Haverford, PA Cannabis Regulations: Dispensary Zoning (2026)

The dispensary rule has two parts. Section 182-406B(4)(c) permits a medical marijuana dispensary as a conditional use in the C-5 Shopping Center Commercial District, which the Code reserves by right for a planned community shopping center. Conditional uses in C-5 are authorized by the Board of Commissioners after review by the Township Planning Commission as to conformance with the Comprehensive Plan, and they must meet the general standards in §§ 182-1201 through 182-1205. Section 182-1207 then adds the facility standards.

Under § 182-1207A, a dispensary has a single secure public entrance and implements security measures in accordance with policies of the Pennsylvania Department of Health to deter and prevent unauthorized entrance to areas containing medical marijuana. Under § 182-1207B, it cannot be located within 1,000 feet of the boundary of any institutional zoning district or the property line of any parcel containing an institutional zoning use, including public, private and parochial schools and day-care centers. The distance runs in a straight line from the closest exterior wall of the building to the closest property line of the protected district or use, regardless of the municipality in which it is located. Under § 182-1207C, two dispensaries must be a minimum of 1,000 feet apart, measured between their closest walls.

The C-5 district itself carries heavy site requirements: a three acre minimum lot size, 150 feet of street frontage, building coverage of 30% maximum, a perimeter setback of not less than 50 feet from a public street, height of 45 feet maximum and an impervious surface ratio of 90% maximum. Growing and processing is a separate use. Section 182-503B(5)(a) makes a medical marijuana grower/processor a conditional use in the LIN Light Industrial District under § 182-1208, which bars emission of dust, fumes, vapors, odors or waste into the environment and keeps marijuana remnants out of any exterior refuse container. The sections quoted address medical marijuana.