Yakima County, WA Cannabis Regulations: Dispensary Zoning (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- YCC § 19.30.030(7)
- Status
- Countywide prohibition, all zones
- Covers
- Production, processing and retail sales
- State law basis
- Opts out of I-502 (RCW 69.50)
- Area of effect
- Unincorporated county only
- Cities excluded
- Yakima, Sunnyside, Toppenish set own rules
Summary
Yakima County Code Section 19.30.030(7) bans marijuana production, processing and retail sales outright in every zoning district of the unincorporated county. There is no dispensary-zoning map to check because the county opted out of Initiative 502 businesses entirely rather than designating allowed locations, so no license location can lawfully open on unincorporated land.
Production, processing and retail sales of marijuana and marijuana-infused products, all as defined in Initiative Measure No. 502, as codified in the Revised Code of Washington Chapter 69.50, and implementing regulations in Chapter 314-55 of the Washington Administrative Code, are each prohibited and not allowed in any zone within the unincorporated areas of Yakima County.
(8) Development Permits for Master Planned Resorts. The Resort Development Plan authorized in conjunction with the rezone to MPR is the guide for development of the resort. Establishment of the uses identified in the Resort Development Plan shall be subject to Type 1 review, in order to conduct site-specific review of the individual uses.
(a) Establishment of land uses and any division of land by subdivision or condominium must be consistent with:
(i) The authorized RDP;
(ii) Any specific conditions or required mitigation measures;
(iii) SEPA review, including an environmental checklist; and
(iv) All necessary construction authorization permits.
(b) Components or phases of the authorized RDP may be submitted with other required approvals as a master application. (Ord. 7-2013 § 1 (Exh. A) (part), 2015; Ord. 2-2022 § 3 (Exh. 1), 2022)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4871853; v6 updated 2026-04-21; through 04-21-2026).
Full Breakdown
Washington voters legalized marijuana production, processing and retail sale statewide through Initiative Measure No. 502, codified at RCW Chapter 69.50 and implemented through Washington Administrative Code Chapter 314-55, which lets the Liquor and Cannabis Board license those businesses. Yakima County used its own zoning authority to opt out. Section 19.30.030(7) of the Unified Land Development Code, under the heading 'Prohibited Uses Production, Processing and Retailing of Marijuana Prohibited,' states that production, processing and retail sales of marijuana and marijuana-infused products are each prohibited and not allowed in any zone within the unincorporated areas of Yakima County.
That single sentence functions as a countywide zoning ban rather than a location-specific rule: there is no commercial, industrial or agricultural district in unincorporated Yakima County where a marijuana producer, processor or retailer can secure a project permit, because the prohibition sits inside Section 19.30.030, the same section that lists which land use applications the county will even accept, covering Type 1 through Type 4 review, accessory uses and existing uses, before excluding marijuana businesses from all of them. The ban applies only to the unincorporated county; incorporated cities within Yakima County, including the City of Yakima, Sunnyside, Grandview, Selah, Toppenish, Union Gap, Wapato and Zillah, set their own separate marijuana zoning rules, and the Yakama Nation regulates cannabis on its own trust land under its own code, not the county's.
Violations & Fines
Because production, processing and retail sale are simply not an allowed use anywhere in the unincorporated county, an applicant cannot obtain a project permit for one under Section 19.30.020, and a business that opens anyway is operating without the required permit. Yakima County Code Title 21 governs enforcement of Unified Land Development Code violations: the Code Enforcement Official can issue a Civil Infraction, filed in Yakima County District Court within 48 hours, with 15 days to respond.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I open a marijuana dispensary in unincorporated Yakima County?
Is marijuana legal to buy inside the city of Yakima?
Does the county ban apply on the Yakama Reservation?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Yakima County
Compare Yakima County to another location·View the Washington cannabis regulations overview
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