the side yard setback defined in Article 2, Chapter 3 and Section 2.301.

Each of the three overlay districts caps provisioning centers at five licenses apiece under Section 3.1108(A)-(C), and Section 3.1109 caps combined C-1, C-3 and C-4 non-overlay provisioning centers at five citywide, awarded by competitive scoring. The Planning Commission serves as the special exception and site plan review authority for uses outside the overlay districts and the site plan authority within them, per Section 3.1113, and any special exception permit requires 500 feet of public notice around the proposed facility.