Modesto, CA Cannabis Regulations: Dispensary Zoning (2026)

7-1 lists that specific use as allowed with a Commercial Cannabis Permit (CCP) in that zone, and it expressly forecloses any home-based cannabis business regardless of zone. Under the table, storefront and non-storefront retailers (Type 10 and Type 9 licenses) both require a CCP in the C-2, C-3, C-M, M-1, and M-2 zones; a Type 9 non-storefront retailer, however, shows a blank cell for every zone in the table, meaning that license type has no permitted zone in Modesto at all under this table as printed.

703(b) layers on three fixed buffer distances measured from property lines: 600 feet from any school, child care center, or youth center; 100 feet from any residential use, measured from the cannabis structure to the residential structure; and 200 feet from any park or library. 703(b)(5) prohibits all commercial cannabis uses within the Downtown Cannabis Prohibition Overlay, an area bounded by Kansas Avenue, Needham Street, Downey Avenue, Burney Street, D Street, and the Highway 99 frontage, regardless of what the property's underlying zoning otherwise allows, and if a parcel is only partially inside the overlay the whole parcel is off-limits.

703(c) allows the decision-maker to waive the proximity buffers only where the applicant demonstrates an actual impassable physical separation, such as a building, sound wall, or major roadway, that eliminates the risk of harm the buffer is meant to prevent, unless state law independently prohibits the use. 704(a) before opening, plus the underlying state license, and permits require City Council or Cannabis Program and Permit Review Committee approval with denial possible if the application does not meet the article's requirements.