Chula Vista, CA Cannabis Regulations: Dispensary Zoning (2026)

CVMC 5.19.060 opens by confirming that 'a limited number of City Licenses for Commercial Cannabis Businesses shall be authorized and issued by the City'. Chula Vista runs a capped local licensing program rather than banning cannabis businesses outright. For every license type except Storefront Retailers, the zoning is confined to industrial land: CVMC 5.19.060(C)(1) restricts Non-Storefront (delivery) Retailers to 'I-L limited industrial; I-R research industrial; I general industrial; and equivalent industrial zones in specific plans or sectional planning area plans that allow industrial uses,' and 5.19.060(D)(1) applies the identical industrial-zone list to Manufacturers, Distributors, Testing Laboratories, and Cultivators.

Every business in these categories must also clear a 150-foot buffer from any zone allowing residential uses under 5.19.060(C)(2)/(D)(2). Beyond the zoning map, a Commercial Cannabis Business must obtain 'all applicable planning, zoning, building, and other applicable licenses, permits, and approvals from the relevant City department or division' under CVMC 5.19.080(Q), and the Development Services Director must certify, as part of the Phase Two Application, that the business is an allowed use in its zone (5.19.050(B)(3)). Cultivation is further restricted regardless of zone: CVMC 5.19.110(A) requires all Commercial Cannabis Cultivation to occur indoors, stating flatly 'Outdoor cultivation is prohibited.' A site that fails the industrial-zone or separation test cannot receive a City License, since 5.19.050(B)(5)(c) authorizes rejection of any Phase Two Application that fails to demonstrate compliance with 'this chapter, the City's zoning code, and State Laws.'