Commercial Real Estate in Oakley: Main Street, the Downtown Specific Plan, Delta Waterfront and Light Industrial Zoning

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

Oakley is a fast-growing East County city between Antioch and Brentwood. Commercial land runs along Main Street (State Route 4’s old alignment), Laurel Road, O’Hara Avenue and Empire Avenue. There is a small historic downtown near Main Street and Norcross Lane and marina-oriented land on the Delta waterfront. Confirm the district, any specific plan and the permit path for every parcel with the City of Oakley Community Development Department.

Who controls the parcel

The City of Oakley zones land inside city limits under Chapter 9.1 of Title 9, Land Use Regulation. Article 5 covers commercial districts, Article 6 industrial districts and Article 10 master planned districts. Downtown sits in a specific plan zone. A 2024 state CEQA filing for a Main Street project lists its site as SP-4, the Downtown Specific Plan. The plan predates Oakley’s 1999 incorporation: Contra Costa County circulated a draft EIR for the Downtown Oakley Specific Plan in February 1996. Its stated goal was to re-establish downtown with retail services and high-density housing.

Unincorporated pockets remain near Bethel Island, Knightsen and the Delta islands, and Contra Costa County zones those. Water and sewer come from outside districts, and parts of the city sit in Delta flood and levee areas. Check the jurisdiction, service providers and flood zone early.

Oakley zoning for commercial, industrial and mixed use

Standards come from Article 5 and Article 6.

Article 5 was amended most recently by Ordinance 12-25 in August 2025. New commercial and industrial development must follow the city’s Commercial and Industrial Design Guidelines in Appendix C of the code.

Main Street, downtown and the corridors

General Commercial. The C district’s stated purpose is major commercial centers of community or regional significance along Main Street, O’Hara Avenue, Laurel Avenue and Empire Avenue. It allows retail, offices, restaurants, hotels, banks and showroom-only auto sales by right. It also allows light manufacturing without heavy equipment, under a performance standard. That standard requires a conditional use permit for outdoor storage or for more than 5,000 sq ft of floor area. Auto sales with outside inventory, full bars, hospitals, wine tasting rooms and assembly of 100 or more seats need a CUP.

Retail Business. RB is the neighborhood-scale district. It lists 61 uses by right and 22 by CUP. The CUP list includes auto repair, drive-thru restaurants, gas stations, liquor stores, hotels and child care centers. A drive-thru or fuel deal in Oakley therefore needs a use permit in both RB and C.

Downtown. Downtown mixed use is moving forward under SP-4. The 2024 Delta Point Plaza filing covers about an acre on the north side of Main Street. It proposes roughly 6,800 sq ft of ground-floor commercial with apartments above, and the city required conditional use permits for multifamily downtown and for a ground-floor unit. Expect similar permit steps for any mixed-use downtown project.

Waterfront, industrial and other local rules

Delta waterfront. The CR-A district is aimed at waterfront commercial, recreation and visitor uses in the Delta. It allows marinas, boat charters, boat sales and storage, ferry service, restaurants and campgrounds by right. Boat building, hotels, yacht clubs and a waterfront master plan with a housing component need a CUP. Waterfront parcels can also face state and regional Delta review and levee setbacks, so check with the city early.

Light Industrial. LI allows warehouses, contractor yards, lumber yards and auto body shops by right. Mini-storage, boat storage, recycling, transfer stations and uses that emit dust, smoke or noise need a CUP. Rear and side yards rise to 20 feet next to housing. Article 6 has no separate outdoor storage standard, so confirm screening expectations in design review.

Business parks. BPH and BPL bar housing. They allow accessory warehousing up to 10,000 sq ft, but hotels, gas stations and airports need a CUP.

Housing on commercial land. RB and C permit 100% affordable supportive housing and low-barrier navigation centers by right. Market-rate mixed use in RB needs a CUP.

Cannabis. Chapter 4.41, adopted in 2024, states that it authorizes no commercial cannabis activity. Fines can reach $1,000 per violation or $10,000 per day, and the property owner is jointly liable with the tenant. An owner who shows the lease barred the activity and that they had no notice gets time to cure. Put a cannabis prohibition in every Oakley lease.

Transfer tax, business tax and property tax

The Contra Costa Clerk-Recorder collects the county documentary transfer tax of $0.55 per $500. Oakley’s Chapter 3.3, Real Property Transfer Tax, imposes a city tax of 55 cents per $1,000 under the state transfer tax law, administered by the County Recorder. The Recorder lists added city taxes only for Richmond and El Cerrito, so the city share appears to fall within the county total. Confirm with escrow. Oakley also has a business license tax in Chapter 3.5 and a transient occupancy tax in Chapter 3.2, but we did not verify the rates. A sale is generally a Proposition 13 change of ownership.

Due diligence that matters in Oakley

Start with our commercial due diligence checklist, then add:

• Confirm city or county jurisdiction, especially near Bethel Island and Knightsen.
• For downtown parcels, get the SP-4 Downtown Specific Plan standards from the city.
• Assume a CUP for drive-thrus, gas, auto repair and liquor in RB and C.
• In C, check whether light manufacturing over 5,000 sq ft or outdoor storage triggers a CUP.
• On waterfront land, check flood zone, levee setbacks and Delta agency review.
• Add a lease clause barring cannabis activity.

Questions people ask

Sources & notes

1. Oakley Municipal Code (GoCodebook, October 2026 edition): Chapter 9.1 Article 5, Commercial; Article 6, Industrial; Chapter 4.41; Title 3 and Chapter 3.3
2. CEQAnet: Delta Point Plaza, SCH 2024050557; Downtown Oakley Specific Plan Draft EIR, SCH 1994073043
3. Contra Costa Clerk-Recorder, Documentary Transfer Tax

Note: The SP-4 Downtown Specific Plan text, the CD district body text, master planned districts, business license and TOT rates were not reviewed.

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

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