Woodland, CA Cannabis Regulations: Buffer Zones (2026)
Key Facts
- School/park buffer
- 600 feet from K-12 schools, day cares, youth centers, parks
- Retailer spacing
- 500 feet apart; max two per 1,000-foot radius
- Retailer CUP cap
- Maximum 4 Conditional Use Permits citywide
- Cultivation
- Prohibited in all zones citywide
- Enforcing body
- Planning Commission / City Council / Community Development
- Exception standard
- Council may waive with physical-barrier and blight findings
Summary
In the City of Woodland, California, cannabis businesses are barred within 600 feet of any K-12 school, day care center, youth center or public park under Woodland Municipal Code § 17.84.120. Cannabis retailers must also stay 500 feet apart from each other, capped at two per 1,000-foot radius, unless the City Council grants a discretionary exception for a specific site.
Pursuant to California Business and Professions Code § 26054(b), as may be amended, no cannabis business may be located within a 600-foot radius of a school providing K through 12 instruction, a day care center or a youth center in existence at the time the license is issued. Additionally, no cannabis business may be located within a 600-foot radius of a public park. ... The City Council may make an exception if there is clear evidence based on considerations such as the separation of sensitive uses by a significant physical barrier, no expressed evidence of public concern, and the potential revitalization of an existing blighted condition, that there will be no public health, safety, or nuisance issues due to closer proximity of cannabis retail uses to an identified sensitive use. ... Cannabis retailers shall be no closer than 500 feet to each other, and no more than two cannabis retailers shall be located within a 1,000-foot radius, except that the City Council may make an exception to this subsection if there is clear evidence based on considerations such as the separation of cannabis retail uses by a significant physical barrier.
Full Breakdown
Woodland Municipal Code § 17.84.120(D)(3) sets the buffer: pursuant to California Business and Professions Code § 26054(b), no cannabis business may be located within a 600-foot radius of a K-12 school, day care center, or youth center in existence when the license issues, and no cannabis business may sit within 600 feet of any public park. The City Council can waive this only on clear evidence tied to a significant physical barrier separating the uses, no expressed public opposition, and the prospect of revitalizing an existing blighted site; absent that finding, the buffer is fixed.
Retailer-to-retailer spacing is separate: § 17.84.120(I)(5) bars cannabis retailers from locating within 500 feet of each other and caps any 1,000-foot radius at two retailers, again subject to the same Council exception standard. Cannabis retail is confined to the Corridor Mixed-Use, Community/Neighborhood Mixed-Use, and Regional Commercial-Flex zones; it is prohibited everywhere else in Woodland, and cannabis cultivation is banned citywide under § 17.84.120(H). The City Council may approve no more than 10 total Conditional Use Permits for cannabis businesses, split among a maximum of four retailer CUPs and six manufacturing/distribution/testing CUPs.
Every applicant must clear a Conditional Use Permit reviewed first by the Planning Commission and approved by the City Council, and no cannabis business of any kind may operate without a separate City-issued cannabis business permit, on top of a valid State of California license, under § 17.84.120(D)(2) and (J).
Violations & Fines
Operating a cannabis business inside the 600-foot buffer, without the required Conditional Use Permit, or without a City cannabis business permit violates § 17.84.120 and is enforceable as a zoning violation by the Community Development Department, which can pursue code enforcement action, permit revocation, and civil penalties under the City's general nuisance and zoning enforcement provisions; operating without a valid State cannabis license separately requires the business to cease operations immediately.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a cannabis retailer open near a Woodland school?
How many cannabis retailers can Woodland have?
Is cannabis cultivation allowed in Woodland?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Woodland
California rules heatmap·Compare Woodland to another location·View the California cannabis regulations overview
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