Leominster, MA Cannabis Regulations: Dispensary Zoning (2026)
Key Facts
- Zoning
- Industrial district only, special permit
- Buffer distance
- 500 ft from homes, schools, parks
- Retailer cap
- 20% of package-store liquor licenses
- Hours
- 8 a.m.-8 p.m. only (except cultivation)
- Required agreement
- Host community agreement + bond
- Penalty
- Up to $300 per day for zoning violations
Summary
Leominster confines marijuana facilities to the Industrial zoning district, and only by special permit from the city council under Sec. 22-105. Facilities must sit at least 500 feet from any residential district, school, church, park, playground, library or licensed pharmacy, and recreational retailer licenses are capped at 20% of the city's package-store liquor licenses.
105.4Location and physical requirements for marijuana facilities.105.4.1Marijuana facilities may be allowed by special permit from the city council in the industrial zoning district provided the facility meets the requirements of this section 105. ... 105.5. ... 9No marijuana facility may be located within five hundred feet of a residential zoning district, church or other religious use. No marijuana facility may be located within, on the same lot as, or on a lot immediately adjacent to a licensed pharmacy. No marijuana facility may be located within five hundred feet of a school, child care facility, family child care home, park, playground, public library, or other marijuana facility. ... 105.6.1.1The number of recreational marijuana establishments permissible to be located in Leominster shall be limited to twenty percent of the number of licenses issued within the city for the retail sale of alcoholic beverages not to be drunk on the premises where sold under M.G.L. chapter 138, section 15 (package store licenses). In the event that twenty percent of said licenses shall not be a whole number, the limit shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 24).
Full Breakdown
Article XVIII of Leominster's zoning ordinance, Sec. 22-105, sets strict siting rules for marijuana facilities, covering registered marijuana dispensaries, RMD cultivation sites, marijuana retailers and every other recreational marijuana establishment type. 1 confines these uses to a single zone: marijuana facilities may be allowed by special permit from the city council in the industrial zoning district provided the facility meets the requirements of this section. 9 layers a 500-foot buffer on top of that, barring a facility from locating within five hundred feet of a residential zoning district, church or other religious use, school, child care facility, family child care home, park, playground, public library, or other marijuana facility, and barring it from sitting on, or immediately adjacent to, the same lot as a licensed pharmacy.
Distance is measured building-to-building, or from the facility building to the property line of the protected use. 1 limits the number of recreational marijuana establishments to twenty percent of the number of licenses issued within the city for the retail sale of alcoholic beverages not to be drunk on the premises, rounded up if the math doesn't land on a whole number. m. 6). 8).
Violations & Fines
Operating a marijuana facility outside the Industrial district, inside the 500-foot buffer from a residential district, school, park, church, library, pharmacy or child care facility, or without a city council special permit violates Sec. 22-105 and the general zoning penalty in Sec. 22-15: up to $300 per violation, with each day counted separately. A special permit also lapses if not exercised within one year (Sec. 22-105.7.1), and detectable odor off-site or unauthorized signage can trigger revocation proceedings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where in Leominster can a marijuana dispensary open?
How close can a dispensary be to a school or residential neighborhood?
Is there a limit on how many recreational marijuana stores Leominster allows?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Leominster
Compare Leominster to another location·View the Massachusetts cannabis regulations overview
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