New Britain, CT Cannabis Regulations: Dispensary Zoning (2026)

New Britain's Zoning Ordinance regulates where cannabis businesses can operate at Section 270-40-40.155, approved April 14, 2022. Medical marijuana dispensary and production facilities are governed first by Connecticut General Statutes Section 21a-408 et seq. and the state's implementing regulations, and are permitted in the city only in specific zones subject to special exception approval from the Zoning Board of Appeals under Section 270-40 and site plan approval under Section 280-60. Section 270-40-40.155.30.40 confines medical marijuana dispensaries and adult-use cannabis retail or hybrid-retail stores to the B-2, B-3 and CBD districts, and only by special exception; no cannabis retailer may open by right anywhere in the city.

Cannabis producers, cultivators, micro-cultivators, food and beverage manufacturers, product manufacturers, product packagers and additional dispensary or retail uses are separately permitted, again only by special exception, in the I-1, I-2 and I-3 industrial districts under Section 270-40-40.155.30.50. A narrow carve-out at Section 270-40-40.155.30.60 lets adult-use cultivators, micro-cultivators and producers locate by special exception in the B-2 district if the parcel is at least fifteen acres. New Britain has not opted out of adult-use cannabis retail, but the ordinance caps how many licenses the city can approve: consistent with the state's Responsible and Equitable Regulation of Adult-Use Cannabis Act, no more retailers or micro-cultivators may be zoned than one of each per 25,000 residents based on the most recent decennial census, a limit that ran through June 30, 2024.

Every special exception approval is conditioned on the operator obtaining the matching state Department of Consumer Protection license within six months, confirmed to the Director of Licenses, Permits and Inspections, or the zoning approval lapses under Section 270-40-40.155.40.90.