Sustainability
The Land Use and Community Design Element establishes the citywide pattern, scale, and character of residential, office, industrial, retail and services, recreation, public, and all other land uses throughout the City of South San Francisco.
Metrics
Jobs/housing balance
Square footage of usable area for industrial uses
Housing near transit
Goals and Policies
Policy LU-1.1: Mixed-use activity centers.
Support a network of vibrant mixed-use activity centers located throughout the city.
Policy LU-1.2: Connectivity in complete neighborhoods.
Improve walk, bike, and transit travel in complete neighborhoods.
Policy LU-1.3: Healthy foods.
Improve access to healthy foods by encouraging development of community gardens, allowing food “pop-ups” and mobile vendors throughout the city, encouraging siting of grocery stores and markets in areas where residents lack convenient access to healthy food, and supporting and expanding the South San Francisco Farmers’ Market.
Policy LU-1.4: Public facilities and services.
Maintain and expand public facilities to better support the community, including schools, libraries, utilities, and recreational spaces, particularly in neighborhoods lacking these resources.
Policy LU-1.5: Childcare and pre-K facilities.
Promote opportunities for new childcare and pre-K facilities.
Policy LU-1.6: New Lindenville and East of 101 Neighborhoods.
Facilitate the construction of new mixed-use neighborhoods in Lindenville and East of 101 that are well connected to services, transit, amenities, public buildings, and parks and recreational facilities.
Policy LU-2.1: Development near transit centers.
Collaborate with developers and property owners to site new housing, mixed use, and employment uses near transit centers to minimize reliance on personal automobiles.
Policy LU-2.2: Connected transit-oriented communities.
Develop strong pedestrian and bicycle connections to and/from transit via pedestrian-oriented building design, creating safe and convenient road crossings, and providing street furniture and amenities.
Policy LU-2.3: Mobility hubs:
Evaluate implementation of “mobility hubs,” which are places where different travel networks (including walking, biking, transit, and shared mobility) meet and provide convenient connections to destinations, at the Caltrain Station, South San Francisco BART Station, and the South San Francisco Ferry Terminal.
Policy LU-2.4: Gathering spaces near mobility hubs.
Develop community gathering spaces, including plazas and pocket parks, near mobility hubs.
Policy LU-3.1: Affordable and workforce housing.
Actively facilitate adding affordable and workforce housing in all South San Francisco neighborhoods equitably.
Policy LU-3.2: Infill housing.
Maximize opportunities for residential development through infill and redevelopment of vacant parcels.
Policy LU-3.3: Diversity of housing types.
Encourage a variety of housing types to be developed at a range of densities to equitably serve varying household types, including, but not limited to, single-family attached and detached, accessory dwelling units, multifamily apartments, townhomes, duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, and condominiums.
Policy LU-3.4: Multi-generational housing.
Encourage development of housing types that support multigenerational households and opportunities to age in place.
Policy LU-3.5: Live/work housing.
Provide opportunities for live/work options to support a creative economy and meet the changing needs of work spaces.
Policy LU-3.6: Housing for all needs.
Facilitate housing for seniors, special needs groups, including the developmentally disabled, and non-traditional family groups by requiring a diverse range of housing configurations that are Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant and flexible.
Policy LU-3.7: No net loss in housing.
Require no net loss in the number of residential units during reconstruction or renovation.
Policy LU-4.1: Inclusionary Housing Ordinance and State Density Bonus.
Continue to implement the City’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinance and State Density Bonus to encourage development of housing affordable to lowincome households.
Policy LU-4.2: Incentivize and preserve affordable housing and develop models to expand homeownership.
Develop regulatory mechanisms via the Zoning Ordinance, Inclusionary Housing Ordinance, and community benefits agreements to incentivize affordable housing; and develop programming to preserve affordable housing and expand homeownership.
Policy LU-5.1: Seismic retrofitting.
Provide residential property owners with resources to aid with financing seismic retrofitting of aging homes and soft-story buildings.
Policy LU-5.2: Energy efficiency.
Encourage energy efficient building construction practices in all new residential development as well as retrofits of existing homes through financial incentives including pursuing LEED certification.
Policy LU-5.3: Housing compatibility.
Encourage housing development near compatible land uses, including other housing and civic and institutional uses, to minimize negative health impacts.
Policy LU-5.4: Code enforcement.
Promote maintenance and improvement of property through code enforcement in order to encourage investment and reinvestment in neighborhoods.
Policy LU-5.5: Amenity space.
Encourage new multifamily development to provide amenity space (gyms, active spaces, outdoor open space, flex working spaces, etc.) which promote physical activity and healthy living options.
Policy LU-5.6: Multi-family walkability.
Encourage new multi-family developers to provide convenient, walkable connections to nearby trails, transit, and open space to promote active lifestyles.
Policy LU-6.1: R&D and tech coordination.
Foster continued coordination with major R&D and tech landowners in future planning efforts.
Policy LU-6.2: Emerging technology.
Allow and attract innovative and emerging technology businesses to South San Francisco through flexible use and zoning requirements.
Policy LU-6.3: Connectivity for R&D and tech workforces.
Maintain vehicular infrastructure and improve circulation to accommodate the unique demands for R&D and hi-tech workplaces.
Policy LU-7.1: Preservation of PDR businesses.
Preserve production, distribution, and repair (PDR) businesses in the city.
Policy LU-7.2: Non-polluting industries.
Encourage development of non-polluting industries that are not major sources of air, water, or noise pollution.
Policy LU-7.3: Industrial permitting.
Continue to provide efficient permitting and transparent development processes to ensure City government is friendly to industrial development.
Policy LU-7.4: Industrial preservation.
Limit the introduction of new residential, commercial, and other non-residential uses in areas designated as Mixed Industrial High in order to preserve land for industrial uses.
Policy LU-7.5: Industrial circulation.
Maintain vehicular infrastructure and improve circulation to accommodate vehicular transportation needs for industrial land uses, including logistics and warehousing land uses.
Policy LU-7.6: Goods movement.
Maintain an upto-date truck routes map that minimizes exposures to sensitive land uses. Manage truck idling in new residential neighborhoods in Lindenville and East of 101.
Policy LU-8.1: Support for businesses.
Develop programs to support building upkeep and maintenance and formalized partnerships with business associations.
Policy LU-8.2: Intensification.
Seek opportunities to intensify low-density strip malls and shopping centers into mixed-use communities that are accessible to transit options.
Policy LU-8.3: Affordable spaces for emerging businesses.
Support affordable and flexible commercial and industrial building space for new and emerging businesses.
Policy LU-9.1: Arts and cultural programming.
Expand arts and cultural programming in public spaces.
Policy LU-9.2: Pedestrian environment and amenities.
Facilitate a diverse and attractive pedestrian environment through the provision of street furniture, lighting, and other amenities. Consider creating a city-wide streetscape master plan.
Policy LU-9.3: Pedestrian connections and sidewalks.
Improve pedestrian connections and sidewalk infrastructure across the city, especially between residential and commercial areas.
Policy LU-9.4: Street trees.
Encourage street trees along streets and public spaces that provide shade, attractive landscaping, and contribute positively towards public health outcomes and climate mitigation and adaptation. Improve existing and create new plazas and public gathering places throughout the city.
Policy LU-9.5: Colma Creek public realm.
Improve the public realm along Colma Creek to beautify the city and enhance the creek as a recreational amenity.
Policy LU-9.6: View maintenance and protection.
Maintain and protect unique public views of the city, the bay, and local landmarks from major thoroughfares and hillside open spaces.
Policy LU-9.7: ADA accessibility.
Ensure all new developments, public infrastructure and facilities, and transit infrastructure meet ADA accessibility standards.
Policy LU-9.8: Infrastructure and utilities.
Ensure adequate infrastructure and utility services (electricity, water, internet) for all future development.
Policy LU-10.1: Guidelines.
Create new and update existing design guidelines and development standards.
Policy LU-10.2: Visual interest.
Provide visual interest to buildings and add to people’s experience of South San Francisco as an interesting and inviting place.
Policy LU-10.3: Quality materials.
Require highquality, long-lasting building materials on all new development projects in the city.
Policy LU-10.4: Inviting buildings.
Require building design that creates walkable and inviting spaces, such as locating parking behind buildings, allowing for outdoor plazas and dining, and locating building frontages in close proximity to the sidewalk edge, where appropriate.
Policy LU-10.5: Building orientation.
When possible, orient multi-family buildings to face streets, public spaces, or shared private spaces.
Policy LU-11.1: Community benefits framework.
Continue to update and refine the community benefits framework that requires project developers to contribute to community goals and amenities, including parks and public spaces, affordable housing, and transportation demand management.
Policy LU-11.2: Green buildings.
Continually update new construction and retrofit guidelines for green buildings.
Policy LU-11.3: Density bonuses.
Incentivize developers to build affordable housing near transit stations via density bonuses.
Policy LU-11.4: Publicly-accessible private open space in East of 101.
Through community benefits agreements, require non-residential development projects East of 101 to provide publicly-accessible, private open space as part of their site plan.