Kalamazoo, MI Cannabis Regulations: Dispensary Zoning (2026)

Kalamazoo classifies marihuana businesses as a distinct zoning use category, "adult-use marihuana," under Section 50-4.4E, and every establishment must hold a license issued under the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act and Chapter 20B of the City ordinances before it can operate. Section 50-4.4E(1)(a)[3] flatly bars a marihuana establishment from operating in any residential zoning district or residential unit, and Section 50-4.4E(1)(a)[5] keeps every marihuana use off Local Neighborhood and Enhanced Neighborhood street frontages. For retailers specifically, Section 50-4.4E(6)(a) permits the use only in Community Commercial (CC), Community Commercial 2 (CC2), Live-Work 1 (LW1) and Downtown Districts 1 through 3; subsection (b) additionally allows a retailer in Limited Manufacturing (M1) or General Manufacturing (M2) only when it operates as part of a single establishment that also holds grower and processor licenses on site.

All retailer activity must occur inside an enclosed building, and a retailer cannot share a property or building with a package liquor store, or a convenience store or fueling station that sells alcohol. Retailers must also keep 1,000 feet from any other retailer or provisioning center unless co-located with one, though the City discounts that separation to 500 feet for an applicant who is a City of Kalamazoo resident of Census Tracts 1, 2.02, 3, 9 or 10 for the past three years, or who carries a marihuana conviction that did not involve distributing a controlled substance to a minor. Growers, processors, safety compliance labs and secure transporters are confined to the City's manufacturing zones instead.