Commercial Real Estate in Hood: Delta Primary Zone Rules, County Zoning and River Town Infrastructure

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

Hood is a small unincorporated river town on the east bank of the Sacramento River, at State Route 160 and Hood-Franklin Road. Commercial property here is limited: a few town lots that have held stores, shops and service businesses, farm-related and agricultural-support properties on the surrounding Delta land, and river-oriented recreation sites. Every parcel is regulated by Sacramento County within the Delta Primary Zone, so confirm zoning and Delta consistency for the specific parcel with County Planning before relying on this page.

Who controls the parcel

Hood has no city government. Use and building permits come from Sacramento County under its Zoning Code, with the County’s Delta Protection Element layered on top. That element names Hood among the unincorporated Sacramento River towns inside the Primary Zone, the principal jurisdiction of the Delta Protection Commission, and requires County plans to stay consistent with the Commission’s Land Use and Resource Management Plan, adopted February 25, 2010. The County adopted the element on May 28, 2014 and amended it on September 26, 2017.

Unlike Courtland, Locke, Walnut Grove and Freeport, Hood has no special planning area or neighborhood preservation area in the County’s list of SPAs and NPAs, so base County zoning and the countywide combining districts apply without a town-specific overlay.

Levees add another set of agencies. According to the County’s Hood flood feasibility study page, the state Department of Water Resources’ Maintenance Area 9 maintains roughly nine miles of levee between Freeport and Courtland, at least 2.5 miles of it in Hood’s study area. Work near those levees can require state flood-control approvals in addition to County permits.

County zoning you may find in and around Hood

The County zoning map, not this table, decides what applies to a parcel. These are the Chapter 2 districts most relevant to business use in a small Delta town.

District	Intended uses	Notes for Hood
AG-20 to AG-160 Agricultural	Long-term farming, limiting conversion to urban uses	Most land around the town. Lot minimums of 20 to 160 acres
LC Light Commercial	Retail goods and services along streets and in neighborhoods	Small storefront and service uses
GC General Commercial	Heavier commercial uses	Auto, equipment and service businesses
C-O Commercial Recreation	Active recreation, resorts, lodging and water-oriented uses in remote areas	Relevant to river access and marina-type sites
M-1 Light Industrial	Fabrication, assembly and processing with few emissions	Possible for ag-support processing; check the map
F Flood Combining	Overlay on 100-year flood areas, with elevation rules for new habitable buildings	Expect it on low-lying parcels

What business uses the Delta policies favor

The Delta Protection Element steers commercial activity toward farming and the businesses that serve it.

Agriculture first. Policy DP-2 promotes agriculture and agriculture-supporting commercial and industrial uses as the main land uses of the Primary Zone. The element notes that County zoning allows only limited areas for commercial, industrial and rural residential development there.
Agritourism. DP-24 supports agricultural tourism and value-added production, which helps the case for farm stands, tasting and processing tied to local crops.
River recreation. DP-36 encourages expansion of private water-oriented recreation and access facilities that meet General Plan and zoning standards, and DP-42 asks that restrooms and pump-out facilities be considered at such sites.
Buffers. DP-3 requires new non-agricultural development to buffer adjacent farmland.
Levee setbacks. DP-7 calls for new structures to be set back from levees and from areas needed for future levee expansion.
No new airports. DP-64 says new or expanded general aviation airports are not appropriate in the Primary Zone.

Lodging and short-term rentals. The County’s short-term rental rules allow STR as a primary use only in certain zones of the Locke and Courtland SPAs and the Walnut Grove NPA. Hood is not among them, so a hosted rental in Hood follows the general County STR permit rules, and lodging pays the County’s 12% transient occupancy tax.

Infrastructure projects that affect Hood parcels

Sewer. Hood properties have relied on septic systems. In 2022 the County circulated a notice of preparation for a Hood septic-to-sewer conversion under which, if grant funding were secured, the Sacramento Area Sewer District would extend public sewer to up to 141 parcels: 52 vacant, 76 residential and 13 non-residential. Owners would opt in and abandon their septic tanks. Confirm whether the project has been funded and built before assuming sewer service; it changes what a commercial lot can support.

Flood risk planning. In 2017 the County received state Small Communities Flood Risk Reduction grants to study flood-risk options for Hood and five other Delta legacy communities.

Delta Conveyance Project. The Department of Water Resources certified its environmental impact report and approved the Delta Conveyance Project on December 21, 2023, according to a 2025 CEQAnet notice. The project calls for two intakes on the Sacramento River near Hood feeding a tunnel of about 45 miles. Its construction still depends on further approvals, funding and any legal challenges, so treat it as a possible long-term factor in truck traffic, construction staging and land demand near Hood, not a certainty.

Transfer tax, business tax and property tax

Hood sales pay Sacramento County documentary transfer tax of $0.55 per $500 of value, less assumed loans, per the County Clerk-Recorder; there is no city tax. A business located in unincorporated Hood needs a County General Business License, per the Department of Finance business license FAQ. A sale generally triggers Proposition 13 reassessment.

Due diligence that matters in Hood

Start with our commercial due diligence checklist, then add:

Confirm the County zone and any F flood combining district on the zoning map.
Ask County Planning whether the proposed use is consistent with the Delta Protection Element and whether Delta Protection Commission review applies.
Confirm septic capacity, or the status of the sewer conversion, before planning a food or lodging use.
Check levee setbacks and whether any work needs state flood-control encroachment approval.
Verify the water source and its capacity for the intended use.
Track the Delta Conveyance Project’s status if the parcel is near the proposed intake sites or haul routes.

Questions people ask

Is Hood part of a city?

No. Hood is unincorporated, so Sacramento County zoning, permits and business licensing apply.

Is Hood in the Delta Primary Zone?

Yes. The County’s Delta Protection Element lists Hood among the Primary Zone river towns, with Clarksburg, Courtland, Locke, Walnut Grove and Ryde.

What kind of commercial use do the Delta rules favor?

Agriculture and agriculture-supporting businesses, agritourism and value-added production, and private water-oriented recreation that meets zoning standards.

Does Hood have public sewer?

Historically it has relied on septic. A County project proposed extending sewer to up to 141 parcels if grant funding was obtained; confirm current status.

How does the Delta tunnel affect Hood?

DWR’s approved project places two intakes near Hood, but construction depends on further approvals and funding. Treat it as a long-term variable.

Can I open a vacation rental in Hood?

Only under the County’s general STR permit rules; Hood is not one of the Delta areas where STR may be a primary use.

Does Diamond handle commercial property in Hood?

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

Sources & notes

Note: We did not confirm the zoning of specific Hood parcels, the current status of the sewer conversion, or Hood’s water provider. The archived 1983 Delta Community Plan was not readable online.

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

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