Commercial Real Estate in Glen Ellen: Design Guidelines, Winery Rules and the Former Developmental Center

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

Glen Ellen’s commercial property is a small village core along Arnold Drive and the creeks: a handful of restaurants, a market, inns, tasting rooms and shops, ringed by wineries, vineyards and ranch land in the Sonoma Valley and on the slopes of Sonoma Mountain. It is unincorporated, so the County of Sonoma and Permit Sonoma decide uses. The biggest variable nearby is the former Sonoma Developmental Center, whose plan is being redone. Confirm parcel zoning in the County’s zoning database before relying on this page.

Who controls the parcel

Land use: Permit Sonoma applies County Chapter 26. Glen Ellen has no city government or city taxes.
Urban service area: A point query of the County’s urban service area layer at the village returns the Sonoma Valley urban service area, about 5,129 acres. The village is within the area the General Plan expects to have urban services; outlying ranch land is not.
Village design overlay: Village parcels may carry an LG/GE1 or LG/GE2 suffix, which would tie them to the Glen Ellen Development and Design Guidelines.
Water: Permit Sonoma’s water and sewer referral list names the Valley of the Moon Water District as serving Glen Ellen, Boyes Hot Springs and El Verano. Rural parcels typically rely on wells and septic.
Sewer: The Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District runs a 4,500-acre service area in the valley. Ask whether a given Glen Ellen parcel is inside it.
State land: The former Developmental Center campus is owned by the State of California.

Glen Ellen zoning for commercial, industrial and mixed use

County Article 10 and Article 06 cover the districts a buyer meets around Glen Ellen.

District	Intended uses	Notes
C1 Neighborhood Commercial	Retail, services and offices for rural neighborhoods	Restaurants P/C; B&Bs and bars by use permit
CR Commercial Rural	Mixed homes and commercial in unincorporated communities	County keeps discretionary review of new commercial; tasting rooms P*
K Recreation and Visitor-Serving	Recreation with tourist commercial	Hotels and resorts by use permit; vacation rentals permitted
LC Limited Commercial	Daily goods and services	Restaurants P/C
LIA Land Intensive Agriculture	Best farmland, including vineyards	Tasting rooms and ag processing by use permit; 20-acre minimum lots; no vacation rentals
DA Diverse Agriculture	Smaller, part-time farms	Tasting rooms by use permit; farmstays and farm stands permitted; 10-acre minimum
RRD Resources and Rural Development	Hills, watershed, timber, low-density homes	Tasting rooms by use permit; 20-acre minimum

County commercial buildings are capped at 35 feet in Table 10-2.

The village core and the Glen Ellen guidelines

Article 63 lists two Glen Ellen subareas, and Section 26-90-060 states their purpose: keep Glen Ellen’s rural character and scenic quality, and favor buildings that are human in scale.

Subarea 1: Design review applies to both ministerial projects (such as a building permit) and discretionary ones.
Subarea 2: Ministerial projects are exempt, but discretionary projects are reviewed against the guidelines.

The base zone still sets the allowed uses. For a storefront, restaurant or inn remodel in the village, know which subarea you are in before you design.

Wineries, tasting rooms and events

Glen Ellen’s commercial economy is wine and hospitality. On agricultural and resource land, the County’s Table 6-1 gives these permit levels:

Tasting rooms and full agricultural processing need a use permit.
Small-scale processing and periodic special events are permitted subject to discretionary criteria.
Farm retail, farm stands and farmstays are permitted outright.

On Williamson Act land, uses must fit the County’s Uniform Rules. An existing winery’s value rests on its use permit: visitor caps, event counts and hours. See our guides to winery use permits, Sonoma County agricultural zoning and tasting room space.

The Sonoma Developmental Center site

The Board of Supervisors approved a Specific Plan for the former Developmental Center campus on December 16, 2022. Its press release described a base of 620 homes, more than 900 potential jobs, 700 acres of open space and a 100-foot Sonoma Creek setback.

That plan is no longer in effect. A Superior Court ruling found the plan’s environmental review violated CEQA. In December 2024 the County decertified the EIR and rescinded the plan, choosing to revise it and study it alongside a pending application from Eldridge Renewal, LLC, filed in August 2023, for the 180-acre core campus. The County noted that state law limits its ability to deny that project or reduce its density. Treat any future commercial space there as unentitled until a new plan and project are approved.

Lodging and vacation rentals

County rules. Permit Sonoma bars vacation rentals in R1 to R3, on Williamson Act land and in LIA.
Glen Ellen exclusion zone. The County’s 2023 rezoning staff report proposed an exclusion zone for 22 Glen Ellen parcels, among seven in the First District. Ordinance 6423, adopted April 24, 2023, applied cap and exclusion zones in that district, per the regulations page. Confirm which parcels carry the X suffix.
Inns. Hotels need a use permit in K and are not listed in CR. See our vacation rental rules.

Transfer tax, business tax and property tax

The County Recorder collects $0.55 per $500, less assumed loans, and Glen Ellen has no city tax. Lodging pays County transient occupancy tax; we did not verify the rate. A change of ownership generally triggers Proposition 13 reassessment, and Williamson Act land is assessed under its contract.

Due diligence that matters in Glen Ellen

Begin with our commercial due diligence checklist, and add:

Confirm the LG/GE subarea, any X suffix and the base zone.
Read the winery or tasting room use permit, including events and visitor limits.
Confirm water from Valley of the Moon Water District or a well, and the sewer or septic status.
Check Williamson Act contract status on agricultural parcels.
Track the revised SDC plan if your business depends on future traffic or housing there.
Check FEMA flood mapping near Sonoma Creek and other creeks.

Questions people ask

Is Glen Ellen in a city?

No. It is unincorporated Sonoma County, regulated by Permit Sonoma.

Does design review apply in Glen Ellen?

On LG/GE1 parcels, for both ministerial and discretionary projects; on LG/GE2, for discretionary projects.

Can I open a tasting room near Glen Ellen?

On farm and resource land, with a use permit. In CR and AS, tasting rooms are P*.

Is the Sonoma Developmental Center plan approved?

No. The County rescinded the 2022 plan in December 2024 after a court ruling and is revising it.

Can a Glen Ellen house be a vacation rental?

Not in R1 to R3, LIA or the Glen Ellen exclusion zone.

Who provides water in Glen Ellen?

Valley of the Moon Water District, per Permit Sonoma, or private wells.

Does Diamond handle commercial property in Glen Ellen?

Contact Matthew Martinez to discuss buying, selling or leasing commercial property in Glen Ellen.

Sources & notes

Note: We did not read the Glen Ellen Development and Design Guidelines document, confirm which parcels carry LG/GE or X, or verify whether Glen Ellen is inside the sanitation district. The 22-parcel exclusion count is from the staff report proposal. The village and creek descriptions are general, not from a source. See also our Sonoma County commercial guide and Sonoma County multifamily guide.

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

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