Mountain View, CA Cannabis Regulations: Dispensary Zoning (2026)
Key Facts
- Citywide cap
- 3 nonstorefront retail cannabis businesses
- Permits required
- CUP, PD registration, state license
- School buffer
- 600 feet (250 ft if freeway-separated)
- Child-care buffer
- 250 feet
- Owner limit
- 1 cannabis business per person citywide
- Hours
- 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Summary
Mountain View has not opted out of cannabis retail, but it caps it hard: only nonstorefront retail cannabis businesses are allowed, limited to three citywide, each requiring a conditional use permit, police department registration, and a valid state license under City Code Sec. 36.30.60. Storefront dispensaries and delivery-only accessory uses to other businesses are banned outright.
Cannabis businesses shall be prohibited in all zoning districts except as explicitly permitted in designated zoning districts with approval of a conditional use permit in accordance with Sec. 36.48 of this chapter.
a.Allowable activity. Only those types of cannabis businesses explicitly set forth in this section shall be allowed within the city:1.Cannabis business, nonstorefront retail; and2.Deliveries from facilities possessing valid state licenses, all required local permits from their respective jurisdiction, and registration pursuant to Chapter 9 of the City Code.b.Accessory use. Cannabis businesses shall not be permitted as an accessory use to or in conjunction with any other use.c.Proximity to schools, child-care centers, and child-care facilities. A cannabis business shall not be permitted within six hundred (600) feet of a school (public and private) or two hundred fifty (250) feet of a child-care center or facility.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 34 Update 4).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 60 prohibits cannabis businesses in every zoning district except where explicitly permitted with a conditional use permit under Sec. 48. Only two activities are allowed at all: nonstorefront retail cannabis businesses, and deliveries from state-licensed facilities registered under Chapter 9 of the City Code. b). S. c). d-e). Sec. b caps the citywide total at three nonstorefront retail cannabis businesses at any given time, and Sec. c states no person has a vested right to a permit regardless of prior cannabis activity. Nonstorefront retail businesses are additionally treated as 'warehousing' for parking purposes and must comply with Article X or the applicable precise plan (Sec.
a, e). under Sec. c, with the zoning administrator empowered to restrict days and hours further as a CUP condition. Applicants are ranked through a random public lottery under Sec. 85 when demand exceeds the three-business cap.
Violations & Fines
Operating without a current conditional use permit, police department registration, and state license all three violates Sec. 36.30.55(a) and Sec. 36.30.65(l)-(m), which require each to be maintained at all times during operation. Sec. 36.30.55(c) makes clear no applicant or operator acquires a vested right to continue, so the zoning administrator can condition, amend, or decline to renew the CUP, and a business exceeding the three-business or one-per-owner caps in Sec. 36.30.55(b) and Sec. 36.30.60(d) is operating outside its permitted use.
Frequently Asked Questions
Has Mountain View opted out of cannabis retail?
How close can a cannabis business be to a school in Mountain View?
Can one person own more than one cannabis business in Mountain View?
What hours can a Mountain View cannabis business be open?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Mountain View
California rules heatmap·Compare Mountain View to another location·View the California cannabis regulations overview
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