Our Vision For The Future

Shape SSF 2040 presents our community’s vision for South San Francisco for the next two decades. The General Plan provides a roadmap for the City to implement policies and actions that create a resilient community, improve the quality of life of its residents, and expand economic development opportunities. The development of this plan has been guided by an overarching vision, a set of community values, and guiding principles that were shaped through community input.

Vision

South San Francisco is a place where everyone can thrive. Its high quality of life, diverse and inclusive community, livable neighborhoods and excellent services, culture of innovation, and environmental leadership ensure all people have the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Values

Throughout the General Plan process, community members identified many shared values and beliefs. These cross-cutting community values include: diversity and inclusion, livability, sustainability, and innovation. While each guiding principle, goal, policy, and action outlines what the city wants to achieve and plans to do, these values describe how future actions should be implemented.

Diversity + Inclusion

We celebrate our diversity. We proactively promote diversity and inclusion for all races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, abilities, ages, religions, and cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. We strive to ensure equitable access to services and resources for all, build collaborative partnerships, and promote civic engagement.

Livability

We cherish our high quality of life. Residents of all ages, income levels, and abilities are able to comfortably live in a variety of housing options and can easily access quality parks, recreational facilities, libraries, and community services. We can travel via safe and reliable transportation options, including walking, biking, and public transit.

Sustainability

We strive to build and maintain a healthy and safe city. Our actions reduce climate pollution, adapt to climate disruptions, preserve natural resources, foster a prosperous and just economy, and meet the needs of current and future generations to ensure all people have the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Innovation

We encourage innovation, creative thinking, and state-of-the art solutions. We pilot new tools and technologies and forge public-private partnerships that improve the well-being of residents and the efficiency of City operations and businesses.

Guiding Principles

Affordable, Safe, Attractive, Amenity-Rich Neighborhoods

The City of South San Francisco ensures a high quality of life for all residents by providing a diverse supply of housing affordable to all income levels. The City promotes housing options for households with distinct needs, including multigenerational families, empty nesters, and younger and older adults. The City of South San Francisco encourages new housing production while also preserving affordable housing and protecting vulnerable residents from housing instability and displacement. The City guides new housing into complete neighborhoods with access to retail and services, parks and open space, community services, and transit. In promoting the production of new housing, the city will make progress to achieving a better balance of jobs and housing. The City of South Francisco enhances the safety and aesthetics of its neighborhoods.

High-Quality and Accessible Services, Facilities, and Amenities for Residents at All stages of their lives

The City of South San Francisco provides high quality and accessible services, facilities, and amenities for residents at all stages of their lives. As a “smart city”, South San Francisco leverages high-speed internet technology and connectivity to improve engagement, transportation, utilities, education, public health and safety, environmental quality, energy, and the quality and efficiency of City operations. The City ensures digital equality by promoting internet connectivity in all neighborhoods to bridge access to reliable and affordable information.

The City increases access to and quality of parks and open spaces and invests in the expansion and modernization of its parks and open space system. The City supports the creation of pedestrian and bicycle linkages to Sign Hill, the San Francisco Bay Trail, schools, and community parks. The City supports South San Francisco Unified School District in its mission to graduate responsible, productive, and environmentally aware citizens by providing expanded educational and recreational opportunities and programs for all ages, including childcare, preschool, after- school activities, special needs programs, aquatics, senior services, art, theater, music, libraries, and STEM and STEAM learning opportunities.

The City supports well trained, community-centered Fire, Police, and Emergency Response that provides compassionate service, follow practices and standards for safe interactions, continually improve department practices and community relations, and respond to incidents in a timely manner.

A Safe, Convenient, and Accessible Transportation Network Well-connected to the region

The City of South San Francisco prioritizes a safe, convenient, and accessible transportation network that is well-connected to the region. South San Francisco has “complete streets” that provide pedestrian and bicycle facilities that invite people of all ages and abilities. Anyone can access public transportation to get anywhere in the city or around the Bay Area. The City embraces and prepares for emerging transportation innovations and micro-mobility, such as scooters, bike share, and electric buses and vehicles.

A Resilient Community

A resilient community is a commitment to a thriving future for all South San Francisco city residents. The ability to survive, adapt, and grow regardless of future shocks and stresses requires an investment in policies and actions that protect our most vulnerable. Housing, transportation, employment areas, and community-serving facilities and infrastructure are all at risk from earthquakes, warmer temperatures, rising sea levels, and more extreme weather days. The City prioritizes resources for its most vulnerable communities and increases the capacity for the most disadvantaged residents and workers to withstand hazards and adapt to climate disruption.

At the same time, South San Francisco takes a leadership role in the region in creating a cleaner, healthier, and more economically viable future through conscious investments and regulatory measures. The City adopts innovative practices and partnerships aimed at climate pollution reduction, efficient energy and water use, and clean air. These sustainability and climate actions aim to fight climate change and increase community resilience.

A Prosperous Downtown and Local Economy

The City of South San Francisco nurtures a thriving and diverse local economy, capitalizing on the city’s strategic location near Silicon Valley, San Francisco, San Francisco International Airport, and along critical transportation corridors. The City supports local businesses, including retail, grocery, dining, entertainment, and arts and cultural uses, while simultaneously strengthening its role as the worldwide hub of the biotech and life sciences industries and attracting more jobs in the technology sector, professional office sector, and other sectors with long-term growth potential and the ability to diversify the city’s supply of high-wage jobs. The City embraces its legacy as “The Industrial City” and supports a diversity of light industrial, manufacturing, and maker businesses to maintain a core of middle-wage jobs in the city.

The City of South San Francisco’s Downtown celebrates the city’s history and cultural diversity through community events, arts, and programming. Downtown is a destination for all, with a diversity of retail, public open spaces, services, institutions, religious facilities, entertainment, housing, and a public library. The City invests in streetscapes, sidewalks, landscaping, façade improvements and maintenance to improve safety and walkability in Downtown and create visual interest. The City provides resources to preserve and nurture local businesses that make Downtown special. The City prioritizes improvements that make Downtown accessible via public transit, including Caltrain.

The City partners with business, education, and service organizations to help build career pipelines to match residents to local jobs in the life sciences, industrial, and civil sectors through education and training, creating opportunities for social mobility, ever adapting to a changing world. The City believes its long-term economic vitality depends on having high quality, well-resourced public education and workforce training, and the City will continue to foster educational partnerships with the local school district, community college district, and other organizations. The City supports Universal Pre-K and childcare, striving to ensure every child has an opportunity to attend pre-kindergarten.