Commercial Real Estate in Pebble Beach: Del Monte Forest Zoning, Resort Plans, Water and Coastal Permits

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

Pebble Beach is an unincorporated, gated resort community in the Del Monte Forest between Carmel and Pacific Grove. Commercial property here is unlike almost anywhere else in the state. Most of it is resort, golf and visitor-serving land governed by detailed County plans, not a downtown of storefronts. Because so much of the area is coastal and planned in detail, confirm every parcel’s designation and permit history with Monterey County before relying on this page.

Who controls the parcel

There is no city. Monterey County regulates land use. Most of Pebble Beach is in the Coastal Zone under the Del Monte Forest Land Use Plan and the County’s Coastal Implementation Plan (Title 20). Part of the forest is inland and falls under the Greater Monterey Peninsula Area Plan. The County’s Pebble Beach Company project page identifies both plans.

Several other bodies shape what you can do:

• Pebble Beach Community Services District. The District has served Pebble Beach and the Del Monte Forest since 1982. It provides fire and paramedic service through the Pebble Beach Fire Department, wastewater collection and treatment, and recycled water through a joint reclamation project with the Carmel Area Wastewater District. It also handles garbage service under a franchise, supplemental CHP traffic enforcement since October 2006, and utility undergrounding. It maintains about 75 miles of sewer lines and eight lift stations.
• Monterey Peninsula Water Management District, for any new meter or more intense water use.
• California Coastal Commission, which certified the forest’s land use plan and approves amendments to it.

Del Monte Forest zoning and plan designations

Pebble Beach uses Title 20 coastal districts plus site-specific General Development Plans (GDPs) for the resort properties. District names come from Section 20.08.

The MDR(CZ) figures come from Chapter 20.12, which has standards written for Del Monte Forest. Its 27-foot height limit is lower than the 30 feet allowed elsewhere in the County.

The 2012 plan amendment and the resort GDPs

The defining recent change is the Pebble Beach Company project (County file PLN100138). On May 22, 2012, the Board of Supervisors adopted Resolution 12-124. It acknowledged the Coastal Commission’s approval of LCP Amendment MCO-1-12 Part 1, adopted the amended Del Monte Forest Land Use Plan, and adopted Ordinance 5201 amending Title 20. The ordinance rezoned land at The Inn and Links at Spanish Bay, The Lodge at Pebble Beach, the Beach and Tennis Club and Collins Field. It also removed golf courses as a conditional use in two residential districts.

According to the County’s project page, the project covers:

• 200 new guest rooms: 60 at The Lodge, 40 at The Inn at Spanish Bay and 100 at a new resort and spa at Spyglass Hill.
• 90 to 100 new single-family lots, with a 10-lot alternative for Spyglass Hill.
• About 635 acres of remaining land preserved, mostly as forested open space.
• Employee housing as part of an Equestrian Center redevelopment, with inclusionary housing handled by in-lieu fee under a separate file (PLN130447).
• New gate, intersection, trail and parking work, including a reconfigured main gate at the Highway 1/68/17-Mile Drive intersection.

The June 2012 General Development Plans set the details for each resort. They include a planned net addition of 55 units at The Lodge and 40 at The Inn. The LCP allows 25 more rooms at The Lodge and 20 at The Inn, subject to discretionary review. Each GDP also states a full-buildout guest capacity. The County lists the project as in condition compliance. For any resort-area parcel, the GDP is the document to read first.

Lodging, events and other uses

• Short-term rentals. Under the County’s short-term rental page, renting a home for 30 days or less in the Coastal Zone needs a discretionary permit through a coastal "similar use" path, which the County estimates at about $12,000. Operators must register for transient occupancy tax, and TOT registration alone does not make a rental legal.
• Coastal permits. In Title 20 districts, development on slopes of 30% or more, ridgelines or within 100 feet of sensitive habitat needs a coastal development permit, whatever the use.
• Events. One of the 2012 GDPs covers the Equestrian Center and a special events staging area. Ask the County what permits a given event needs.

Water and wastewater

Water is the main limit on new commercial square footage. The MPWMD water permit page requires a District permit to set a meter, add or upsize a meter or intensify use, and links to separate water-credit pages. Cal-Am’s Peninsula service is under State Water Board Order WR 2009-0060, whose Condition 2 restricts new connections and some increased use. MPWMD asked the Board in October 2025 to lift that condition, and a hearing ran in 2026, according to the Board’s hearing notice. Confirm the outcome and any water entitlement tied to the property. Sewer service and recycled water for irrigation come through PBCSD.

Transfer tax, business tax and property tax

Pebble Beach is unincorporated, so there is no city transfer tax. The County documentary transfer tax, $0.55 per $500 under Chapter 5.32, applies at recording; confirm it on the escrow estimate. Businesses need a County business license, and lodging pays County TOT. A sale generally triggers Proposition 13 reassessment.

Due diligence that matters in Pebble Beach

Start with our commercial due diligence checklist, then add:

• Confirm the Title 20 district and whether a General Development Plan governs the site.
• Read the 2012 LCP amendment and conditions of approval for any parcel touched by the Pebble Beach Company project.
• Get MPWMD records of water use, credits or entitlements before planning more intense use.
• Confirm PBCSD sewer capacity and any recycled water arrangements.
• Check for mapped habitat, slopes and the Coastal Commission appeal area.
• Confirm County business license and TOT registration for each operator.

Questions people ask

Sources & notes

1. County HCD, Pebble Beach Company project (PLN100138)
2. Board of Supervisors Resolution 12-124 (May 22, 2012)
3. Pebble Beach Company General Development Plans (June 2012)
4. Title 20, Section 20.08, Zoning Districts
5. Title 20, Chapter 20.12, MDR District
6. Pebble Beach Community Services District
7. County HCD, Short-Term Rentals
8. MPWMD, Water Permits and State Water Board hearing notice
9. Monterey County Code Chapter 5.32, Documentary Transfer Tax

Note: We did not read the Del Monte Forest Land Use Plan text or the Title 20 Del Monte Forest chapter, so the table’s VSC, IC and OR descriptions are general and parcel mapping must be confirmed. The project page does not state hearing outcomes or Coastal Commission confirmation dates. Water entitlement details were not verified.

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

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