Commercial Real Estate in Antelope: Antelope Station, East Antelope Industrial Land and County Zoning

By Matthew Martinez, Founder, CEO & Managing Broker, Diamond Real Estate Group. California DRE #01869679.

Antelope is a largely residential unincorporated community in north Sacramento County, next to the Placer County line, and its commercial property is concentrated rather than spread along long strips. The main pieces are the shopping and transit-oriented district at Antelope and Roseville Roads, neighborhood centers on County commercial zoning, and a block of heavy industrial land on the east side next to the railroad yard. Confirm the zone, any SPA and any specific plan for a parcel with Sacramento County Planning before relying on this page.

Who controls the parcel

Antelope is not a city, so Sacramento County zones it under the County Zoning Code. The Antelope Community Plan, adopted in 1985, was never written as a policy text; it was carried out only through a land use designation map. The County keeps an archived April 24, 2012 version of that map and points users to its online General Map for current designations. In practice, the zoning map, the Antelope Station SPA and the East Antelope Specific Plan carry the rules.

Neighboring areas follow different rules: Nearby Citrus Heights is a city with its own code, and Roseville across the county line is in Placer County. Parcels near either edge need a boundary check.

Antelope zoning for commercial, industrial and mixed use

Antelope Station SPA

The Antelope Station SPA covers about 50 acres at the corner of Antelope and Roseville Roads. It was adopted June 17, 1992, readopted December 4, 2002, and later amended under a 2001 County application for a large retail store. Its goal was a mixed-use district of commercial, industrial and office, and public uses built around transit, walking and biking rather than only cars.

Uses. Commercial areas take the uses allowed in the County’s former Shopping Center zone, with listed exceptions. Transit facilities, postal facilities, parks and plazas are permitted anywhere in the SPA. The SPA does not provide for housing.

Intensity. Base commercial intensity is a floor area ratio of 0.20 to 0.35. Going higher needs a use permit, with Project Planning Commission review of glare, traffic and building mass, and only after light rail or high-quality bus service, defined as 15-minute headways or express service, is in place.

Transit commitments. The SPA reserved at least 5 acres for a possible Regional Transit rail station, a reservation that ran until the earlier of 12 months after the Measure A renewal or November 2009, and requires at least 220 joint-use parking spaces for Regional Transit park-and-ride users near the station. Whether the reservation area has since been released or developed should be confirmed with the County and Regional Transit.

Parking and design. Shopping center uses need 4.5 spaces per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area, with shared parking encouraged. A Transportation Systems Management plan must target a 30% cut in peak-hour vehicle trips. Design guidelines call for sidewalks at least 6 feet wide, street trees about every 30 feet and one shade tree for every fourth parking stall. Departing from the guidelines does not need a variance but can require redesign.

East Antelope industrial and commercial land

The East Antelope Specific Plan, adopted in July 1995, covers about 670 acres along the Sacramento/Placer County line, divided into Northern, Eastern, Central and Western Subareas. The Eastern Subarea is almost entirely M-2 heavy industrial, about 147 acres, with what the plan calls the Southern Pacific Railroad Roseville Yard immediately to the east. The Central Subarea includes two small commercial parcels in the Antelope Station Townsite, zoned LC (about 3.5 acres) and GC (about 1.7 acres), plus about 5.8 more acres of M-2. The rest of the plan is single-family and agricultural-residential.

For an industrial buyer, the appeal is rail-adjacent heavy industrial zoning; the cautions are buffers to nearby homes, which the plan addresses with buffer acreage between subareas, and the need to read the plan’s development standards for the specific parcel.

Transfer tax, business tax and property tax

Antelope pays the County documentary transfer tax of $0.55 per $500, less assumed loans, and no city tax; the County Clerk-Recorder applies the added city tax only inside the City of Sacramento. Businesses in Antelope need a County General Business License, per the Department of Finance business license FAQ. Hotels pay the County’s 12% transient occupancy tax and tourism district assessments. A sale generally triggers Proposition 13 reassessment, and newer subdivisions may carry special assessments.

Due diligence that matters in Antelope

Start with our commercial due diligence checklist, then add:

• Confirm unincorporated County status, not Citrus Heights or Placer County.
• Check whether the parcel is in the Antelope Station SPA or the East Antelope Specific Plan, and read that document’s use list.
• In Antelope Station, confirm the FAR cap, the 4.5-per-1,000 parking ratio and any obligations tied to the park-and-ride spaces.
• For M-2 land, review rail access, buffers to homes and the plan’s industrial standards.
• Look up the current designation on the County’s online General Map, since the community plan is map-only.

Questions people ask

Sources & notes

1. Sacramento County, Antelope Station SPA
2. Sacramento County, East Antelope Specific Plan
3. Sacramento County, Antelope Community Plan
4. Sacramento County Zoning Code, Chapter 2
5. County Clerk-Recorder, documentary transfer tax
6. County Department of Finance, business license FAQ

Note: The East Antelope plan cites its area as 669.5 to 673 acres in different places. We did not confirm the status of the Antelope Station rail reservation or review the full specific plan standards.

This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.

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