Commercial Real Estate in Forestville: County Zoning, the Urban Service Area and Highway 116 Rules

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

Forestville’s commercial property is a short stretch of storefronts, a market, restaurants and service buildings along Highway 116 (Gravenstein Highway North and Front Street) and Mirabel Road, surrounded by vineyards, orchards and redwood-lined residential lanes that drop toward the Russian River. Forestville is not a city, so every parcel answers to the County of Sonoma and Permit Sonoma. Confirm the zoning of any parcel in the County’s Official Zoning Database before relying on this page.

Who controls the parcel

Land use and permits: Permit Sonoma applies Chapter 26 of the County Code. There is no town council and no town business license.
Urban service area: The County’s urban service area layer maps a Forestville urban service area of roughly 396 acres. That boundary marks where the General Plan expects public water and sewer, so it is where commercial and denser housing cluster.
Water and sewer: The Forestville Water District is a special district that provides water, sewer and recycled water to about 3,000 customers over roughly five square miles in central Forestville and Mirabel Heights. Outside it, expect a well and a septic system.
Highway 116: Caltrans controls access and work within the state highway right of way.

Forestville zoning for commercial, industrial and mixed use

The County’s commercial article, Article 10, sets the menu. The districts below are the ones most often seen in small west county towns; the map, not this table, decides which one a Forestville parcel carries.

District	Intended uses	Notes
C1 Neighborhood Commercial	Retail, personal service and offices for rural neighborhoods and urban service areas	Restaurants permitted or by use permit; bars need a use permit; mixed use allowed
LC Limited Commercial	Everyday shopping and services so a community can be self-sufficient	Restaurants P/C; vacation and hosted rentals permitted; contractor yards by use permit
C2 Retail Business and Service	Full-range retail and services	Restaurants and bars permitted; hotels by use permit
CR Commercial Rural	Homes mixed with commercial uses in rural communities	County keeps discretionary review of new commercial; tasting rooms P*
C3 General Commercial	Wholesale, warehouses, light and medium manufacturing	Hotels and restaurants not listed
AS Agricultural Services	Uses that support local farms	Tasting rooms P*, farm stands permitted
DA, LEA, RRD (farm and resource land around town)	Agriculture, small-scale processing	Tasting rooms and processing by use permit; see below

All County commercial zones share a 35-foot height limit under Table 10-2, and a use permit can raise height only within the building-intensity limit.

Downtown, Highway 116 and the farms around town

Highway 116 design review. Under Article 63, parcels with an LG/116 suffix follow the Highway 116 Scenic Corridor guidelines. Section 26-90-070 exempts ministerial building permits, but a discretionary project visible from the highway is reviewed against the corridor study. A discretionary project out of view needs a zoning permit documenting that. Because Highway 116 is Forestville’s main street, check for the LG/116 or LG/RRC116 suffix on every downtown parcel.

Tasting rooms and farm businesses. In the County’s agricultural and resource zones, Table 6-1 makes tasting rooms and full agricultural processing conditional uses, allows small-scale processing and periodic special events subject to discretionary criteria, and permits farm stands, farm retail and farmstays. Williamson Act land also has to satisfy the County’s Uniform Rules. See our guides to winery use permits and tasting room space.

Lodging, vacation rentals and the Forestville cap zones

Vacation rentals are a zoning question in Forestville. Permit Sonoma’s vacation rental page bars new whole-house rentals in R1, R2 and R3, on Williamson Act land and in exclusion areas, and allows them in C2, LC and K only for existing single-family homes.

In 2023, the County mapped cap zones under Ordinance 6423, listed on its vacation rental regulations page. The Planning Commission staff report labeled three of the proposed 5% cap areas as Forestville neighborhoods: Hacienda (395 parcels), Rio Dell (587) and Summerhome Park (174). The supervisor’s District 5 fact sheet lists all three as 5% cap zones. Hotels and inns, by contrast, need a use permit in C2 or K. For the permit and license steps, read our Sonoma County vacation rental rules.

Sewer, flood and the regional wastewater study

Sewer capacity. Restaurants, breweries and food processors need sewer capacity, so ask the Forestville Water District early.
Regional study. A Sonoma Water flyer says a feasibility study of combining the small Guerneville, Forestville, Graton and Occidental plants is complete and a Project Advancement Report is being prepared. Nothing has been decided.
Flood. Low parcels toward the river or creeks may carry the F2 floodplain zone. County Chapter 7B requires a nonresidential building to be elevated or floodproofed 12 inches above base flood elevation, certified by an engineer or architect.

Transfer tax, business tax and property tax

The Sonoma County Recorder charges $0.55 per $500 of value, less loans assumed. Being unincorporated, Forestville has no city transfer tax on top. Lodging pays the County transient occupancy tax, and a change of ownership generally triggers Proposition 13 reassessment. We did not verify County business tax rules.

Due diligence that matters in Forestville

Start with our commercial due diligence checklist, then add:

Pull the base zone and every suffix (LG/116, F2, X) from the zoning database.
Confirm the parcel is inside the Forestville Water District and ask about sewer capacity for your use.
For a vacation rental or inn plan, check whether the parcel sits in a cap zone and whether the cap is already met.
For tasting or events, read the use permit and conditions, not just the zoning.
Check FEMA flood mapping and Chapter 7B elevation rules before planning additions.
Confirm Caltrans encroachment needs for any new driveway on Highway 116.

Questions people ask

Is Forestville part of a city?

No. It is unincorporated Sonoma County, so Permit Sonoma handles zoning and building permits.

Who provides sewer in downtown Forestville?

The Forestville Water District provides water, sewer and recycled water in central Forestville and Mirabel Heights.

Can I open a tasting room in Forestville?

Possibly. Tasting rooms are P* in CR and AS and need a use permit on agricultural and resource land, subject to the County’s criteria.

Can a Forestville property become a vacation rental?

Not in R1, R2 or R3. Elsewhere it depends on zoning and the Hacienda, Rio Dell and Summerhome Park 5% caps.

Does design review apply on Highway 116?

For discretionary projects visible from the highway on LG/116 parcels, yes.

Is there a city transfer tax?

No. Only the County’s $0.55 per $500 applies.

Does Diamond handle commercial property in Forestville?

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

Sources & notes

Note: We read the County code through GoCodebook. We did not confirm which base zones are mapped on specific Forestville parcels, the Highway 116 corridor study itself, the current cap counts, or County business tax and TOT rates. Street descriptions are general, not from a source. See also our Sonoma County commercial guide and Sonoma County multifamily guide.

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

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