Selective by design. Contra Costa authorized up to four storefront retailers from a 2019 RFP in the unincorporated county, taxes commercial activity under voter-approved Measure R (4% retail / 2% distro / 2.5% mfg / 4% + canopy on cultivation), and leaves the broader market to the incorporated cities — Richmond, Concord, Martinez, Antioch, Pittsburg, Walnut Creek, El Cerrito. Here’s the pathway.
Every figure below is sourced to the Contra Costa Ordinance Code, the Measure R ballot record, Environmental Health, or CDTFA — see each card. These are the regulatory surfaces we’re most often called in on when a Contra Costa operator is mid-pipeline.
Contra Costa County’s 2019 RFP authorized up to four unincorporated storefront retail permits — awarded to The Artist Tree (El Sobrante), Authentic 925 (Pacheco), Embarc (Martinez), and Element 7 (Bay Point). There is no open rolling application window for unincorporated retail. (CBS SF on operator selection)
Under Chapter 64-16, unincorporated Contra Costa cultivation is taxed at 4% gross receipts plus up to $7 per square foot of canopy, CPI-adjusted annually. That canopy layer is the single largest operating-cost variable in a Contra Costa cultivation pro forma. (Ch. 88-28 & 64-16 Code)
Measure R — the countywide cannabis business tax — passed with 71.73% voter approval in November 2018. That political mandate is the reason tax-rate reductions are politically uphill in Contra Costa compared to neighboring Sonoma or Humboldt. (East County Today)
Statewide cannabis excise was cut from 19% back to 15% on Oct 1, 2025 under AB 564 (CDTFA L-992). Stacked on top of Contra Costa’s 4% retail Measure R rate plus city-level rates, the all-in tax burden on a regulated Contra Costa retailer eased materially from the brief July–September 2025 peak. The 15% rate holds through June 30, 2028. (CDTFA L-992)
This is the work we do: Contra Costa County Ch. 88-28 Land Use Permit support (Department of Conservation and Development), Environmental Health coordination, Measure R tax filings, RFP-response build for any future unincorporated storefront round, and city-level CUP and Cannabis Business Permit filings in Richmond, Concord, Martinez, Antioch, Pittsburg, and El Cerrito. Most of our Contra Costa work comes through operators trying to sequence the county Land Use Permit against a city-level permit simultaneously.
Contra Costa County is a selective cannabis jurisdiction. The retail footprint is modest — four unincorporated storefront permits from a 2019 RFP (The Artist Tree in El Sobrante, Authentic 925 in Pacheco, Embarc in Martinez, Element 7 in Bay Point) plus a dozen or so city-level storefronts — but the cultivation and manufacturing capacity sitting behind that retail count is material because of relatively inexpensive industrial land in Antioch, Pittsburg, and Richmond that is zoned for heavier use than neighboring Alameda or Santa Clara can offer. The county’s commercial ordinance is Chapter 88-28 (Cannabis Regulation) of the Ordinance Code, paired with Chapter 64-16 (Cannabis Business Tax) implementing voter-approved Measure R. (County cannabis permitting hub)
The unincorporated program is administered through the Department of Conservation and Development and Contra Costa Environmental Health, with concurrent review by the Sheriff’s Office and the Fire Protection District. Unincorporated retail applicants require a County health permit from Environmental Health plus a Conditional Use Permit; the sensitive-use buffer runs 1,000 ft from schools as a state default (Ch. 88-28.406 governs specific measured distances and methods). Cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, nursery, and testing are permitted in designated agricultural and industrial zones under the ordinance. Expect a Phase 1 / Phase 2 application model — a preliminary planning review establishes zoning eligibility before the full Land Use Permit fee is paid — and plan on CEQA coordinated environmental review for larger facilities.
Measure R (passed Nov 2018 with 71.73% voter approval) set the countywide tax schedule: 4% gross receipts on retail, 2% on distribution, 2.5% on manufacturing, and 4% gross receipts plus up to $7 per square foot on cultivation canopy, CPI-adjusted. The county fiscal-impact statement projected $1.7–$4.4M annual tax revenue. Tax effective date was January 1, 2019. Inside the cities, the market splits cleanly: Antioch is the volume jurisdiction (Antioch Municipal Code Chapter 5-40 authorizes retail, delivery, cultivation, manufacturing, distribution under a Cannabis Business Permit layered on a CUP). Concord permits a narrow retail slate (historically four storefronts under Concord Municipal Code Ch. 18.200) plus delivery and limited cultivation/manufacturing east of downtown. Richmond permits retail, manufacturing, and distribution through Community Development with an equity-priority scoring layer. Pittsburg permits retail and limited non-retail activity. Martinez, El Cerrito, and Walnut Creek run permitted programs; Lafayette is delivery-only; Clayton, Danville, and Orinda ban commercial cannabis.
Enforcement in Contra Costa is coordinated among DCD code enforcement, the Sheriff’s Cannabis Enforcement Unit (which focuses heavily on unlicensed indoor operations in eastern unincorporated areas), DCC investigators, and CDTFA. The dominant friction pattern on licensed side is cultivation-canopy-fee reconciliation under Ch. 64-16 — canopy measurement is stricter than METRC package-level reporting suggests, and a recurring audit finding is canopy-fee underpayment from operators who compute fees on flowering canopy only and not the full licensed footprint. City-level Cannabis Business Tax schedules stack on top of Measure R, so pro-forma modeling needs every tax layer priced in at the feasibility stage, not after operating permit issuance.
Figures sourced from the Contra Costa Ordinance Code Ch. 88-28 and 64-16, the Measure R ballot record, and CBS SF reporting on the 2019 unincorporated operator selection. For live license counts, use the DCC Unified License Search filtered to Contra Costa.
Six inflection points that shaped Contra Costa’s selective cannabis program — from the 2018 ordinance adoption through the 2022 BoS expansion discussion.
Contra Costa Board of Supervisors adopts the commercial Cannabis Regulation ordinance establishing unincorporated pathways and permit classes.
Cannabis Business Tax (Ch. 64-16) passed with 71.73% voter approval. Rates: 4% retail / 2% distro / 2.5% mfg / 4%+canopy cultivation.
Cannabis business tax takes effect January 1, 2019.
County opens RFP for up to four unincorporated storefront retail permits.
The Artist Tree, Authentic 925, Embarc, Element 7 selected from the RFP.
County BoS discusses expanding unincorporated cannabis retail. (ContraCosta.news, Dec 2022)
A precise current-quarter breakdown by activity type (retail / cultivation / mfg / distro) is not publicly published in a single county dashboard. Below is the qualitative ordering by share of county activity, verifiable against the DCC Unified License Search.
For exact license counts by Type and city, use the DCC Unified License Search filtered to Contra Costa County.
Every Contra Costa County city sets its own cannabis ordinance on top of the countywide Measure R tax. These are the active programs — click through for each city’s local pathway.
Retail, manufacturing, distribution. Community Development with equity-priority scoring.
Historical four-storefront retail cap. Concord MC Ch. 18.200 plus delivery and limited cultivation/mfg east of downtown.
Volume jurisdiction. Full stack (retail, delivery, cultivation, mfg, distro) under Antioch MC Ch. 5-40. Cannabis Business Permit + CUP.
Retail and limited non-retail activity in industrial zones.
Home to Embarc’s unincorporated storefront; city program permits limited commercial activity.
Permitted retail and delivery; adjacent to El Sobrante (home of unincorporated operator The Artist Tree).
Contra Costa does not publish a unified cannabis permitting dashboard. Application and annual-operating fees for unincorporated permits are not publicly published in a single rate card — request from Environmental Health (925-608-5500) before pro-forma modeling.
Sources: Ballotpedia Measure R record, CDTFA L-992, Contra Costa Ordinance Code Ch. 88-28 / 64-16. “Typical local rate” range is qualitative; verify each ordinance directly.
The four operators selected from Contra Costa’s 2019 unincorporated-retail RFP. Each holds one of four permits authorized countywide outside of incorporated-city programs.
Multi-state operator headquartered in Sacramento; holds one of Contra Costa’s four unincorporated storefront permits, located in Martinez.
Local independent operator awarded an unincorporated storefront permit for a Pacheco location through the 2019 RFP.
California multi-location retailer; holds one of the four Contra Costa unincorporated permits, located in El Sobrante adjacent to El Cerrito.
Awarded one of the four 2019 RFP unincorporated-retail permits, located in Bay Point in eastern Contra Costa.
From Department of Conservation and Development Phase 1 review through DCC issuance, through city-level Cannabis Business Permit filings, through Measure R and canopy-fee reconciliation, to 24-hour enforcement response — your Contra Costa regulatory lift runs through one named team.
DCC application coordinated with the Contra Costa Ch. 88-28 Land Use Permit or the relevant city Cannabis Business Permit.
DCD Phase 1 / Phase 2 unincorporated support; Antioch, Concord, Richmond, Pittsburg, Martinez, El Cerrito filings.
Quarterly reconciliation tuned to Ch. 64-16 canopy measurement and the July 2025 state excise increase.
