Oyster Bay, NY Cannabis Regulations: Dispensary Zoning (2026)

Chapter 266, Cannabis Dispensary Opt-Out, was adopted by the Town Board on December 7, 2021 by Local Law No. 1-2022. Section 266-1 states the Town's intent to request the Cannabis Control Board, established under the Cannabis Law, to permit Oyster Bay to opt out of allowing cannabis retail dispensaries and on-site cannabis consumption sites within the unincorporated areas of the Town, uses that would otherwise be allowed under Article 4 of the Cannabis Law. Section 266-2 grounds that request in Cannabis Law § 131, which expressly lets a town board adopt a local law asking the Cannabis Control Board to prohibit dispensary and on-site consumption licensing within its jurisdiction, and notes the law is subject to a permissive referendum under Municipal Home Rule Law § 24, meaning a voter petition could have forced a townwide vote before it took effect.

Section 266-3 is the operative opt-out itself: the Town formally opts out of allowing licensure of retail dispensaries and on-site consumption sites in its unincorporated areas and asks the Cannabis Control Board to prohibit their licensing and establishment there. Section 266-4 is a standard severability clause. Because this is a Town law, it reaches only the unincorporated area outside Oyster Bay's roughly twenty incorporated villages, each of which makes its own separate opt-in or opt-out decision under the same state statute.