Oceanside Approves New Cannabis Storefront Ordinances

By Emily Hackman

Sep 24, 2025

The Southern California City of Oceanside (the "City”) recently approved ordinances (zoning and regulatory) amending the City Code to allow for up to four cannabis storefront retail establishments. Priority will be granted to the City’s two existing cannabis operators if they opt to apply, meaning there are potentially only two storefront cannabis licenses available (for anyone else) in the initial application window.

Application Window

The application period runs from October 1, 2025 through November 14, 2025 at 5:00pm PT.  

Applicant Selection Process

The application selection process is a merit-based process (procedures available here). Applicants will not be required to identify a property during the application process — only those businesses selected through the application process will proceed through property selection and the CUP process.

The application selection process will prioritize businesses with local ownership and a proven track record of abiding by collective bargaining agreements (“CBAs”) in one or more existing cannabis businesses where employees benefit significantly from the CBA.

The scoring criteria is broken down as follows:

Business Labor and Employment Plan – 50 points

- Industry Knowledge
- Proof of Capitalization
- Pro-Forma
- Local Ownership
- - Full points awarded for the section if the majority of the business ownership team are current Oceanside residents or current Oceanside business owners
Community and Employee Benefits – 50 points

- Donations to non-profits, primarily youth-serving (gross receipts only)
- CBA proven track record
- Wages above County minimum ($16.50 is the California default minimum wage if a local jurisdiction has not set a higher one, which Oceanside has not

Top scoring applications will proceed to an interview with the City Manager, Assistant City Manager, Deputy City Manager, Director of Finance, and Chief of Police. The top two scoring applicants in the interview process will be allowed to proceed with the CUP process. The panel may consider all available information, including compliance history in other municipalities.  

Zoning

Cannabis storefronts will not be allowed in the City’s Coastal Zone, at least for now (this is common in Coastal Zones throughout California). In the City’s Inland Commercial Districts, cannabis storefronts are permitted with a CUP in Neighborhood Commercial (CN), Community Commercial (CC), General Commercial (CG), Limited Commercial (CL), Special Commercial-Highway Oriented (CS-HO), and Special Commercial District – Limited (CS-L). Cannabis storefronts are prohibited within the Mission San Luis Rey Commercial Village area. In the City’s Industrial Districts, cannabis storefronts are permitted with a CUP in Limited Industrial (IL) and General Industrial (IG).

Setbacks

Cannabis storefronts will not be able to be located closer than 1,000 feet to any other cannabis storefronts, middle or high schools (public or private), parks, playgrounds or public beaches, churches or similar religious facilities, and childcare or pre-school facilities. Cannabis storefronts must be at least 550 feet from all other schools.   

Ownership Transfer Restrictions

Notably, the City does not allow any transfers of ownership interest in a local cannabis license prior to the licensee’s fourth year of operation, except in specific circumstances including death, incapacitation, receivership, or similar impediment.

Need Help Applying in Oceanside? Reach Out to Us.

With only two storefront cannabis licenses potentially available this time, the application process in Oceanside will be competitive and complicated. Getting the application right the first time is essential.

At Vicente, we've assisted clients across California succeed with merit-based cannabis licensing and we can do the same for you. Whether you're an existing local business owner or brand new to the market, our team can help you every step of the way. Reach out here to get started today.