Commercial Real Estate in Willits: Main Street, Industrial Land and the Post-Bypass Corridor

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

Willits, the self-styled Gateway to the Redwoods, is a small incorporated city in Little Lake Valley where US 101 meets State Route 20. Its commercial property lines Main Street, the former US 101 alignment, and an unusually large share of the city is planned for industrial use. Willits is in the middle of rewriting its 1992 Land Use Element, so confirm the current zoning and any pending changes with the City’s Community Development Department before relying on this page.

Who controls the parcel

The City of Willits, a general law city incorporated on November 19, 1888, applies Title 17 of its municipal code inside city limits. Outside the limits, including Brooktrails Township and much of Little Lake Valley, Mendocino County zoning applies. See our Mendocino County commercial guide.

Mendocino LAFCo’s Willits municipal service review, adopted May 6, 2019, describes a city of about 1,804 acres. That total includes two city-owned islands detached from the core: the 73-acre municipal airport, Ells Field, and the 34-acre water treatment plant inside the City’s watershed. The last annexation, the 260-acre Southeast Annexation, dates to 1986. Structural fire protection comes from the Little Lake Fire Protection District, with dispatch through the City.

Utilities are a City matter. Willits bought the Little Lake Water Company by eminent domain in 1983, acquiring the treatment plant and a watershed of more than 3,000 acres with Morris Lake and its dam. The City also treats wastewater for the Brooktrails Township collection system under an agreement, and it serves some water and sewer customers outside its limits. A commercial buyer should get will-serve letters from the City, not a separate district.

Willits zoning for commercial, industrial and mixed use

The districts below are from Title 17 as summarized on GoCodebook.

The City has no stand-alone mixed-use district, but the CO district allows some housing over commercial space. LAFCo’s report notes the 1992 General Plan devoted about 37% of land to industrial and 14% to commercial, so industrial buyers have more options here than in most Mendocino County towns.

Main Street, the bypass and the Land Use Element update

The bypass. Caltrans completed the Willits Bypass in 2016. According to LAFCo, it moved about six miles of US 101 to the City’s eastern edge, with interchanges at Haehl Creek to the south and Quail Meadows to the north. Through traffic on 101 no longer passes downtown storefronts on Main Street. Highway-service businesses near the two interchanges and downtown storefronts now face different traffic patterns, so check current counts from Caltrans.

The Land Use Element update. The City filed a Notice of Preparation (SCH 2023030321) in March 2023 for an EIR on updating its Land Use Element and expanding its sphere of influence. The stated goals are to add developable land, speed up housing approvals and bring the 1992 element up to current law. Local actions listed include rezoning and pre-zoning. Until the City adopts the update and LAFCo acts on the sphere, treat both as pending, and ask whether a parcel is proposed for a different designation.

Airport. Ells Field sits northwest of the city core as a separate island. Parcels in its flight path may face compatibility limits on height and assembly uses, so check the airport land use plan for nearby sites.

Floodplain, cannabis and lodging

• Flood overlays. Baechtell Creek runs through the city. Parcels in the -FP floodplain combining zone need a floodplain development permit and elevation documentation, and the -FW floodway zone adds tighter limits. Order a flood determination early.
• Cannabis. The I-P district allows certain cannabis activities where City ordinances permit them. Confirm the current cannabis chapter, buffers and any City permit before buying for that use.
• Lodging tax. Hotel and short-term stays inside city limits may owe a City transient occupancy tax rather than the County’s. We did not verify the City’s rate, so confirm it with City Hall.

Transfer tax, business tax and property tax

Fidelity National Financial’s Who Pays What chart lists the Mendocino County transfer tax at $1.10 per $1,000, customarily paid by the seller, and no city transfer tax for Willits. Confirm on the escrow estimate and with the County Recorder. Ask City Hall whether a City business license is required and how it is charged. A sale generally triggers Proposition 13 reassessment.

Due diligence that matters in Willits

Start with our commercial due diligence checklist, then add:

• Confirm city or County jurisdiction; Brooktrails and much of the valley are County.
• Check whether the parcel is affected by the pending Land Use Element update or sphere expansion.
• Request City water and sewer will-serve letters and connection fees for any intensified use.
• Pull a flood determination for parcels near Baechtell Creek and check the -FP and -FW overlays.
• For sites near Ells Field, review airport compatibility limits.
• For cannabis or manufacturing, confirm the district and any City permit.
• Compare traffic exposure on Main Street and at the Haehl Creek and Quail Meadows interchanges.

Questions people ask

Sources & notes

1. Mendocino LAFCo, City of Willits MSR/SOI Update (adopted May 6, 2019)
2. Willits Title 17 zoning summary (GoCodebook)
3. CEQAnet, Willits Land Use Element and SOI Updates, SCH 2023030321
4. Mendocino County Recorder
5. Fidelity National Financial, Who Pays What (rev. January 2026) (title company, not an official source)

Note: Zoning figures come from a GoCodebook summary of Title 17. Utility and land use figures are from LAFCo’s 2019 report and may have changed. We did not verify the City’s TOT rate, business license fees, cannabis chapter or airport plan.

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

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