Recreational marijuana businesses are welcome to set up shop on the main streets of Boston, but cannot cluster near one another, under new rules approved by city zoning officials Wednesday.

Approved by the Boston Zoning Commission on an 8-1 vote, the regulations will allow retail marijuana shops, growers, and other state-licensed cannabis operations to open in any of the city’s business districts, unlike other communities that have steered pot companies away from high-traffic areas.

Marijuana industry players lauded the measure, saying it sets the city apart from the majority of Massachusetts municipalities that have imposed temporary or permanent bans on recreational companies, or sequestered them in outlying industrial parks. They also praised the administration of Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh for developing the zoning rules, despite Walsh’s strong opposition to the 2016 marijuana legalization measure.

“The fact that Boston — the largest, most-populated city in the state, with a historically prohibitionist mayor — is open for business is a big deal,” said Jay Youmans, a lobbyist at the Smith, Costello & Crawford law group, which represents marijuana firms. “There are dozens of communities out there that overwhelmingly supported [legalization] but can’t get out of their own way and get zoning in place. The mayor should be commended.” [Read more at Boston Globe]