Sub Areas

Vista of multiple building facades in East of 101 sub-area

Where We Want to Be

in the Future

  • Distinct community sub-areas with unique character, architectural diversity, and land uses.

  • Opportunities for people earning all income levels and comprising a variety of household compositions to live a high quality of life in all sub-areas.

  • Connectivity to services, jobs, public facilities, and transportation within and between sub-areas.

How Our Plan

Gets Us There

While the citywide policies in the Land Use and Community Design Element are expected to be applied throughout all of South San Francisco, many local interventions and actions are needed on a smaller scale to address issues and concerns unique to certain neighborhoods. The Sub-Areas Element augments citywide goals and policies from the Land Use and Community Design Element and provides policies and implementation actions specific to South San Francisco’s unique sub-areas. The Sub-Areas Element establishes a detailed range of policies related to housing, employment, public realm, connectivity, and more in the Downtown, East of 101, El Camino Real, and Lindenville sub-areas, which are the sub-areas anticipated to undergo the most change under the General Plan horizon. For the other residential sub-areas, little change is expected over the General Plan horizon and, thus, the General Plan establishes a framework to enhance existing assets and character.

Map of South San Francisco sub areas
Map of facilities within a 20-minute walkshed of key activity centers

The Sub-Areas Element expands on Goal 1 of the Land Use Element, which prioritizes the creation of complete neighborhoods where residents can access most of their daily needs within a short walk, bike, or transit trip. This second figure depicts existing complete neighborhoods, showing daily amenities, including supermarkets, public transit stops, schools, and healthcare facilities within a 20-minute walkshed of key activity centers including the South San Francisco BART Station, Chestnut Avenue and El Camino Real, Downtown, South Spruce Avenue and El Camino Real, and Westborough Shopping Center. The Sub-Areas Element identifies policies and actions both to enhance access to existing amenities identified in this Figure and to promote development of daily amenities currently missing within a 20-minute walk of these activity centers.