Commercial Real Estate in Loma Mar: Rural Zoning, Creek Water and Redwood Park Neighbors

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

Loma Mar is a small unincorporated community in the redwoods along Pescadero Creek Road, inland from Pescadero on the San Mateo County South Coast. Commercial property here is rare: a few small retail, visitor and recreation uses, home-based businesses and rural land, set beside large County parkland. Every parcel is regulated by San Mateo County, and water, septic and road access decide more than zoning does, so confirm all of it with the County before relying on this page.

Who controls the parcel

There is no town government in Loma Mar. San Mateo County Planning and Building applies Title 8 of the County code; the County lists its districts in Chapter 8.08. Whether a given Loma Mar parcel also falls inside the Coastal Zone, and so under the County’s Local Coastal Program, is something to confirm parcel by parcel; we did not verify where the boundary runs here.

Water. Domestic water in the community comes from the Loma Mar Mutual Water & Improvement Company, a private mutual system rather than a public district. A 2022 state filing for its pipeline and treatment upgrade, the Loma Mar Pipeline Replacement and Water Plant Upgrade Project, describes a system with 36 hookups that draws on Pescadero Creek. The San Mateo County Resource Conservation District led that project with the water company.

Parks. San Mateo County’s Memorial Park lists its address as 9500 Pescadero Creek Road, Loma Mar, and covers 673 acres of old-growth redwoods with family camping, a nature center and a camp store. County Parks and Public Works planned a rebuild of the park’s wastewater system in a 2019 Mitigated Negative Declaration, at Pescadero Creek Road and Sequoia Flat Road. The park draws visitors past Loma Mar, which is the main source of demand for local commerce.

Loma Mar zoning for commercial, industrial and mixed use

Loma Mar has no mapped commercial strip we could verify. Rural land in the area is typically in one of the County’s resource or timber districts; check the County zoning map for each parcel.

District	Intended uses	Notes
RM Resource Management	Open space, agriculture, homes and limited commerce	Home occupations and on-site farm sales by right. Hotels, motels, restaurants and commercial recreation by use permit
RM, wineries	Small wineries	Use permit; 10,000 gallons storage, 5,000 fermentation and 2,500 cases bottled a year; sales of own wine only
TPZ Timberland Preserve	Timber growing and harvest	Listed in Section 8.08.010; we did not review its use list
RM-CZ / TPZ-CZ	Coastal Zone versions	Apply only if a parcel is inside the Coastal Zone
C-1 Neighborhood Business	Neighborhood retail and services	A County district; we did not confirm it is mapped in Loma Mar

What business uses the County allows on rural Loma Mar land

By right in RM. The RM chapter permits agriculture, sales of farm products grown on site, nurseries and greenhouses, grazing, public recreation and home occupations without a use permit.

By use permit. Hotels, motels and restaurants; commercial recreation including campgrounds, stables and dude ranches; churches, schools and clubs; wineries; and research facilities all need a use permit.

Every project needs a development permit. RM treats significant structures, land divisions and major vegetation removal as development. The Planning Director coordinates the review: the County Engineer looks at roads, drainage and geology, the Health Officer at water and sewage, and the fire authority at fire protection.

Building limits. RM allows three stories or 36 feet without a use permit, with 50-foot front yards, 20-foot side and rear yards and 30 feet between buildings. Commercial timber harvesting is barred within 1,000 feet of a dwelling that existed on June 18, 1991, with exceptions.

Water, septic, creek and fire constraints

A small, fragile water system. The 2022 filing describes the mutual system as aging, leaky and at risk of failure. In 2019, four 4,995-gallon tanks replaced a failing 40,000-gallon tank. The project would replace about 1.2 miles of pipe and upgrade the intake and treatment plant, with backup power. A business needing new or larger service should ask the water company early whether it can serve the use.

Creek habitat. The same filing ties the upgrade to reducing diversions from Pescadero Creek to protect steelhead and coho salmon, especially in summer low flows. Expect any new water demand or creekside work to draw environmental review.

Septic. There is no public sewer serving private Loma Mar parcels that we could identify; Memorial Park runs its own treatment plant. Plan on an on-site system permitted by County Environmental Health, sized for the intended use.

Wildfire and access. Loma Mar sits in forested hills reached by Pescadero Creek Road. RM development review includes fire authority sign-off; confirm defensible-space, water storage and road standards for any commercial use.

Transfer tax, business tax and property tax

The San Mateo County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder collects documentary transfer tax at recording at 55 cents per $500. Loma Mar is unincorporated, so there is no city transfer tax. Lodging and campground operators in unincorporated areas register for transient occupancy tax through the County’s contractor. A sale generally triggers Proposition 13 reassessment. We did not verify a County business license tax.

Due diligence that matters in Loma Mar

Start with our commercial due diligence checklist, then add:

Confirm the zoning and whether the parcel is in the Coastal Zone.
Ask the Loma Mar Mutual Water & Improvement Company about shares, service and capacity, or test any private well or spring.
Pull the septic permit and confirm its capacity for customers and staff.
For lodging, food service or camping, confirm the use permit and Health Officer requirements.
Check fire-safe access, water storage and slope stability.
Look for creek setbacks and habitat issues on creekside parcels.

Questions people ask

Who zones Loma Mar?

San Mateo County Planning and Building, under Title 8. There is no local government.

Can I open a restaurant or inn in Loma Mar?

In the RM district, hotels, motels and restaurants need a use permit, and water and septic capacity usually decide feasibility.

Is a campground possible?

In RM, commercial recreation including campgrounds is allowed by use permit.

Where does Loma Mar get water?

From the Loma Mar Mutual Water & Improvement Company, a 36-hookup system drawing on Pescadero Creek, or from private sources.

Can I run a business from my Loma Mar home?

Home occupations are permitted by right in RM. Confirm the rules for the parcel’s actual district.

Is there a transfer tax beyond the County’s?

No. Only the County documentary transfer tax of 55 cents per $500 applies.

Does Diamond handle commercial property in Loma Mar?

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

Water-system project records

The 2022 Loma Mar water-project notice describes approximately 1.2 miles of replacement pipeline, meters, four storage tanks installed in 2019, treatment improvements and backup power. It identifies 36 existing hookups and a goal of reducing losses affecting Pescadero Creek. This is a project description, not confirmation of completion or spare capacity. Ask the mutual company for the parcel’s membership, connection rights, current project status and capacity for the proposed use.

Sources & notes

Note: We did not confirm parcel zoning in Loma Mar, the Coastal Zone boundary, the TPZ use list, the water project’s completion, or County septic standards.

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

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