Sonoma, CA Environmental Rules: Coastal Development (2026)

The City of Sonoma is located inland in Sonoma Valley, approximately 18 miles east of the Pacific coastline and well outside the California Coastal Zone established by the California Coastal Act of 1976 (Pub. Resources Code §§30000 et seq.). Under Pub. Resources Code §30103, the Coastal Zone generally extends inland 1,000 yards from the mean high tide line, and along the Sonoma County coast extends roughly 3,000–12,000 feet inland from the shore (up to five miles inland only along the Russian River corridor, Estero Americano, and around Duncans Mills, Willow Creek, and Valley Ford — none of which are within the City of Sonoma). Because Sonoma is not within the Coastal Zone, no Coastal Development Permit (CDP) is required from the California Coastal Commission, and the city has no local Coastal Development chapter in its Municipal Code. Coastal development in unincorporated Sonoma County is regulated by the Sonoma County Local Coastal Plan (LCP), which the Board of Supervisors adopted on February 4, 2025 after Coastal Commission certification — but this LCP does not extend to the inland City of Sonoma.