Commercial Real Estate in Alamo: The Danville Boulevard Core, County Zoning and Community Review

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

Alamo is an unincorporated community between Walnut Creek and Danville, and almost all of its commercial property sits in one small core around Danville Boulevard and Stone Valley Road. That core holds neighborhood shopping centers, banks, restaurants, offices and service businesses. Contra Costa County, not a city, sets the zoning, and the county’s general plan deliberately keeps Alamo’s commercial area small. Confirm the zoning and any development plan for a parcel with the county before you commit.

Who controls the parcel

Contra Costa County’s Department of Conservation and Development handles planning, permits and code enforcement in Alamo. The county’s Alamo page notes that the department manages code enforcement there and that outside groups have no enforcement authority.

The community also has the Alamo Municipal Advisory Council. It was formed in 2009 to advise the Board of Supervisors on services and on land use and planning. It meets on the first Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. at the Alamo Women’s Club, 1401 Danville Boulevard. Most commercial applications go to the council for a recommendation before the county acts.

Two other things to know:

• Police services. Alamo is served by county police service areas. The county’s Alamo Police District page says the Board voted to ask LAFCo to consolidate them into one Alamo Police District. Ask whether any related assessment applies to a parcel.
• Town of Danville. Parcels at the south end of Danville Boulevard may be in the Town of Danville, which has its own zoning.

See our Contra Costa County commercial guide for the countywide rules.

Alamo zoning for commercial and mixed use

The county zoning code is Division 84 of Title 8. The districts used for business in unincorporated areas are below. Which one applies to a given Alamo parcel has to be confirmed on the county zoning map, since much of the core was built under planned unit development approvals.

The 2045 General Plan’s rules for Alamo

The county adopted its 2045 General Plan on November 5, 2024. Its Stronger Communities Element includes an Alamo profile with policies that shape every commercial project:

• Keep it neighborhood-scale. Policy 1 preserves the Alamo mixed-use area as a neighborhood business district. Policy 5 encourages neighborhood-scale commercial uses and discourages large regional ones.
• No new commercial designations. Policy 8 directs the county to deny general plan amendments creating new commercial, office or mixed-use designations along parts of Danville Boulevard. The commercial footprint is effectively fixed.
• Height. Policy 9 discourages roofs over 40 feet and architectural features over 45 feet.
• Iron Horse Trail. Policy 10 asks projects near the west side of Danville Boulevard to keep bike and pedestrian paths and trail access open where feasible.
• Streets and views. Policy 6 keeps Danville Boulevard and Stone Valley Road two lanes outside the business district. Policy 4 protects views of Mount Diablo and the ridges, and Policy 11 calls for better streetscapes and civic space in the core.
• Design guidelines. Action 1 commits the county to help a community-led effort on design guidelines that protect historic landmarks.

For an investor, these policies make existing commercial buildings in Alamo scarce. Value comes from repositioning and leasing what is already there rather than from new commercial land.

How projects are reviewed

Many Alamo centers operate under older development plans, so even small site changes go back through the county. In January 2025, for example, the MAC reviewed a minor modification for the bank site at 3157 Danville Boulevard. It would remove three parking spaces, add two compact spaces and add about 1,381 square feet of landscaping. It amended development plans first approved in 1998 and 2017. In November 2019 the MAC voted unanimously to deny a requested deviation from P-1 setback standards on a residential lot. Expect parking, landscaping and signs to be governed by the conditions of approval for the center, not just the base code.

Cannabis, alcohol and other rules

• Cannabis. Alamo is one of nine areas in the county’s -CE Cannabis Exclusion district. Commercial cannabis activity is prohibited in every zoning district there, even where the base zoning would allow it with a permit.
• Indoor operation. In R-B, retail must be conducted inside an enclosed building. Outdoor sales or display needs a land use permit.
• Auto and contractor uses. Body shops, auto garages and contractor yards need a land use permit in R-B. In practice, the general plan’s neighborhood-scale policy makes these hard to approve in the core.

Transfer tax, business tax and property tax

Alamo is unincorporated, so there is no city transfer tax. The Contra Costa Clerk-Recorder charges the county documentary transfer tax of $0.55 per $500, and lists city taxes only for El Cerrito and Richmond. Under Proposition 13, a sale generally resets the assessed value. We did not verify a county business license tax for unincorporated Contra Costa, so ask the county Treasurer-Tax Collector.

Due diligence that matters in Alamo

Start with our commercial due diligence checklist, then add:

• Confirm the parcel is unincorporated Alamo, not the Town of Danville or Walnut Creek.
• Get the zoning, any P-1 final development plan and every later modification from the county.
• Check conditions of approval for parking, hours, signs and landscaping before planning tenant changes.
• Test any new building or addition against the 40-foot roof guideline and view policies.
• Confirm that no planned tenant is a cannabis business.
• Plan for a hearing before the Alamo MAC on discretionary changes.

Questions people ask

Sources & notes

1. Contra Costa County, Alamo and Alamo Police District
2. Contra Costa County 2045 General Plan and its Stronger Communities Element
3. County Ordinance Code Division 84, including Chapter 84-52, R-B, Chapter 84-66, P-1 and Chapter 84-86, -CE (GoCodebook)
4. Alamo MAC minutes, January 7, 2025 and record of actions, November 2019
5. Contra Costa Clerk-Recorder, Documentary Transfer Tax

Note: We did not confirm which base district is mapped on each Alamo commercial parcel. The county is also rewriting its zoning code, so check the current text.

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

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