Sample Basic Floor Plan Diagram

Minnesota cannabis applicants with preliminary license approval must now focus on their Final Plans of Record. The first of those is the Site, Security and Operations Plan, and the 1st item within that plan is the Detailed Design Diagram. It’s a single document that must be uploaded, along with answers to about 45 questions, before the full plan can be formally submitted. 

We offer narrative text to answer questions and provide procedures for all Final Plans of Record for the MN Cannabis Application. 

Along with our partners, we can handle 95% of your facility design and answers in your Final Plans of Record, and we think we can do it for the best price with the best service! Contact Us Now to Discuss. 

As for the design plan, the OCM states, “Once preliminarily approved, applicants must submit detailed final plans of record for their cannabis business. These forms document finalized site and operational details and must be submitted and approved before a pre-licensure inspection can be scheduled and a license issued. For further guidance, please see our Qualified Applicant Guide to Obtaining a License.” and that is followed by this list of facility design requirements taken from Chapter 342, Rule 9810 of the Final Regulations: 

“Upload a detailed facility diagram for each location listed in Section 1, in accordance with Chapter 342 of Minnesota Statutes and OCM regulations 9810. Each diagram must include the following:

• • Fire and smoke detection systems [Minn. Admin. R. 9810.1102 subp. 3(A)]
  • Carbon monoxide detection systems [Minn. Admin. R. 9810.1102 subp. 3(B)]
  • Enclosed toilet facilities [Minn. Admin. R. 9810.1100 subp. 6(A)]
  • Product storage areas [Minn. Admin. R. 9810.1104]
  • Limited-access areas and restricted-access areas [Minn. Stat. Sec. 342.24 subd. 3]
  • Ventilation and filtration systems [Minn. Stat. Sec. 342.24 subd. 4]
  • Planned square feet of space for licensed activities [Minn. Stat. Sec. 342.14 subd. 1(a)(5)]
  • Planned square feet or acres of space for cultivation (if applicable) [Minn. Stat. Sec. 342.14 subd. 1(a)(5)]
  • Planned square feet of space for manufacturing (if applicable) [Minn. Admin. R. 9810.2102 subp. 2(2)]
  • Planned square feet or acres of plant canopy (if applicable) [Minn. Stat. Sec. 342.14 subd. 1(a)(5)]
  • Planned square feet or acres of space for retail sales (if applicable) [Minn. Stat. Sec. 342.14 subd. 1(a)(5)]
  • Manufacturing equipment (if applicable) [Minn. Admin. R. 9810.2102 subp. 2(2)]
  • Separate manufacturing equipment used for product received from unlicensed individuals (if applicable) [Minn. Stat. Sec. 342.26 subd. 3(e)]
  • All points of ingress and egress [Minn. Stat. Sec. 342.14 subd. 1(a)(6)]
  • Windows and doors, with identification of locks [Minn. Admin. R. 9810.1500 subp. 12]
  • Alarm systems, including control panel and alarm sensors [Minn. Admin. R. 9810.1500 subp. 8]
  • Video surveillance cameras and storage devices, including identification of video area coverage [Minn. Admin. R. 9810.1500 subp. 9]
  • Lighting [Minn. Admin. R. 9810.1500 subp. 10]
  • Lock keypads [Minn. Admin. R. 9810.1500 subp. 12]
  • Fencing or locked gates (if applicable) [Minn. Admin. R. 9810.1500 subp. 14]”

Let’s break down the facility design requirements into groups of required contractors. 

First, you need an architect to manage the other contractors. The architect will be the person who will deliver the final document set that includes everyone else’s input. You can use any commercial architect, but architects with cannabis experience will be more aware of how these types of facilities–whether retail or production–are supposed to look and function. 

Looking at the list above the first two items require a fire suppression expert who can give you a visual rendering of your carbon monoxide and smoke detection systems. This contractor should talk to the architect about the best format for a drawing, so the architect can easily integrate fire suppression features into the full set of drawings. 

The OCM’s floor plan requirements don’t require much in the way of engineering, but your local building permit department WILL, so from the list above, the only item for an engineer is the ventilation and filtration diagram. Architects usually have engineers already working for them or with them, so ask your architect if they can your ventilation/filtration diagram in-house. 

The items in the middle of the list above can be handled by cultivation, manufacturing and/or dispensary consultants who will know how to size and orient your rooms based on which license types you are planning. We offer this service, as well as having great partners for architectural, engineering, and environmental controls expertise (Contact us to discuss further). 

Finally, you need a security company to draw out the locations of your locks, alarms, video cameras, security lighting and fencing. Again, make sure they know what format the architect prefers so all of the drawings will be compatible. 

We want the cannabis facility design process to be as seamless as possible for you, so we have worked to create a team that can handle almost everything for you under one roof. This includes cannabis architects, engineers, cultivation/manufacturing/dispensary facility design experts, and fire suppression experts. You only need to choose your own security company and connect us with them. Our recommended architects will oversee the project, with your input, and you’ll send up with a set of drawings that meets local and state requirements  to complete your cannabis licensing process and become operational as soon as possible. 

Once you have secured a properly zoned cannabis facility and provided a line drawing to the consultant who will do your initial conceptual layout, the process will take 2-3 months. This is because it takes 5 or 6 experts coming together weekly to exchange ideas, with your input, and come back with drawings that must be merged together and checked against all rules and specifications of your local municipality and the OCM’s regulations. Each consultant/contractor takes a week or two for their part of the process, but then some time is required for revisions and feedback, and somehow there’s always someone who gets sick or goes out of town. We’d like to say the process can get done more quickly, but it just never does. All of these contractors have multiple customers they are trying to satisfy at any given time, so 2-3 months is how it usually goes. 

The price of getting design plans done for your cannabis facility will vary based on the contractors you choose and the size of your facility. $30-$40,000 is a good general goal for a facility design budget considering that each contractor will charge around $5-$10,000 for their part. Here’s a likely breakdown: 

• Fire suppression drawings – $1,500-2,500
• Conceptual floor plan for cultivation or manufacturing – $4,500-5,500
• Security company drawings – $3,500-$5,500
• Architectural (project management, local and OCM requirements and drawings) – $15,000-25,000

Then, for your local building permit, you’ll need MEP (mechanical/electrical/plumbing) drawings, which will like cost between $10,000-20,000. 

For retail dispensaries, the architect can probably do the drawings without input from a cannabis expert. It’s just important to keep the flow of car and foot traffic into account, as well as visitor check-in, limited access areas, and appropriate proportions of showroom space vs administrative, storage and product transfer space. 1 hour of consulting time from us is probably sufficient if your architect needs some input on these items. 

Ultimately, you are your own project manager. The more you are nudging your contractors and getting involved in the details, the more quickly and successfully you will become operational. The squeaky wheel often gets the grease when contractors are juggling multiple projects, and there are plenty of cost/benefit decisions to make along the way about building features that are very consequential if not done properly, such as back-up power design and sizing, equipment technologies, electrical capacities, extra building space for future expansion, etc, etc. 

Choose people to work with who you understand, are responsive, trustworthy and on the ball. Get references to ensure they have the proper expertise and good customer track records. 

When you’ve been growing indoor cannabis, rebuilding grow rooms, trying out various cultivation techniques and visiting indoor cannabis facilities for decades, you eventually settle into patterns that represent the most efficient and effective systems. There are certainly many ways to grow cannabis, but certain methods and types of equipment have become industry-standard for a reason–they give you the best bang for the buck. To put it another way, the combination of upfront cost, labor and results produces the most profit. 

The best methods are not necessarily the most technologically advanced or sophisticated. Just having a reliable system is more important. For indoor cannabis cultivation, a solid environmental controls system is the basis for success. There must be enough capacity in your air conditioning and dehumidification systems to cool and dry the plant rooms sufficiently, without moisture or heat spikes as systems are cycling. Air must be well circulated and purified with Co2 enrichment. 

Most projects we’ve seen get sticker shock when they learn the cost of air conditioning and dehumidification, but if they don’t invest what it takes to have solid HVACD systems (heating, ventilation, air conditioning, dehumidification), then they will never succeed. 

One of our best clients, River Valley Relief, in Fort Smith Arkansas, invested fully into a chilled water air conditioning system, as well as proper irrigation system sanitation technology, and they are leading their state in cannabis flower production in 2025. Their upfront financial investments more than paid off with energy efficiency and consistent crop health. Here are some pictures of their facility: