Buying or selling a cannabis business in Ann Arbor, Michigan

Who regulates cannabis businesses in Ann Arbor?

The city does, alongside the state. Chapter 96 of the Ann Arbor City Code covers medical marijuana facilities and adult-use establishments, and Chapter 55, the Unified Development Code, covers where they can go. Ann Arbor allows every state licence type: retailer, provisioning center, microbusiness, grower, processor, consumption establishment, safety compliance facility, and secure transporter.

The city lays out a fixed sequence for an operator:

1. Special Exception Use approval from the City Planning Commission, where the zoning district requires it.
2. Zoning compliance permit.
3. Building permit and any change of occupancy.
4. Marijuana facility permit application to the City Clerk.
5. A copy of the approved state licence filed with the Clerk.

State licensing and the statewide sale process are covered on the Michigan page.

Permit caps and current counts

Permit type	Cap under Chapter 96
Provisioning center or retailer	28
Microbusiness	28
Designated consumption establishment	28
Grower, processor, secure transporter, safety compliance facility	No maximum

Source: 2022 summary of Chapter 96.

The retail cap does not bind. In September 2025 the city’s planning manager said only 21 retailers were operating and staff proposed deleting the 28-store limit. Check whether the council has since adopted that change. Either way, the lesson for pricing is the same: in Ann Arbor the permit is available, so it carries little stand-alone value. That is the opposite of a capped city such as Detroit.

Zoning and the school buffer

Marijuana uses are limited to certain zoning districts, some with spacing or co-location limits, and many sites need a Special Exception Use. The school buffer changed recently. On 17 November 2025 the council replaced the 1,000-foot minimum from K-12 schools with a 100-foot minimum. City staff had said several long-established stores sat inside 1,000 feet without problems, and a council member said some businesses would otherwise have lost their licences.

For a buyer, this matters in two ways. A store that was nonconforming may now be conforming, which removes a risk. And more sites now qualify, which lowers the barrier for a competitor. How buffers work in general is on zoning, buffers, and conditional use permits.

Can an Ann Arbor permit pass to a buyer?

Not automatically. Chapter 96 says a permit is valid only for the location and facility type on the application and only for operation by the permit applicant. A change requires an amended application to the City Clerk. In practice:

• In an equity purchase the permit holder stays the same entity, but ownership information on file with the Clerk changes and should be updated as the ordinance requires.
• In an asset purchase the buyer’s entity is a new applicant and needs its own city permit for the site, timed to match the state asset purchase amendment.

Any Special Exception Use approval runs with the land use, but confirm its conditions, because some are tied to a specific site plan. The general checklist is on local control and municipal approvals.

Local taxes and fees

Ann Arbor levies no local cannabis tax; Michigan municipalities cannot. Permit fees are set by council resolution within the state’s $5,000 annual limit. Renewal applications are due between 90 and 60 days before expiry. Ann Arbor has no local equity licence track of the kind Detroit uses, so there is no local equity transfer restriction to clear.

Market conditions

Ann Arbor is a mature, competitive retail market. It had medical dispensaries long before state licensing, and it has a large student and visitor population. It also sits inside a state where average adult-use flower was $60.33 an ounce at retail in August 2026. With 21 stores and no binding cap, margins are thin and the weaker locations are the ones that come to market.

Practical points for sellers and buyers

Sellers. Lead with what a newcomer cannot copy: a downtown or campus-area site, parking, a long lease at a fair rent, and loyalty data. Have the Special Exception Use file and Clerk permit history ready. See preparing a cannabis business for sale.

Buyers. Value an Ann Arbor store on earnings and lease terms, using dispensary valuation multiples, and ignore permit scarcity. Read the lease for assignment and cannabis-use clauses, covered in landlord consent and cannabis lease clauses. This page is general education, not legal advice.