State law allows people to grow up to six (6) cannabis plants per residential unit. It does not matter how many people live in the home. This means up to six (6) plants may be possessed, planted, cultivated, harvested, dried, or processed within a private residence at any one time.

Cultivation of cannabis is for personal use only. It is illegal to sell the cannabis that you grow.

If you are a renter, you need to get permission from your landlord before you can grow cannabis on the property. Permission needs to be given in writing with a signature from your landlord.

If you live in an apartment or condominium, you can only grow cannabis inside the unit or within a secure accessory structure. 

If you live in a single family home, you can grow cannabis indoors or outdoors. Outdoor grows cannot occur within any front, side or corner side yard. Cannabis can only be grown in your backyard and must be outside the required setback. The cannabis plants also need to be behind a fence or wall that people cannot see through. The fence or wall can either surround your whole yard or the grow area.

State law requires the outdoor grow area to be secure and locked.

Other Walnut Creek regulations to keep in mind:

• Lock up your cannabis plants and products so that children cannot get to them, both indoors and outside.
• Get required electrical and building permits.
• Control plant odors; your plants cannot create a neighborhood nuisance.
• Do not use explosive gases such as butane, propane, xylene, styrene, gasoline, kerosene or hydrogens.
• Do not use dangerous poisons, toxins or carcinogens, such as methanol, isopropyl alcohol, methylene chloride, acetone, benzene, toluene, or trichloroethylene.

Under Proposition 64, the following possession rules apply to non-medical cannabis:

• You must be 21 years or older.
• There is a limit of 28.5 grams or one (1) ounce of non-concentrated cannabis (dried flower) or eight (8) grams of concentrated cannabis products, or six (6) plants.
  

Where can a cannabis business locate?

A cannabis business can locate in area that meets the following requirements:

• Within either a Service Commercial (SC) or Business Park (BP) zoning district
• Is at least 1,000 feet from any of the following:
  • Elementary & Middle Schools (K-8)
  • Churches
  • Day Care Centers
  • Youth Centers
  • City parks (excluding Shadelands Ranch Museum Park)
• Is at least 1,500 feet from high schools (grade 9-12)

Distances are measured from property line to property line. 

View the Cannabis Buffer Map to see a general visualization of the above rules.

Can cannabis businesses outside of Walnut Creek deliver inside the city limits?

Yes. Medical cannabis delivery operations based outside of the City may deliver medical cannabis and medical cannabis products to patients and caregivers who reside in Walnut Creek. Products must be delivered to a residential address.

What was the process and timeline for developing cannabis regulations?

November 8, 2016

California voters approved Proposition 64, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act.  Proposition 64 legalized the non-medical use of cannabis by people aged 21 and older.

October 8, 2018

City Staff began accepting applications to operate Medicinal Cannabis delivery-only operations based in Walnut Creek.

November 19, 2018

Application submittal period was closed.

December 19, 2018

City Staff completed the review of all submitted applications to ensure each satisfied all of the criteria set forth in WCMC 10-2.3.1401 (Personal and Commercial Cannabis Activities). Qualified applicants were notified of their placement into a lottery pool.

January 22, 2019 

City Staff conducted the lottery selection process. All qualified applicants were pulled from the pool one (1) at a time, and the first two (2) selected entries have been permitted to seek a Conditional Use Permit from the Planning Commission. The remaining selected entries have been placed on a qualified waitlist [PDF] in the order in which they were drawn. 

The selected applicants had six (6) months from the date of the lottery (July 22, 2019) to get Conditional Use Permits. If a selected applicant failed to get a Conditional Use Permit during that time period, the next qualified applicant on the ranked list was given an opportunity to pursue a Conditional Use Permit. Likewise, if an applicant gets the appropriate approvals but eventually closes the business, the next qualified applicant on the qualified waitlist will be notified and given an opportunity to get a Conditional Use Permit.

The City of Walnut Creek will re-open an application submittal period once every applicant on the qualified waitlist has been given an opportunity. If you want to know when a new application period begins, sign up to get notified.