St. Louis County, MO Cannabis Regulations: Dispensary Zoning (2026)
Key Facts
- By-right permitted use
- C-2/C-3 zones, both buffers cleared
- Conditional Use Permit required
- Within 500 ft of another dispensary/liquor store
- Absolute exclusion
- Within 1,000 ft of school/childcare/worship
- Consumption facilities
- Conditional use only, never by-right
- CUP review body
- Planning Commission, §1003.181
Summary
St. Louis County has not opted out of marijuana dispensaries: its zoning code lists them as a by-right permitted use in the C-2 and C-3 commercial districts. A site that clears both distance buffers needs only a standard permit; one that clears the school buffer but not the 500-foot dispensary/liquor-store buffer drops into a conditional-use review instead.
(10)Marijuana dispensary facility, provided no marijuana dispensary facility shall be located within one thousand (1,000) feet of any then-existing elementary or secondary school, childcare center, or place of worship, nor within five hundred (500) feet of any then-existing marijuana dispensary facility or any then-existing package liquor store (See section 1003.167 "Miscellaneous Regulations" for measurement methods). ... (13)Marijuana dispensary facility that is not within one thousand (1,000) feet of any then-existing elementary or secondary school, childcare center, or place of worship, but is within five hundred (500) feet of a then-existing marijuana dispensary facility or any then-existing package liquor store (see section 1003.167, "Miscellaneous Regulations" for measurement methods).
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 85 | Traffic: Supplement 80).
Full Breakdown
2(10) lists "marijuana dispensary facility" among the by-right permitted uses in the "C-2" Neighborhood Business District, conditioned only on clearing the 1,000-foot school/childcare/worship buffer and the 500-foot buffer from other dispensaries or package liquor stores. 181, which involves Planning Commission review rather than an administrative permit. A site inside the 1,000-foot school buffer qualifies under neither provision and cannot be approved in this district at any tier. Marijuana consumption facilities are treated more cautiously still: they appear only in the conditional-use list, never as a by-right permitted use, in the districts reviewed here.
This two-tier structure means the county has channeled dispensaries into commercial zoning with layered siting conditions rather than banning them outright or leaving the question to a local prohibition vote; a prospective operator's path runs either through a standard zoning and building permit or, for closer-in sites, through a public Planning Commission hearing. 19.
Violations & Fines
A site inside the 1,000-foot school, childcare, or place-of-worship buffer cannot be approved as either a permitted or conditional use, so the Department of Planning will deny the zoning application outright. Operating within the 500-foot secondary buffer without first obtaining the required Conditional Use Permit is a zoning violation subject to enforcement, permit revocation, and closure until the permit is secured.
Frequently Asked Questions
Has St. Louis County opted out of allowing marijuana dispensaries?
What happens if a proposed dispensary site is too close to another dispensary?
Can a dispensary open next to a school in St. Louis County?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in St. Louis County
Compare St. Louis County to another location·View the Missouri cannabis regulations overview
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