Published on
The Palm Bay City Council voted Thursday night to advance Ordinance 2026-13, a measure that would prohibit new medical marijuana treatment center dispensing facilities from opening anywhere within the city’s municipal boundaries. Thursday’s action was the ordinance’s first reading. A second public hearing, at which the Council can formally enact the ban, is scheduled for May 21, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. in Council Chambers at City Hall, 120 Malabar Road SE.
The ordinance, sponsored by Deputy Mayor Mike Jaffe, follows a December 18, 2025 consensus by the Council directing the City Attorney’s Office to explore options for limiting or deterring dispensaries within Palm Bay. Existing dispensaries that are lawfully operating on the date of enactment would not be forced to close. Under the proposed language, those businesses would be classified as nonconforming uses subject to Title XVII, Chapter 173, Part 9 of the Palm Bay Code of Ordinances.
Chapter 120 of the City Code currently permits medical marijuana dispensaries in any zoning district where pharmacies are permitted, including Restricted Commercial, Neighborhood Commercial, Community Commercial, General Commercial, Highway Commercial, Community Mixed Use, and Urban Mixed Use districts. Ordinance 2026-13 would replace that framework entirely. The chapter heading would be amended from “Cannabis Dispensing Businesses” to “Medical Marijuana Dispensaries,” and a new Section 120.02 would declare that dispensaries “are prohibited within the municipal boundaries of the City of Palm Bay.”
The signage requirements currently in Section 120.03 would be replaced with a nonconforming-use provision preserving the legal status of dispensaries already operating in the city as of the enactment date.
The legislative memorandum from City Manager Matthew Morton, prepared with Chief Deputy City Attorney Tanya Earley and Growth Management Director Althea Jefferson, frames the ban as the only meaningful regulatory tool the City has left. Section 381.986, Florida Statutes, preempts local government control over the zoning and permitting of dispensaries. State law requires that, if a city allows dispensaries at all, it must allow them anywhere a pharmacy is allowed, and it cannot adopt permitting rules more restrictive than those imposed on pharmacies. The City cannot cap the number of dispensaries, cannot space them apart, and cannot adopt buffer requirements designed to protect surrounding land uses.
What the City can do, under Section 381.986(11), is ban dispensaries outright. The memorandum states that “given the statutory restrictions on local government authority to regulate number and location of dispensing facilities if not banned, there is a rational basis for the City to exercise its authority” to enact a prohibition.
The City’s Planning and Zoning Board reviewed the proposed amendment ahead of the Council’s first reading and voted 6-1 to recommend approval. The motion was made by Mr. Norris and seconded by Mr. McNally. Board members Karaffa, Warner, Catalano, Higgins, McNally, and Norris voted in favor. Member Filiberto cast the lone dissenting vote. The full minutes of the Planning and Zoning Board meeting have not yet been transcribed.
Several medical marijuana dispensaries currently operate within Palm Bay city limits, including Curaleaf at 1420 Palm Bay Road NE, Trulieve Express Palm Bay, AYR Cannabis Dispensary Palm Bay, and Cookies Palm Bay. Each of these locations would be permitted to continue operating under Ordinance 2026-13, which classifies any dispensary lawfully operating on the date of enactment as a nonconforming use rather than forcing it to close. The ordinance text contains a placeholder date that will be filled in once the Council formally enacts the prohibition.
Palm Bay would not be the first Brevard municipality to ban dispensaries. The City of Melbourne prohibits medical marijuana treatment center dispensing facilities under its zoning code, which lists the use as “N” (prohibited) across both its residential and nonresidential zoning districts. The Town of Melbourne Beach first prohibited marijuana dispensaries in October 2014 under Ordinance 2014-08, with subsequent amendments in December 2017 and August 2018. The Town of Indialantic adopted a similar prohibition under Ordinance 17-14 following the passage of Senate Bill 8-A in 2017, which gave Florida cities and counties their current statutory authority to ban dispensaries.
Mailing addresses can be misleading on this question. A dispensary listed with a Melbourne mailing address may actually sit on a parcel located in unincorporated Brevard County, West Melbourne, Palm Bay, or another jurisdiction. The controlling factor is the parcel’s municipal jurisdiction, not the ZIP code or mailing city.
Palm Bay would join a growing list of Central Florida cities that have moved to restrict dispensaries since the Legislature’s 2017 preemption took effect, including Eustis, with similar discussions reported in Apopka, Winter Park, Winter Garden, and Deltona.
The May 21 public hearing is the second and final reading required for adoption. If the Council enacts the ordinance, it will take effect immediately upon enactment. If the Council declines to enact it or amends the proposal substantially, additional readings may be required. Members of the public may attend the May 21 hearing in person at City Hall or watch through the City’s Listen / Watch Meetings portal.
The Space Coast Rocket will continue to follow this story.
6 days ago
Photo
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
6 days ago
FEMA Reverses Layoffs Before Hurricane Season Hits Florida – The Space Coast Rocket
thespacecoastrocket.com
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
6 days ago
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
6 days ago
Photo
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
6 days ago
Video
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email