Lexington, KY Cannabis Regulations: Dispensary Zoning (2026)

Sec. 13-84 makes clear that no person or entity may 'operate a medicinal cannabis business at any location in Lexington-Fayette County' without both a valid general business license and the article's special fees license, and it lists 'a zoning compliance permit issued by the division of planning' among the mandatory items every applicant must submit with an initial application and each renewal. The permit sits alongside proof of the 1,000-foot child-care buffer, identification of the business type, applicant and operator contact information, and an affidavit that the business will keep complying with applicable building, fire, and other codes.

The Director of the Division of Revenue is authorized to write forms and procedures implementing the article but cannot waive the zoning compliance requirement; failure to comply with 'any applicable state or local law or regulation, including, without limitation, mandatory zoning' codes is an independent ground to deny, refuse to renew, or revoke a license. Kentucky's KRS Chapter 218B governs licensure of cultivators, dispensaries, producers, processors, and safety compliance facilities at the state level, and Article VI of chapter 13 folds that state framework into the local licensing and land-use process rather than creating a local prohibition or opt-out; the code file reviewed contains no separate ordinance barring medicinal cannabis businesses from the urban county or any district within it.