Commercial Real Estate in Alameda: Park Street, Webster Street, Alameda Point and North Park Street Zoning

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

Alameda’s commercial property clusters on two historic main streets, Park Street and Webster Street, along the estuary-side industrial and maritime strip of North Park Street, in business parks such as Marina Village and Harbor Bay, and at Alameda Point, the former Naval Air Station on the island’s west end. Every parcel is inside the City of Alameda, which sets zoning under Chapter 30 of its Municipal Code. Check the district and any combining overlay on the city’s map before you underwrite a use.

Who controls the parcel

The whole island city, plus Bay Farm Island and Harbor Bay, is under the City of Alameda. The Zoning Regulations page points to the CommunityView GIS viewer and the citywide zoning map for parcel lookups. It links the zoning ordinance on Municode. Other agencies matter at the edges. The estuary and bay shoreline can bring in the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, and the Port of Oakland’s airport sits just across the channel from Bay Farm Island. At Alameda Point, the city is also the landowner for much of the former base.

Alameda zoning for commercial, industrial and mixed use

The city’s district list (Section 30-3) and district rules (Section 30-4) set these business districts:

Combining districts (PD, A, B, H, G, T, Y and MF) can change what the base district allows. A PD needs at least two acres unless the Planning Board finds a smaller site suitable, and its permit lapses after a year without construction.

Park Street, Webster Street, North Park Street and Alameda Point

Park and Webster Streets. Both main streets are C-C Community Commercial. The code keeps auto-related uses off the Park Street and Webster Street frontages and allows them elsewhere in C-C only with a use permit. Auto detail shops cannot front on or take access from Park Street. Salons and other body care uses are permitted on Park Street but need a use permit on Webster. Buildings can reach 60 feet, with stepbacks above 50 feet on Park and above 40 feet on Webster.

North Park Street. The Gateway area between Oak Street, Tilden Way and Lincoln Avenue was rezoned under the North Park Street Regulating Code. Its draft EIR on CEQAnet describes a new zoning code implementing the 2009 Gateway District Strategic Plan, on sites then used for auto dealers and rentals. The NP districts now replace conventional zoning there.

Alameda Point. The former base has its own family of AP districts, from the AP-WTC waterfront town center and AP-MS main street to the AP-E employment districts and the AP-AR adaptive reuse district for the base’s hangars and industrial buildings.

Alameda-specific rules: bars, liquor, cannabis and lodging

• Bars. Under Section 30-12, every bar needs a conditional use permit with annual review, and no more than three bars may sit within 1,000 feet of each other.
• Liquor stores. A liquor store may not open within 1,000 feet of another inside the area bounded by Atlantic and Central Avenues and Sixth and Eighth Streets, on the West End near Webster.
• Cannabis. Section 30-10 requires a use permit for any cannabis business. Retail is conditionally allowed in C-1, C-C, C-M, AP-AR, NP-W and NP-G. Manufacturing and distribution are allowed in C-M, several AP districts, Marina Village business zones and the North Park Street maritime district. Cannabis use is barred on city-owned and federal land.
• Work/live. Section 30-15 sets rules for work/live studios, common in older industrial buildings.
• Lodging. Hotels and other stays of 30 days or less pay Alameda’s 14% transient occupancy tax under Section 3-61.3.

Transfer tax, business tax and property tax

The Alameda County Clerk-Recorder collects the county documentary transfer tax of $0.55 per $500 of consideration. It also collects Alameda’s city tax of $12.00 per $1,000 of full value, which the city code sets under Section 3-58. On a commercial sale, the city tax is the larger of the two. Under Proposition 13, a sale generally resets the assessed value. Alameda also levies a business license tax, but we did not verify its rates or basis.

Due diligence that matters in Alameda

Start with our commercial due diligence checklist, then add:

• Pull the base district and any combining overlay (PD, MF, CMU or others) from the CommunityView GIS.
• On Park or Webster Street, confirm the use is allowed on that frontage, especially any auto-related or body care use.
• For a bar, check the 1,000-foot spacing count and the existing CUP conditions; for a West End liquor store, map other liquor stores nearby.
• At Alameda Point, read the AP district rules and any lease or development agreement terms tied to the former base.
• Near the estuary or bay, check BCDC jurisdiction, flood zone and sea level rise exposure.
• Budget the city transfer tax at $12 per $1,000 on full value.

Questions people ask

Sources & notes

1. City of Alameda, Zoning Regulations
2. Alameda Municipal Code (GoCodebook): Sections 30-3, 30-4, 30-10, 30-12, 3-61
3. CEQAnet, North Park Street Regulating Code Draft EIR
4. Alameda County Clerk-Recorder, Real Property Transfer Tax

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

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