Commercial Real Estate in South San Francisco: East of 101, Downtown Station Districts and Specific Plans

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

South San Francisco’s commercial land is dominated by the business and technology parks east of Highway 101, home to the city’s large life science and R&D cluster, the Genentech campus and the Oyster Point waterfront. West of the freeway, Grand Avenue’s downtown and the area around the Caltrain station have been rezoned for dense mixed use, Lindenville’s industrial district has its own specific plan, and El Camino Real carries retail. Each area runs under a different chapter of Title 20, the city’s zoning ordinance. Confirm the district for any parcel with the South San Francisco Planning Division before relying on this page.

Who controls the parcel

South San Francisco is an incorporated city, and Title 20 of the Municipal Code is its zoning ordinance, whose current chapters cite Ordinance 1646 of 2022 and later amendments through 2025. Large areas are governed by plan districts in Division IV of Title 20: the Lindenville Specific Plan, the Oyster Point Specific Plan, the Genentech Master Plan and the Southline Campus Specific Plan. SFO sits immediately south of the city, so FAA rules and the airport’s land use compatibility plan set building heights across much of east of 101. For County rules, see our San Mateo County commercial guide.

South San Francisco zoning for commercial, industrial and mixed use

Chapter 20.100 and Chapter 20.090 set the main districts.

East of 101: business technology parks and life science

Uses. Business, professional and medical offices and restaurants are permitted in all six non-residential districts. Hotels are permitted outright in the BTP districts, need a conditional use permit in BPO and a minor use permit in CC, and are barred in the two industrial districts. R&D is permitted in some districts and conditional in others, where a footnote caps it at 0.5 FAR. Freight terminals and parcel hubs are conditional in the industrial districts and subject to Chapter 20.350.

Incentive FAR. Most districts set a low base FAR and offer a much higher incentive FAR in exchange for community benefits under the Community Benefits Program, Chapter 20.395. In BTP-H the step is from 0.5 to 2.0 for office, R&D and clean tech, and in BPO from 1.0 to 2.5. The industrial districts’ incentive FAR is for industrial uses, not offices or R&D.

Heights. BPO, BTP-H and other east-of-101 districts list no fixed height; FAA and SFO airport plan limits govern instead, so tall lab buildings need airspace review. Accessory buildings are generally capped at 20 feet.

Housing on commercial land. Under state law, AB 2011 and SB 6 multifamily projects are listed as permitted in all six non-residential districts, subject to state standards. That can affect a buyer’s competition for sites and what neighbors may build.

Downtown and the Caltrain station area

Chapter 20.090 aims to put high-intensity homes and jobs right next to the Caltrain station and to make Grand Avenue the focus of the community again.

• Densities. Minimum densities run from 40 to 120 units an acre, with maximums from 80 to 200.
• Intensity. DTC allows 8.0 FAR and 85 feet; ETC starts at 1.0 FAR and can reach 8.0 with community benefits, with height set by the airport plan.
• Grand Avenue. In GAC, at least 75% of each site’s frontage must hold active uses.
• Ground floors. Nonresidential ground floors must be at least 15 feet tall with 12 feet of clearance.
• Uses. Hotels are permitted in ETC, conditional in GAC and DTC, and barred in DRC and LNC. R&D is permitted only in ETC, bars and nightclubs need a conditional use permit downtown, and pawnbrokers are limited to DTC by conditional use permit.

Overlays, plan districts and airport disclosure

• Overlays. Title 20 has an Arts and Makers overlay (Chapter 20.200) and an Active Ground Floor Use overlay (Chapter 20.210) that change what a base district allows.
• Specific plans. The Lindenville Specific Plan, Oyster Point Specific Plan, Genentech Master Plan and Southline Campus Specific Plan each have their own chapter; read the plan for any parcel inside them.
• Airport noise. Chapter 15.58, adopted in 2001, requires sellers of homes, including multifamily buildings, to disclose that SFO is within 3.75 miles of every residence in the city and that aircraft noise applies. Inside the 65 CNEL footprint, homes renovated at 25% or more of market value must meet FAA noise insulation standards, which matters for mixed-use projects.

Transfer tax, business tax and property tax

The County Recorder charges documentary transfer tax at $0.55 per $500 of value, less assumed liens. South San Francisco’s Chapter 4.24, adopted by Ordinance 569 in 1967, sets 27.5 cents per $500 under the state enabling law, with one flat rate, administered by the County Recorder. That law typically gives the city a share of the County rate rather than an added tax, and the Recorder names only the City of San Mateo as adding its own; confirm in escrow. The city also has a commercial parking tax (Chapter 4.22), a transient occupancy tax (Chapter 4.20) and business license taxes (Chapter 6.16); we did not verify rates. A change of ownership generally triggers Proposition 13 reassessment.

Due diligence that matters in South San Francisco

Start with our commercial due diligence checklist, then add:

• Confirm whether the parcel is in a plan district such as Lindenville, Oyster Point or Genentech.
• For a lab project, separate the base FAR from the incentive FAR and price the community benefits.
• Run an FAA and SFO airspace check before assuming any height east of 101.
• For R&D in a district where it is conditional, check the 0.5 FAR footnote.
• If the site has paid parking, ask about the commercial parking tax.
• Downtown, confirm minimum densities, which can rule out low-intensity redevelopment.

Questions people ask

Sources & notes

1. South San Francisco Municipal Code (GoCodebook)
2. Chapter 20.100, Non-Residential Districts
3. Chapter 20.090, Downtown/Caltrain Station Area Districts
4. Chapter 15.58, Airport noise disclosure
5. Chapter 4.24, Real Property Transfer Tax
6. San Mateo County Clerk-Recorder, documentary transfer tax

Note: The code text we read did not spell out the CC, BTP-M, OPSP, MIM, MIH or downtown district names, or map R&D permissions to specific districts. We did not read the specific plan chapters, the Community Benefits Program, overlay chapters or tax rates. Whether the city transfer tax is credited within the County rate was inferred.

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

Related: South San Francisco real estate guide · Multifamily property in South San Francisco · Commercial real estate services