Restrictive by design. Unincorporated San Mateo permits only mixed-light greenhouse cultivation and nursery under Chapter 5.148 (originally adopted Dec 2017) — no unincorporated retail of any kind, and most cities ban commercial retail outright. The coastside greenhouse cluster around Half Moon Bay is the county’s only meaningful cultivation footprint; Pacifica and South San Francisco have permitted delivery. Here’s the pathway.
Every figure below is sourced to the San Mateo County Code, the County Manager’s Office 2017 announcement, or CDTFA — see each card. San Mateo does not publish a consolidated cannabis rate card; several figures the county maintains internally (bond amounts, cultivation cap per permit) are not publicly published and must be requested from Planning and Building direct.
Unincorporated San Mateo County prohibits commercial cannabis retail under Section 5.148.050. Delivery into unincorporated areas by state-licensed retailers from outside the county is permitted, but no physical delivery facility may locate in unincorporated county. Applicants pursuing retail must look to city programs or to adjacent counties. (Ch. 5.148 Code)
The December 2017 ordinance authorized only mixed-light greenhouse cultivation, including nursery — no outdoor cultivation, no indoor cultivation, no standalone manufacturing or distribution location. A 2022 amendment added distribution between licensees only (no stand-alone distribution facility). The coastside greenhouse cluster evolved from Half Moon Bay’s legacy cut-flower industry. (County Manager’s Office)
Statewide cannabis excise was cut from 19% back to 15% on Oct 1, 2025 under AB 564 (CDTFA L-992) — the rate holds through June 30, 2028. San Mateo does not levy a county cannabis excise; cultivation is subject only to the state rate plus applicable city-level rates on harvested product moving through licensed distribution. (CDTFA L-992)
This is the work we do: Ch. 5.148 Commercial Cannabis Use Permit packet preparation, Coastal Development Permit coordination (Local Coastal Program), State Water Resources Control Board and San Mateo County Water District water-permit sequencing, Coastside Fire Protection District fire-flow review, and greenhouse METRC onboarding for mixed-light operators. Most of our San Mateo work is coastside cultivation where the CDP layer extends timelines meaningfully and fire-flow is routinely underestimated.
San Mateo County is a restrictive cannabis jurisdiction by design. The county Board of Supervisors adopted its commercial cannabis ordinance on December 5, 2017, codified as Chapter 5.148 (Regulation of Cannabis in Unincorporated Areas) of the County Code. The ordinance was purpose-built to keep unincorporated activity narrow: it authorizes only mixed-light (greenhouse) cultivation and nursery cultivation in specific agricultural zones, and prohibits unincorporated retail outright under Section 5.148.050. A 2022 amendment added distribution between licensees (no stand-alone distribution facility). The county’s Planning and Building Department administers the Commercial Cannabis Use Permit, with environmental review through the County Environmental Health Division, additional oversight from the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office, and coastal-agriculture advisory review for coastside parcels.
The coastside — Half Moon Bay, Moss Beach, Pescadero — is the county’s only meaningful cultivation footprint. The greenhouse cluster evolved from decades of Half Moon Bay cut-flower industry infrastructure, giving qualifying operators a head start on climate-controlled structures, CEQA-reviewed sites, and established agricultural water rights. Coastside cultivation applicants face a double layer of permitting: the county Commercial Cannabis Use Permit plus Coastal Development Permit (CDP) review under the San Mateo County Local Coastal Program, which can extend timelines meaningfully and occasionally triggers California Coastal Commission review for parcels within the coastal zone. Water-use permitting through the State Water Resources Control Board and the San Mateo County Water District is substantive for any mixed-light cultivator, and fire-flow requirements through the Coastside Fire Protection District add another gating factor that applicants routinely underestimate.
The county’s regulatory architecture was immediately contested. In 2018, a lawsuit was filed challenging the cultivation rules (SM Daily Journal), and the county subsequently repealed and replaced the ordinance with a restructured version. The ordinance carries a surety-bond requirement (see surety providers for current rates); the exact bond amount and the greenhouse cultivation cap per permit are not publicly published on a single page and must be requested from Planning and Building directly. Tax rates for unincorporated cultivators are similarly not publicly published as a unified schedule; delivery into unincorporated areas is not separately taxed by the county.
Inside the cities, the market is tightly controlled — most San Mateo County cities ban commercial cannabis retail outright. Half Moon Bay permits a narrow slate of cannabis retail and delivery under Half Moon Bay Municipal Code Chapter 5.18, administered through the city’s Community Development Department with a companion CUP review. Pacifica and South San Francisco have permitted delivery licensees (verify current status with each city’s clerk). Redwood City runs a narrow retail slate plus delivery and limited non-retail activity through RWC Municipal Code Chapter 35. Other cities in the county — San Mateo, Burlingame, Menlo Park, Daly City — prohibit commercial cannabis retail. Enforcement in San Mateo County is coordinated between the Sheriff’s Office (unincorporated), city code enforcement, the County Agricultural Commissioner (greenhouse cultivation), and DCC investigators. The dominant friction pattern on the cultivation side is water-rights and fire-flow alignment — the coastside’s water and fire infrastructure was built for low-density cut-flower operations and a mixed-light cannabis operation can stress both; reconciling METRC seasonal volume with county-reported harvest weights is the secondary recurring issue.
San Mateo County does not publish many cannabis figures as a consolidated dashboard. Figures sourced from the San Mateo County Code Ch. 5.148, the County Manager’s Office 2017 announcement, and CDTFA. For live license counts, use the DCC Unified License Search filtered to San Mateo County.
Five inflection points from the 2017 greenhouse ordinance adoption through the 2022 distribution amendment.
San Mateo County Board of Supervisors approves limited greenhouse cannabis cultivation ordinance on Dec 5, 2017.
Lawsuit filed challenging the ordinance. County subsequently repeals and replaces the ordinance.
Proposition 64 adult-use framework takes effect statewide. San Mateo’s unincorporated framework remains cultivation-only with no retail.
County amends Ch. 5.148 to permit distribution between licensees (no stand-alone distribution location).
AB 564 / CDTFA L-992: statewide cannabis excise cut from 19% back to 15%, effective Oct 1, 2025, through June 30, 2028. San Mateo does not levy a county excise on top.
The county’s licensed footprint is small and coastside-concentrated. A precise current-quarter breakdown 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, use the DCC Unified License Search filtered to San Mateo County.
Most San Mateo County cities ban commercial cannabis retail. Below are the cities that permit some form of commercial activity. Verify current status with each city before filing — San Mateo city cannabis policy moves more often than it updates its public municipal code page.
Coastside retail + delivery under Half Moon Bay MC Chapter 5.18. Community Development with companion CUP.
Narrow retail (small cap) plus delivery and limited non-retail activity under RWC MC Chapter 35.
Pacifica and South San Francisco have permitted delivery licensees as noted above; verify current status directly with each city’s clerk. San Mateo (city), Burlingame, Menlo Park, Daly City, Belmont, Foster City, and most other San Mateo County cities prohibit commercial cannabis retail.
San Mateo County does not publish a consolidated cannabis permitting dashboard. Several key figures are internal to Planning and Building and must be requested directly.
Sources: San Mateo County Code Ch. 5.148, CDTFA L-992. “Most CA counties allow some form” is qualitative — verify each county’s ordinance directly.
Individual operator names for San Mateo County are not comprehensively published in county records. The county’s coastside greenhouse cluster evolved from legacy Half Moon Bay cut-flower infrastructure; current licensed operators should be verified via the DCC Unified License Search. Below are the structural operator categories active in the county.
Half Moon Bay / Moss Beach / Pescadero greenhouse cannabis cultivators converted from legacy cut-flower infrastructure. Operator names verifiable via DCC license search.
Nursery-tier licensees supplying starts and clones to Bay Area cultivators; the only nursery-class activity San Mateo unincorporated permits under Ch. 5.148.
Half Moon Bay retail licensees under HMB MC Ch. 5.18. Pacifica and South San Francisco run permitted delivery programs.
Added by the 2022 Ch. 5.148 amendment. Permits licensed cultivator-to-licensee distribution without a stand-alone distribution facility.
From Chapter 5.148 Commercial Cannabis Use Permit through Coastal Development Permit, through State Water Board and Coastside Fire permitting, through DCC issuance, to city-level Half Moon Bay and Redwood City permit work — your San Mateo regulatory lift runs through one named team.
DCC cultivation application (Type 2B mixed-light, Type 4 nursery) coordinated alongside the Ch. 5.148 Commercial Cannabis Use Permit.
Ch. 5.148 CCUP + Coastal Development Permit under the Local Coastal Program, with water-rights and fire-flow coordination.
Seasonal mixed-light harvest reconciliation, manifest audits, and tag-inventory normalization for coastside greenhouse operators.
