Commercial Real Estate in Stinson Beach: Village Commercial Zoning, Septic Permits and Coastal Review

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

Commercial property in Stinson Beach is a short row of buildings along State Route 1 in the village: cafés and restaurants, a market, small shops, inns and a few mixed buildings with a home behind or above. The rest of the community is houses, the Seadrift sandspit and federal parkland. Every lot is on its own septic system and every project needs coastal review, so verify zoning, the septic permit and the coastal permit history for each parcel before you price it.

Who controls the parcel

Stinson Beach has no city government. Four agencies decide what a commercial parcel can do:

• Marin County handles zoning and permits under its Coastal Zoning Code and Local Coastal Program. The county’s community plans page lists the Stinson Beach Community Plan of 1985. Its revised draft EIR reached the state clearinghouse in April 1985.
• The Stinson Beach County Water District supplies water and runs the onsite wastewater (septic) program. The district was formed in 1962 and covers about 9.3 square miles. Marin LAFCo describes the village as bounded by the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
• The Stinson Beach Fire Protection District serves the residential areas of the community, per the LAFCo service review.
• The California Coastal Commission hears appeals of many county coastal permits.

See our Marin County commercial guide for countywide context.

Stinson Beach zoning for commercial and mixed use

The whole community is in the Coastal Zone, so the coastal districts in Chapter 20.62 apply. The Highway 1 village strip is C-VCR, and the county’s countywide plan labels it C-NC, Neighborhood Commercial/Mixed Use. Confirm each parcel on the county zoning map.

In C-VCR, uses not listed in the tables are not allowed. Inside the mapped village commercial core, housing is limited to upper floors or to the part of the lot away from the road.

The Highway 1 village and what a project looks like

A current county file shows how the rules work in practice. At 3445 State Route 1 (P5156, zoned C-VCR), an owner proposes to replace a 2,466 square foot commercial building with 534 square feet of ground-floor commercial space facing the highway, a two-story residence at the rear and a new septic system. The application needs a Coastal Development Permit, plus design review and a use permit for housing within the village commercial core. It was under review as of September 2026, with revised plans dated September 2, 2026.

Two lessons follow. First, commercial square footage on the highway is often what keeps a mixed-use project approvable, so expect the county to protect the storefront. Second, the septic system usually sets the program. A restaurant, an inn or more seats depends on what the site’s wastewater permit can handle.

The county’s 2016 village core FAQ names Stinson Beach as one of six West Marin villages with a proposed commercial core. Ground-floor housing on the road side there would need a use permit.

Septic, water and short-term rentals

Onsite wastewater. Stinson Beach has no sewer. The water district’s Title IV Onsite Wastewater Management Code governs every septic system. The LAFCo review notes the district gained septic authority in 1977, issued its first rules in 1978, took on permitting in 1988 and updated the code in 1994. It issues renewable two-year operating permits, requires routine inspections and can enter a property if an owner does not cooperate. For a commercial buyer, the current permit, the last inspection and any holding tank or graywater approvals are core diligence.

Water. The district reports 734 active connections, 28 of them non-residential. Supply comes from four creeks and four wells, treated at the Laurel facility built in 2012. A new single-family connection fee is $17,500. The district also has a rationing ordinance for drought emergencies.

Short-term rentals. Under the county’s Chapter 5.41 (Ordinance 3816, May 7, 2024), Stinson Beach is capped at 192 STR licenses, both initially and ultimately. That is one of the largest township caps in the county. Only one license is issued per owner and one rental per property. Multifamily units qualify only if they were legally operating on January 1, 2024, and only for two years. Hotels, motels and B&Bs need zoning approval rather than an STR license.

Flood and beach exposure. Seadrift and the low village lots sit between Bolinas Lagoon and the ocean. Check flood zone, tsunami evacuation and shoreline hazard mapping for any parcel near the beach.

Transfer tax, business tax and property tax

The Marin County Recorder’s sheet shows the county documentary transfer tax at $0.55 per $500, excluding assumed liens. Stinson Beach is unincorporated, so no city transfer tax applies. Businesses in unincorporated Marin need a county business license, renewed each year by July 31. Inns and other lodging collect county transient occupancy tax. A sale generally triggers Proposition 13 reassessment.

Due diligence that matters in Stinson Beach

Start with our commercial due diligence checklist, then add:

• Get the water district’s onsite wastewater permit, inspection history and system design, and confirm what use it was sized for.
• Confirm the meter size and any non-residential water service terms with the district.
• Confirm C-VCR zoning and whether the parcel is in the mapped village commercial core.
• Pull the county Coastal Development Permit, design review and use permit history.
• Check flood, tsunami and shoreline hazard exposure.
• For lodging, confirm the use permit, TOT registration and whether any unit relies on an STR license.

Questions people ask

Sources & notes

1. Marin County Code Ch. 20.62, Coastal Zoning Districts (GoCodebook)
2. Marin County Code Ch. 5.41, Short Term Rentals
3. Marin County, project P5156 at 3445 State Route 1
4. Marin County, Community and Area Plans and CEQAnet, Revised Stinson Beach Community Plan EIR (1985)
5. Marin County, C-PK-3 Village Commercial Core FAQ (2016)
6. Marin LAFCo, West Marin Municipal Service Review (2022) and district profile
7. Stinson Beach County Water District
8. Marin County Recorder, transfer tax and County Business License

Note: We did not read the 1985 community plan text itself, and the village core boundary came from a 2016 draft. Water connection figures are from the 2022 LAFCo review.

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

Related: Stinson Beach real estate guide · Multifamily property in Stinson Beach · Commercial real estate services