Commercial Real Estate in Soledad: Downtown Specific Plan, Highway Commercial and Industrial Zones

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

Soledad’s commercial property sits in three places: the older downtown grid along Front Street and the blocks around it, the vehicle-oriented corridors near the Highway 101 interchanges, and the business park and industrial land on the edges of town. The city’s code still rests largely on a 1986 ordinance, but key chapters were amended in 2023, so older offering materials may be out of date. Confirm the zone and any specific plan for each parcel with the City of Soledad.

Who controls the parcel

Soledad is an incorporated city in the Salinas Valley, and its Title 17 zoning code governs land inside city limits. Ranch and farmland around the city is unincorporated and follows Monterey County’s Title 21 instead; see our Monterey County commercial guide. Parcels at the city edge may be inside the city’s sphere of influence but not yet annexed, which changes who issues permits and who provides water and sewer. Confirm city limits before pricing any edge parcel for development.

Downtown, a further layer applies. Under Chapter 17.07, adopted in the form shown by Ordinance 679 on October 3, 2012, the Downtown Specific Plan’s own use and development rules apply within its boundary, and the plan controls where it conflicts with Title 17. The plan itself is not reproduced in the online code; the city clerk keeps it on file.

Soledad zoning for commercial, industrial and mixed use

District	Intended uses	Notes
C-1 Retail Central Business	Intensive, pedestrian retail downtown; implements the Downtown Specific Plan	Indoor retail, offices and restaurants with beer and wine permitted. 35 ft / 2 stories, or 4 stories in the downtown core. Housing about 30 units/acre in the core
C-R Commercial Residential	Housing and light commercial in the downtown plan area and as a neighborhood overlay	Multifamily permitted. Small shops and offices by CUP. 14.52 units/acre. 35 ft / 2 stories
C-C Community Commercial	Community-serving retail	Read Chapter 17.22 for uses
C-2 General Commercial	Heavier commercial and semi-industrial uses that do not rely on foot traffic	C-1 uses plus light manufacturing in enclosed buildings. Car, RV and boat sales by CUP. 35 ft / 2 stories
H-C Highway Commercial	Vehicle-oriented uses with design and landscape controls	Nearly every use needs a CUP. 40 ft, up to 50 ft by CUP outside the downtown plan area. 60% coverage. 10 ft landscaped front yard
BP Business Park	Light industrial, office and limited commercial, mostly indoors	10,000 sq ft lots. 50 ft. FAR 0.6
M General Industrial	Manufacturing, processing, wholesale and warehousing	1-acre lots. 50 ft. FAR 0.6

Downtown: the C-1 district and Front Street blocks

The C-1 district is written to keep downtown walkable. Its purpose statement calls for preserving older architectural styles, allowing more variety and density, and concentrating retail activity. Uses must be conducted inside a building.

Permitted: retail shops, grocery and drug stores, restaurants and cafes serving beer and wine only, salons, gyms, professional offices and public parking lots.
Conditional use permit: restaurants with cocktail lounges, off-sale liquor stores, banks, medical clinics, minimarkets, pawn shops, card rooms, pool halls, movie houses, bus terminals, single-room occupancy hotels and boardinghouses, and lodges above the ground floor.
Standards: no minimum lot size, coverage limit or front yard. A 10-foot yard is required where a lot abuts a residential district, and loading next to homes is limited to 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. unless enclosed or 100 feet away.

Ordinance 758, dated October 4, 2023, amended the purpose, conditional uses and standards. Director site plan review under Chapter 17.44 is required before any new building goes up.

C-R as a transition. C-R zoning permits multifamily housing outright but makes most shops and offices conditional. Mixed residential-commercial use is allowed only if the code’s findings are made, including units above commercial space and, for infill, at least 20% of units affordable to lower-income households.

Highway corridors and industrial land

Highway Commercial. H-C is the zone for gas stations, car washes, drive-in restaurants, motels, truck terminals, vehicle and farm machinery sales, ministorage, nurseries and similar uses. Almost everything in H-C requires a conditional use permit, so a buyer should treat the permit file as part of the asset. Height can reach 50 feet with a use permit outside the downtown plan area, but any part of a building within 20 feet of a residential lot is held to 40 feet.

Business Park and General Industrial. The industrial chapter uses a permitted, conditional and not-allowed table. BP permits offices, research labs, light manufacturing, warehousing and fitness clubs, with caretaker and employee housing by use permit. M permits truck maintenance, major auto repair, construction yards, machine shops and microbreweries; hazardous materials handling, truck depots, crematories and live-work units need a use permit. Unlisted uses are barred unless found materially similar to a listed one.

Industrial standards. Both zones set a 0.6 floor area ratio and 50-foot height, with buildings at the property line held to 35 feet and stepping up with setback. A 6-foot masonry wall is required next to residential districts, outdoor storage and loading must be screened, and loading spaces must sit at least 100 feet from residential districts. Medical clinics are permitted in BP, but the clinic definition excludes medical marijuana dispensaries.

Alcohol, lodging and housing in commercial zones

Alcohol. Downtown restaurants may serve beer and wine by right; cocktail lounges and liquor stores need a use permit. In H-C, cocktail lounges are allowed only with a restaurant and a use permit.
Lodging. Visitor accommodations are conditional in H-C. In M, short-term hotel or motel rentals require a use permit. Downtown, the C-1 list names only single-room occupancy hotels and boardinghouses, so confirm whether a conventional hotel fits the Downtown Specific Plan.
Housing. Upper-floor housing downtown is possible within the core density cap, and C-R permits multifamily outright.

Transfer tax, business tax and property tax

Monterey County Code Chapter 5.32 imposes $0.55 per $500 of consideration over $100, excluding liens that remain on the property, with a credit for any qualifying city tax. We did not find a Soledad transfer tax; confirm the total with escrow. Soledad’s business license tax is tiered by annual gross receipts: most retail and general businesses pay $40 under $45,000, rising to $1,000 at $1 million or more, with separate scales for wholesalers, contractors and manufacturers. Motels pay by room count, from $40 for up to 15 units to $150 for more than 70. Taxes are due July 1, with late penalties of up to 50%. Leasing space is not named as a taxable activity, so ask the city how a landlord is classified. A sale generally triggers Proposition 13 reassessment.

Due diligence that matters in Soledad

Start with our commercial due diligence checklist, then add:

Confirm the zone and whether the parcel is inside the Downtown Specific Plan, and get the plan’s Chapter 5 rules from the city clerk.
Pull every conditional use permit, especially in H-C, where nearly every use depends on one.
For alcohol, check whether the existing use is beer and wine only or has a cocktail lounge approval.
On BP and M land, confirm screening walls, loading distance and any hazardous materials permit.
Confirm the parcel is inside city limits and served by city water and sewer.
Plan for site plan review before any new building or expansion.

Questions people ask

Can a downtown Soledad restaurant serve alcohol?

Yes. Restaurants and cafes serving beer and wine are permitted in C-1. A cocktail lounge needs a conditional use permit.

How tall can buildings be downtown?

35 feet or two stories in C-1, rising to four stories in the downtown core zone of the specific plan.

Is a gas station or car wash allowed?

In H-C with a conditional use permit. Car washes are also conditional in C-2.

Where can I run a warehouse or manufacturing business?

In the BP and M industrial zones, both with a 0.6 floor area ratio and 50-foot height. Light manufacturing in enclosed buildings is also permitted in C-2.

Does the Downtown Specific Plan override zoning?

Yes. Within its boundary, the plan’s rules apply and control over conflicting Title 17 rules.

Is there a Soledad transfer tax?

We found only the county tax of $0.55 per $500. Confirm with escrow.

Does Diamond handle commercial property in Soledad?

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

Sources & notes

Note: We did not review the Downtown Specific Plan document, the C-C chapter (17.22), parking ratios in 17.36, the hotel tax chapter, or the cannabis chapter (8.28). Street names are given for orientation only.

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

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