Costa Mesa, CA Cannabis Regulations: Dispensary Zoning (2026)

' Even inside that zone, a business needs a conditional use permit that meets the Chapter III development standards and the Section 13-29(g) CUP findings, plus a cannabis business permit under Title 9, Chapter VI. 93 handles retail separately: storefront cannabis retail is prohibited everywhere except the city's commercial zone districts, and non-storefront (delivery-only) retail is prohibited everywhere except the commercial zones and the Green Zone, each again requiring its own conditional use permit. Section 9-486 lists the license types the city will actually permit under a cannabis business permit: distributor, manufacturer, testing laboratory, retail storefront, retail non-storefront, and research-and-development laboratory, and bars cultivation entirely, since no cultivation license is on that list.

5 caps the market at 35 total storefront retail cannabis business permits citywide, and once that ceiling is reached the city will not issue another storefront permit for a new location until the number of operating licenses drops below ten, at which point it can issue up to ten more. Every cannabis business must also hold a standard city business license under Section 9-493 and keep its state license in good standing; a 90-day state suspension voids the city permit, and a state revocation bars the operator from any Costa Mesa cannabis permit for five years under Section 9-489.