Boulder's Land Use Code (BRC Title 9) restricts cannabis storefronts, cultivation, and manufacturing to specified commercial and industrial zones. Cannabis is barred from residential zones, downtown core overlays, and most mixed-use TODs.
Under Boulder's Cannabis Code (BRC Title 6) and Land Use Code (BRC Title 9), recreational and medical cannabis stores may locate only in designated business and mixed-use zones — typically BMS, MU-1, MU-3, and limited industrial districts. Cultivation and manufacturing (MIPs) are restricted to industrial zones (IS, IM, IG) and require enhanced odor-control measures. The Pearl Street Mall pedestrian core and most residential zones are off-limits. Boulder's Transit-Oriented District overlays and downtown historic district add further restrictions to preserve street character. A change-of-use to a cannabis business requires a Use Review and Building Permit, and the storefront cannot have visible signage promoting cannabis to minors per Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division rules.
Operating a cannabis business outside a permitted zoning district is a Land Use Code violation that can result in a stop-use order, denial of building permits, license denial, and daily fines until the use is brought into compliance.
Boulder, CO
Boulder zones cannabis dispensaries in commercial and industrial areas with buffer distances from schools, parks, and residential zones. Conditional use perm...
Boulder, CO
Boulder Revised Code Title 6 cannabis licensing imposes location buffers around schools, drug- and alcohol-treatment facilities, and other cannabis businesse...
See how Boulder's commercial cannabis zoning rules stack up against other locations.
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