Commercial Real Estate in Daly City: Mission Street Mixed Use, BART Districts and Sullivan Corridor Zoning

By Matthew Martinez, Founder, CEO & Managing Broker, Diamond Real Estate Group. California DRE #01869679.

Daly City’s commercial property runs along Mission Street and Geneva Avenue, around the Daly City and Colma BART stations, along the Sullivan Avenue corridor between the Civic Center and Seton Medical Center, and in regional shopping centers such as Serramonte. In late 2023 the city rewrote its main corridors into a high-rise mixed-use district, which changes what an older storefront parcel may be worth to a developer. Confirm the zone for each parcel with Daly City Planning before relying on this page.

Who controls the parcel

Daly City is an incorporated city at the north end of San Mateo County, directly south of San Francisco, so its Title 17 zoning code governs inside city limits. Nearby areas follow different rules: the Town of Colma has its own code, and unincorporated Broadmoor and parts of Colma are zoned by the County under Title 8 (see our San Mateo County commercial guide). A Daly City mailing address does not settle jurisdiction, so check the parcel against the city limit line.

Two outside agencies also matter. Much of the city lies within San Francisco International Airport’s land use compatibility plan area, which Title 17 implements through Chapter 17.60 and cites in several district tables. And BART station areas are governed partly by specific plans adopted for the Daly City and Colma stations.

Daly City zoning for commercial, industrial and mixed use

District	Intended uses	Notes
C-MU Commercial Mixed-Use	Dense housing and vertical mixed use, with retail or restaurants at street level	Mission Street, Geneva Avenue and parts of the BART Station Area plan. 3 to 15 stories, up to 175 ft
C-1 Light Commercial	Neighborhood retail, offices, banks, restaurants	36 ft. Bars, gas stations, car washes and auto repair by use permit
C-2 Heavy Commercial	Broader commercial and service uses	Base for the M district’s permitted list
M Industrial	C-2 uses plus light industry and open storage	Manufacturing and open storage by use permit. 36 ft
BC BART Commercial	Station-area shops, services and restaurants	35 ft, 45 ft for landmark towers. Offices upper floors only
C-O Office and BOC BART Office Commercial	Office districts, one tied to the BART area	Chapters 17.16 and 17.17 (not reviewed in detail)
SC Sullivan Corridor Specific Plan	Office, service, neighborhood and regional commercial plus housing	FAR from 1.0 to 5.0 depending on designation

Mission Street, Geneva Avenue and the C-MU district

The C-MU district was added by Ordinance 1469 on December 11, 2023, with its height section amended by Ordinance 1476 on November 12, 2024. It generally covers parcels fronting Mission Street and Geneva Avenue and certain BART Station Area parcels.

Permitted. Offices, medical offices, hotels, restaurants without drive-throughs, retail, personal services, gyms, child care, theaters and schools. Multifamily buildings of two or more units are permitted when paired with street-level retail, office or other nonresidential space, and live/work units are allowed.

Use permit. Arcades, urgent care and hospitals, drive-through pharmacies, vehicle rental and storage, and animal hospitals and kennels.

Prohibited. New auto dealers and auto repair (shops operating before January 1, 2008 may continue), car washes, manufacturing, service stations, drive-through restaurants, stand-alone parking lots and new single-family homes.

Form. Buildings must reach at least three stories or 30 feet and may rise to 15 stories or 175 feet, with step-downs next to R-1 lots. Lot coverage runs from 50% to 100%, and the front of the building sits within 10 feet of the property line behind a sidewalk at least 10 feet wide.

Objective design review. New buildings must meet council-adopted objective design standards. Applicants request a conformity review at least 180 days before submitting for a building permit; staff has 45 days for initial findings.

Nonconforming uses. An existing nonconforming business may continue until it is structurally altered, expanded, abandoned or damaged, which matters for an auto-oriented building a buyer hopes to keep operating.

BART districts, the Sullivan Corridor and older commercial zones

BC BART Commercial. The BC district, from Ordinance 1202 in 1994, permits a long list of everyday retail and service uses and restaurants, with bars, small theaters and hotels by use permit. Professional offices are limited to upper stories, and multifamily housing is allowed where the Colma BART Station Specific Plan permits it. Lots start at 5,000 square feet and coverage runs from 35% to 60%.

Sullivan Corridor. The SC district, first adopted in 2001 and last amended in 2024, applies the specific plan’s own designations. Floor area ratios run from 1.0 in neighborhood and regional commercial areas to 3.5 for office and 5.0 for the commercial/office designation. Drive-throughs, hotels and entertainment generally need a use permit.

C-1 and M. In C-1, last amended in 2022, retail, offices and sit-down restaurants are permitted, while bars, pawnshops, tattoo shops, car sales and gas stations need a use permit. The M district allows C-2 uses except dwellings, pawnshops, tattoo and massage businesses, and requires a use permit for assembly, manufacturing and open storage, with a six-foot screen fence next to residential land.

Airport, cannabis and lodging rules

SFO disclosure. Within the Mission Street corridor, C-MU property transfers must disclose that the site lies within SFO Airport Influence Areas A and B. Heights in several districts are also subject to the SFO airport plan.
Cannabis. Commercial cannabis is limited to a CC combining district (Chapter 17.56); confirm whether a parcel carries it.
Hotel tax. Daly City’s transient occupancy tax is 13% of rent, in effect since July 1, 2020, under Section 3.32.020.
Short-term rentals. Under Chapter 5.92, only primary residences may be hosted, so a mixed-use building cannot be run as a vacation rental property.

Transfer tax, business tax and property tax

The San Mateo County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder collects documentary transfer tax at 55 cents per $500 of consideration, or $1.10 per $1,000, when a deed records. Assumed liens may be deducted first. The County page names only the City of San Mateo as adding a separate city conveyance tax; we did not find a Daly City transfer tax, but confirm on the escrow estimate. We did not review Daly City’s general business license tax; confirm it with Daly City Finance. A sale generally triggers Proposition 13 reassessment.

Due diligence that matters in Daly City

Start with our commercial due diligence checklist, then add:

Confirm the parcel is in Daly City and not Colma or unincorporated Broadmoor.
On Mission Street or Geneva Avenue, check whether the current use is now prohibited in C-MU and whether it is protected as nonconforming.
For redevelopment, budget time for the 180-day objective design standards conformity review.
Check SFO airport plan height, noise and disclosure requirements.
Near BART, read the Colma or Daly City BART station area specific plan along with the base zone.
Confirm whether cannabis, bar or auto uses hold current use permits.

Questions people ask

What is the tallest building allowed on Mission Street?

In the C-MU district, up to 15 stories or 175 feet, with a three-story minimum and transitions next to single-family lots.

Can an auto repair shop keep operating in C-MU?

New auto repair is prohibited. Shops operating before January 1, 2008 may continue, and nonconforming uses can generally continue until expanded, altered, abandoned or damaged.

Can I build apartments over retail on Geneva Avenue?

Yes. C-MU permits multifamily buildings when paired with street-level nonresidential space.

Do Daly City property sales need an airport disclosure?

In the Mission Street C-MU corridor, yes: transfers must disclose the SFO Airport Influence Areas.

What is the Daly City hotel tax?

13% of rent, collected by the operator.

Is there a Daly City transfer tax?

We found only the County tax of $1.10 per $1,000. Confirm on the escrow estimate.

Does Diamond handle commercial property in Daly City?

Contact Matthew Martinez to discuss buying, selling or leasing commercial property in Daly City.

Sources & notes

Note: We did not review the C-2, C-O, BOC or cannabis chapter text, the BART station specific plans, or the SFO plan maps. Some code tables are hard to read in the online edition; confirm figures with the city.

This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.

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