Concord | Zoning districts

Concord, California Zoning Districts: RR, RS, RL, RM and RH, Homes in Commercial and Downtown Districts, Overlays and the Reuse Area

A zoning district is a mapped area with its own list of allowed uses and building limits. Concord's districts are in Title 18 of the Concord Municipal Code, which the City calls the Development Code (CDC). Five districts are residential, and six office, commercial and downtown districts also allow homes. This page lists what each district allows, which permit each housing type needs, the overlay districts the City added in 2024 and 2026, and the district that holds the former Naval Weapons Station land. The Concord overview has the summary.

Districts That Allow Homes

Sources: Concord Development Code Tables 18.30.020, 18.30.030, 18.30.040, 18.35.020, 18.35.030(B), 18.40.020, 18.40.030, 18.45.020 and 18.45.030 (current through Ordinance 26-2).

How the Development Code Is Organized

Section 18.15.020 adopts the zoning map and sets up the district symbols. Each symbol starts with letters for the main land use. A number after the letters gives a subdistrict: "RS-10" is "a single-family residential district where the minimum lot size is 10,000 square feet." A letter added at the end marks an overlay district, a second set of rules laid over the base district.

Density is counted in dwelling units per net acre. A footnote to Table 18.15.020 defines the term: "A net acre is the portion of a site that can be built on. Typically it is the gross lot area minus any land used for access, public or private streets, trails, open space, floodways or utility easements," and "A net acre is typically 20 to 25 percent less than the gross area." Section 18.10.050 sets the rounding rule for every calculation in the code: "fractions of one-half or greater shall be rounded up to the next whole number and fractions of less than one-half shall be rounded down."

Each district chapter has a use table and a standards table. The use tables show one of four permit levels for each use, or a dash where the use is not allowed. The four levels are explained further down this page. Lot sizes, setbacks and heights by district are on the parking, setbacks and height page.

RR and RS: The House Districts

• RR. Section 18.30.010 applies Rural Residential to areas "appropriate for rural single-family residential development or clustered development at densities up to two and one-half units per net acre." RR-40, RR-20 and RR-15 mean lots of 40,000, 20,000 and 15,000 square feet.
• RS. Residential Single-Family is for "single-family residential uses in neighborhoods at densities of two and one-half to 10 units per net acre." The purpose section adds that the RS districts "generally apply to the single-family residential districts with development existing at the time of the adoption of this development code."
• Six RS sizes. The suffixes RS-12, RS-10, RS-8, RS-7.5, RS-7 and RS-6 match minimum lots of 12,000, 10,000, 8,000, 7,500, 7,000 and 6,000 square feet.
• What is permitted. In RR and RS, Table 18.30.020 permits a detached single-family house with a zoning clearance. Duplexes and multifamily show a dash. In RS a small lot subdivision or an attached house needs a use permit.
• State law on house lots. Accessory dwelling units are allowed under Section 18.200.180, and the City's SB 9 handout says SB 9 "applies only to parcels zoned Residential Single-Family (RS) or Rural Residential (RR)." Both are on the ADUs and SB 9 page.

RL: Houses, Duplexes and Small Lots

The purpose section describes Residential Low Density as "a neighborhood with predominately detached single-family dwellings" that "allows a diversity of compatible housing types and lot sizes from larger lot single-family dwellings to cottages, cluster, courtyard, and patio homes, and duplexes, at densities of two and one-half to 10 units per net acre."

• Houses. Detached and attached single-family houses are permitted with a zoning clearance. The code defines an attached house as one "located on a single lot, where one wall is attached by a common vertical wall to another single-family dwelling unit on an abutting lot." Townhomes, row homes and duets are its examples.
• Duplexes. A duplex, which the code defines as "a single building on a lot that contains two dwelling units," needs an administrative permit in RL.
• Small lots. A small lot subdivision of detached houses on lots under 6,000 square feet needs a use permit. The minimum lot is 1,920 square feet, and the 10 homes per net acre cap still applies. See the lot size and subdivisions page.
• Multifamily. Footnote 3 to the use table reads "Multifamily is only allowed on parcels in the affirmatively furthering fair housing overlay district."

RM and RH: Townhomes and Apartments

• RM. Residential Medium Density is for "attached and detached dwellings, including a variety of housing types such as small lot single-family dwellings, townhomes, row houses, and cluster housing." Table 18.30.040 sets 11 to 32 homes per net acre. Attached houses, duplexes and multifamily are permitted with a zoning clearance. A detached house on a standard lot shows a dash, and a small lot subdivision needs a use permit.
• RH. Residential High Density is for "compact, high density, multifamily residential development including apartments, townhomes, and condominiums at densities ranging from 33 to 100 units per net acre." Attached houses and multifamily are permitted with a zoning clearance. Detached houses and duplexes are not allowed.
• Minimum density. Both tables give a minimum as well as a maximum. An RH project needs at least 33 homes per net acre, and an RM project at least 11.
• What multifamily means. The code defines it as "a structure containing more than two dwelling units sharing common walls or otherwise attached, including triplexes, fourplexes, flats, townhomes with vertically stacked units, garden apartments, condominiums, cooperatives, and apartments."
• Height in RH. Ordinance 26-1 of February 10, 2026 amended the height row. The table now reads 67 feet for RH and 40 feet for RM.

The three or more homes page covers the objective design standards, the affordable housing requirement that starts at five homes, and the incentive programs.

Homes in the Commercial and Downtown Districts

• NTS. The North Todos Santos district is meant "to encourage retention and preservation of buildings, many of which have special architectural and historical significance." Homes are allowed at 2.5 to 32 per net acre, with a height of "30 ft. or three stories, whichever is less."
• CO. Community Office is for small offices "in low-rise buildings that are compatible with adjacent residential areas." Table 18.40.030 gives 11 to 40 homes per net acre.
• CMX. Commercial Mixed-Use is "primarily located along portions of Clayton Road, Monument Boulevard, and Willow Pass Road," with homes at 11 to 40 per net acre.
• NC. Neighborhood Commercial covers shopping centers. It "allows residential uses on the second floor at densities up to 24 dwelling units per net acre," and the standards table adds "Residential uses not allowed on ground floor."
• DP. Downtown Pedestrian is "the 10-block downtown area surrounding Todos Santos Plaza and the blocks connecting the plaza and the Concord BART station." Homes are allowed at 33 to 100 per net acre. On lots facing the plaza, homes must be above the ground floor.
• DMX. Downtown Mixed-Use allows "high density residential, commercial and office, and mixed uses" at 33 to 100 homes per net acre and up to 200 feet.
• No homes. "The WMX district does not allow residential uses." The SC and RC commercial districts show a dash for every dwelling type.

In CO, CMX, NC, NTS, DP and DMX the multifamily row lists two permit levels. A footnote explains the first: "Zoning clearance required for multifamily projects when a project is located entirely on a parcel or parcels listed in the current housing element sites inventory that conform to objective development standards and Chapter 18.152 CDC (Objective Design Standards)." The Housing Element is the City's state-required housing plan, and its sites inventory is the list of parcels the plan counts on for new homes. A project on any other parcel in these districts needs a use permit, or a minor use permit in NTS.

The Four Permit Levels

Source: Concord Development Code, Section 18.25.030(B).

Where a project has two uses with different levels, "the overall project is subject to the highest permit level required." A use that appears in no table "is not allowed within the city," unless the Planning Division finds it similar to a listed use. The permits and fees page covers hearings, appeals and time limits.

Overlay Districts

Sources: Concord Development Code Table 18.15.020, Chapter 18.105, Chapter 18.115 and Chapter 18.120.

The newest overlay is the AFFH overlay, added by Ordinance 26-425.1 on March 10, 2026 and effective April 9, 2026. Its purpose section says it "implements Objective 8.6 of Program 8, Fair Housing, from the city's 2023-2031 Housing Element" and is applied to "specific properties within the city's higher resource areas." The same ordinance changed the RL use table so that multifamily is allowed on overlay parcels, and it prohibited detached houses, small lot subdivisions and duplexes there. The City's overlay page estimates 1,000 potential homes on the ten parcels at the top density of 60 per acre.

The Airport Overlay exists "to protect Buchanan Field Airport from the encroachment of noncompatible land uses that may interfere with its safe operation." The base district tables carry a footnote that height must comply with the Contra Costa County airport land use plan.

Planned Districts

Many Concord subdivisions were approved under an older Planned District (PD) designation, with standards set by each approval. Section 18.25.040 closes that designation to new projects, "with the exception of housing development projects located within the affirmatively further fair housing overlay district." Existing PD housing keeps the designation "until and unless the property is redeveloped." The section admits that many old approvals "did not provide a sufficient written record to document the development standards." Where no record exists, the RS and RL tables are used "by using the area of the subject lot to determine the equivalent zoning category." An owner of a house in a PD should ask the Planning Division which standards are on file before drawing an addition.

The Study District and the Naval Weapons Station Reuse Area

The former Concord Naval Weapons Station is the largest piece of undeveloped land in the city. The code places it in the Study district (S), whose purpose is "to provide an interim zoning district for the Concord reuse project (CRP) site." The district "applies to all lands included in the planning area of the Concord reuse project (CRP) area plan, with the exception of the Diablo Creek Golf Course."

• No permits yet. Section 18.65.030: "No permits or approvals otherwise required under Division II of this title in order to establish new land uses shall be issued prior to adoption of a specific plan or equivalent regulatory document which conforms to the city's general plan." A specific plan is a detailed plan for one area that sets its land uses, streets and standards.
• Other code sections leave the site out. The Transit Station Overlay excludes "the reuse area (study district) adjacent to the North Concord BART Station." The objective design standards do not apply to housing on the site, "which will have its own set of objective design standards developed as a part of the Concord Reuse Project Specific Plan." The street fee program in Chapter 19.25 applies "citywide, except for the Concord Reuse Project site."
• The green edge. A separate district, CRP-GF, covers "the 275-foot-wide portion of the southeastern edge of the Concord reuse project, between Willow Pass and Bailey Roads," for trails, fields and similar uses.
• Where the project stands. A City press release of May 27, 2026 says the City Council approved a Term Sheet with the U.S. Navy "regarding the price and payment terms for approximately 2,422 acres of property." A release of September 24, 2026 says the Navy approved it, and that work on the Specific Plan "will start this winter, with additional community engagement expected to start in early 2027."
• The City's numbers. A release of September 30, 2026 lists the project's elements as "12,272 new homes, 25 percent of them affordable," with commercial space and parks. These are the City's figures for a plan that is not yet adopted.

For a small builder the result is simple. Land in the Study district cannot receive a zoning permit for a new use today, and no adopted lot, height or density standard for it exists in the Development Code.

Hillside Parcels

Chapter 18.300 applies in every district to a parcel "with an average slope of 15 percent or greater." On such a parcel the allowed density is reduced by a figure in the chapter, a hillside development use permit is required, and two limits apply: "Land with an average slope of 30 percent or more shall not be developed. Development on land with an average slope of 20 percent or more shall be limited to a single-family dwelling." The chapter is covered on the lot size and subdivisions page.

Where the Code and City Documents Differ

• RM density. The purpose section says RM is for "densities of 11 to 33 units per net acre." Table 18.30.040 and Table 18.15.020 say 11 to 32. A project must comply with the standards table.
• RS-5. Table 18.15.020 lists an RS-5 district among the single-family symbols. The purpose section and the standards table in Chapter 18.30 list six RS districts and none is RS-5, so the code holds no lot standard for it.
• RS density. The purpose section gives RS a range of two and one-half to 10 units per net acre. Table 18.30.030 prints the RS range starting at zero.
• Downtown floor area. The purpose section says DP has "a minimum FAR of 1.0 up to 4.0 FAR." Table 18.45.030 prints a minimum of 0.75. FAR, or floor area ratio, is building floor area divided by lot area.
• The handout. The City's residential standards handout is dated 1/22/16 and shows RH at "6 Stories or max 60 ft." The code table, amended in February 2026, shows 67 feet. The code controls.
• The overlay table. The City's AFFH page lists parcel number 120-081-058 for both 5356 and 5358 Clayton Road. Table 18.120.030(A) in the code lists 120-081-076 for 5356 Clayton Road. The code table is the adopted one.

Limits of This Page

The code text is the publisher's copy, which its front page says "is current through Ordinance 26-2, passed September 8, 2026." The zoning map, the General Plan and its land use map, the Housing Element sites inventory, the Downtown Concord Specific Plan, the Concord Reuse Project Area Plan and the county airport land use plan were not read. A parcel's district and overlays must be checked on the City's parcel viewer or with the Planning Division at (925) 671-3152. The City's agenda system did not answer on October 10, 2026, so City Council and Planning Commission agendas were not read. The code's Ordinance List shows what was adopted through September 8, 2026.

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the Concord overview, the California SB 9 page and the lot eligibility page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)