Walnut Creek’s Zoning Ordinance governs land uses and how buildings relate to their surroundings. This helps separate more impactful uses (like manufacturing) from more sensitive uses (like residential).

Each zoning district regulates:

• Lot size
• Building bulk, placement, and height
• Parking requirements
• Land use

Frequently accessed zoning codes

• Single Family Residential (R-8, R8.5, R-10, R-12, R-15, R-20, R-40) 
• Duplex Residential (D-3) 
• Multiple Family Residential (M-0.75, M-1, M-1.5, M-2, M-2.5, M-3) 
• Community Commercial (C-C) 
• Central Retail (C-R) 
• Pedestrian Retail (P-R) 
• Office-Commercial (O-C) 
• Auto Sales/Service & Custom Manufacturing (AS-CM) 
• Service Commercial (S-C) 
• Business Park (B-P)  
• Mixed Use - Downtown (MU-D)  
• Mixed Use - Residential (MU-R)
• Mixed Use - Commercial (MU-C)

Summary of Land Use Regulations

View the summary table of land use regulations.

Planned development districts

A planned development district provides specific land use and development standards. They are designed for multi-family housing, shopping centers, and other large scale developments.

Unincorporated areas

Parts of the Walnut Creek area have a Walnut Creek address but are actually located outside the City limits. This means they are under the jurisdiction of Contra Costa County. These neighborhoods include:

• Northgate area
• Saranap area
• Pleasant Hill BART Station vicinity
• portions of Walnut Heights

To find out the zoning for those properties, contact Contra Costa County Planning at (925) 335-1360 or visit Contra Costa County Map and Property Information.

Related

• Rezoning
• Variances
• General Plan 2025
• Overlay Districts
• Planned developments
• Parking requirements
• Setbacks
• Summary of development regulations for residential zoning districts: shows development standards like lot size, density, setbacks, height, and lot coverage.

Historical Zoning Codes

A list of historical zoning ordinances and maps are provided below for reference purposes. This list includes dates and documents of notable amendments. 

• 1931 (Ordinance & Maps)
• 1946 (Ordinance & Maps)
• 1949 (Ordinance & Maps)
• 1954 (Ordinance & Maps)
  • Amended 7/9/58 - Ordinance 387 Downtown Parking Requirements
• 1959 (Ordinance & Maps)
  • Amended 11/4/59 - Ordinance 446 Sign Regulations
  • Amended 1/6/60 - Ordinance #449 Establishing the Board of Zoning Adjustments
  • Amended 10/10/60 - Ordinance 476 Establishing the A-P-R District
  • Amended 10/19/60 - Ordinance 483 Lot Dimensions & Subdivisions
  • Amended 11/20/63 - Ordinance 693 Various Amendments
  • Amended 10/21/64 - Ordinance 756 Amending Commercial Districts
  • Amended 5/18/66 - Ordinance 837 Establishing the C-O District
• 1968 (Ordinance Only)
  • Amended 3/3/69 - Ordinance 957 Accessory Structures
  • Amended 7/7/69 - Ordinance 973 Establishing Various New Districts
  • Amended 5/18/70 - Ordinance 1018 Parking Requirements
  • Amended 10/18/71 - Ordinance 1089 Downtown Parking Requirements
• 1973 (Ordinance & Maps)
  • Amended 12/30/77 - Ordinance 1328 Core Area
• 1977 (Ordinance Only)                   
  • Amended 1/17/78 - Ordinance 1340 Real Estate Signs
  • Amended 1/17/78 - Ordinance 1341 Enforcement Fee Charges
  • Amended 1/17/78 - Ordinance 1342 Temporary Signs over Public ROW
  • Amended 1/17/78 - Ordinance 1343 Overlay Zones
  • Amended 1/17/78 - Ordinance 1344 Animals
  • Amended 2/7/78 - Ordinance 1346 Home Occupations
  • Amended 4/4/78 - Ordinance 1353 Household Pets
  •  Amended 5/15/79 - Ordinance 1430 Accessory Buildings
  • Amended 7/15/80 - Ordinance 1479 Residential in Commercial Zones
  • Amended 9/7/82 - Ordinance 1549 Rezoning C-L District to S-C District
  • Amended 2/1/83 - Ordinance 1569 Second Family Residential Units
• 1985 (Ordinance & Maps) - Measure A Adoption
  • Amended 3/5/85 - Ordinance 1619 Second Family Residential Units
  • Amended 2/3/87 - Ordinance 1665 Child Day Care Facilities
  • Amended 1/3/89 - Ordinance 1714 Recycling Facilities
  • Amended 5/9/89 - Ordinance 1717 Sales of Gasoline and Alcohol
• 1991 (Ordinance Only)
• 1993 (Ordinance & Maps)
  • Amended 1/19/93 - Ordinance 1816 Parking Reduction Zones and In-Lieu Fees
• 1996 (Ordinance & Maps)
• 1998 (Ordinance & Maps)
• 2001 (Ordinance & Maps)
• 2004 (Ordinance & Maps)
• 2006 (Ordinance Only)
• 2009 (Ordinance & Maps)
• 2010 (Ordinance & Maps)
• 2011 (Ordinance Only)
• 2012 (Ordinance & Maps)
• 2013 (Ordinance Only)
• 2014 (Ordinance Only)
• 2015 (Ordinance Only)
• 2016 (Ordinance Only)
• 2017 (Ordinance & Maps)
• 2018 (Ordinance Only)
  • Amended 2/5/2019 - Ordinance 2188 Revised ADU Regulations 
  • Amended 3/19/19 - Ordinance 2191 Pioneer Village
  • Amended 5/7/19 - Ordinance 2194 West Downtown Specific Plan
  • Amended 6/4/19 - Ordinance 2195 Volvo
  • Amended 11/5/2019 - Ordinance 2200 North Downtown Specific Plan
• 2020 (Map Only)
• 2022 (Map Only)

Contact

Planning staff
Phone: (925) 256-3558
Email: DutyPlanner@walnutcreekca.gov