Commercial Real Estate in Lafayette: Downtown Retail Districts, the BART Block and Pleasant Hill Road

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

Nearly all of Lafayette’s commercial land sits in one long downtown along Mt. Diablo Boulevard, between the BART station and the freeway, plus a small motorist-serving strip on Pleasant Hill Road. The city’s zoning is written to protect walkable storefront retail, so the same building can be easy or hard to lease depending on the use and the floor. Confirm the district, any specific plan and the permit path for each parcel with the Lafayette Planning and Building Services Division before you commit.

Who controls the parcel

The City of Lafayette zones land inside city limits under Title 6, Planning and Land Use, of its municipal code. Title 6 divides the city into single-family, multiple-family, business and commercial, office and planned districts, with combining and special districts on top. Chapter 6-9 holds ten business and commercial articles, and Chapter 6-10 adds office districts.

Two layers can override base zoning. Each commercial article says an adopted specific plan controls where it covers part of the district, and the Special Retail Business article names the BART Block as defined by its own specific plan. Design review applies citywide: almost every commercial article requires design review for exterior changes, including new paint colors. Separate chapters cover hillside development, tree protection, historical landmarks and design review of structures over 17 feet.

Water, sewer and fire service come from outside agencies, not the city, so check capacity and fees with them as well.

Lafayette zoning for commercial, industrial and mixed use

Lafayette has no industrial district in Chapter 6-9. The closest thing is the C district, which allows light manufacturing and research only with a land use permit. A buyer looking for warehouse, contractor yard or flex space will usually find more options in Concord, Pleasant Hill or Martinez.

Downtown: SRB, RB and the BART Block

SRB, the retail core. The SRB article was repealed and replaced by Ordinance 696 on January 13, 2025. Its stated goals are to strengthen retail in the central area, discourage car-oriented uses and phase out uses that do not fit. By right, it allows general retail, full-service restaurants with outdoor dining, personal services and fast food without a drive-thru. Food sales, business services and furnishings stores under 2,000 sq ft are also allowed by right. Larger stores, financial and consultative services, fee parking and firearm sales need a land use permit.

Ground-floor rules are the key leasing issue. New or expanded administrative, consultative or financial offices generally cannot take ground-floor space in SRB, apart from a small entrance to an upstairs use. A narrow exception for certain buildings near South Thompson Road, Terrace Way and Oak Hill Road applies only to permits granted before April 13, 1999. New uses also may not be designed around drive-thru service or mid-block driveways.

The BART Block. Within 25 feet of Mt. Diablo Boulevard, BART Block buildings are limited to two stories or 35 feet. Elsewhere on the block, the City Council can approve up to three stories after Planning Commission review and specific findings. No variance may change the BART Block height, density, open space, landscaping or setback rules. Buildings facing Mt. Diablo Boulevard there may sit no more than six feet back to make room for parking.

RB and RB-60. The RB district supports the core with a similar use list, a 35-foot limit, 5,000 sq ft minimum new lots and at least 20% of each lot kept as open space. Ordinance 696 also created RB-60. It allows buildings up to 60 feet, with a 10-foot step-back above 20 feet and another 10 feet above 40 feet on street-facing walls. It allows housing by right and requires 12% of the ground level to be landscaped.

Local rules that shape a deal

Housing on commercial land. In SRB and RB, housing is allowed by right on upper floors along Mt. Diablo Boulevard and on all floors elsewhere in the district. The C district allows dwelling units by right. In each district, density follows the General Plan designation and Program 10.3.g of the 2023 to 2031 Housing Element, not a number in the zoning text. That makes mixed-use redevelopment a real option on many downtown sites.

Drive-thrus. Drive-thru fast food needs a land use permit in RB and C. In SRB, the code bars new uses designed for drive-thru service. On Pleasant Hill Road, a drive-through window for coffee or other soft drinks needs a land use permit.

Pleasant Hill Road. The PHC district allows auto servicing, offices and park-and-ride lots by right, with car washing only as an accessory to auto service. Buildings are capped at one story and 17 feet, and new lots must be at least 40,000 sq ft. Floor area is limited to 0.25 FAR on land of 15% slope or less, and steeper land cannot be built on or counted.

General commercial size thresholds. In C, general commercial sales and service under 7,500 sq ft is allowed by right, and larger operations need a permit. Hotels, auto servicing, convenience markets, light manufacturing and medical offices up to 3,000 sq ft are all permit uses. The code bars combining several retail-core uses into one complex such as a department store.

Parking. All retail districts follow Chapter 6-6. A shared lot of 10 or more stalls serving listed retail and restaurant uses can cut required stalls by 15%, with no more than one full-service restaurant among them.

Transfer tax, business tax and property tax

The Contra Costa Clerk-Recorder collects the county documentary transfer tax of $0.55 per $500 of value. The Recorder posts separate city transfer taxes only for Richmond and El Cerrito, and we found no Lafayette city transfer tax. Lafayette’s code has a Title 4 for business licenses and a Title 9 for revenue and taxation, but we did not verify business license rates. A sale is normally a Proposition 13 change of ownership, and the county Assessor resets the assessed value to the purchase price.

Due diligence that matters in Lafayette

Start with our commercial due diligence checklist, then add:

• Confirm the exact district (SRB, SRB-60, RB, RB-60, C or a GC variant) and whether a specific plan covers the parcel.
• For ground-floor office, bank or real estate tenants in SRB, check whether the use is barred or needs permit findings.
• On the BART Block, confirm frontage height and setback limits, which cannot be varied.
• Budget time for design review on any exterior change, even repainting.
• Check sewer, water and fire service capacity with the outside agencies.
• For Pleasant Hill Road parcels, measure slope before counting buildable floor area.

Questions people ask

Sources & notes

1. Lafayette Municipal Code, Title 6 Planning and Land Use (GoCodebook) and Chapter 6-9 index
2. Article 1, RB; Article 1.5, RB-60; Article 2, C; Article 4, SRB; Article 6, PHC
3. Contra Costa Clerk-Recorder, Documentary Transfer Tax

Note: The SRB-60, GC-60, GC-1, GC-1-60, Forestry Recreation and office district articles, the downtown specific plan text and business license rates were not reviewed for this page.

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

Related: Lafayette real estate guide · Multifamily property in Lafayette · Commercial real estate services