West Portal, San Francisco: Homes, Streets & Real Estate Guide
West Portal is the neighborhood built around the western mouth of the Twin Peaks Tunnel, centered on West Portal Avenue between Ulloa Street and 15th Avenue. It is subdistrict 4T in the MLS’s District 4. Its side streets are lined mostly with single-family houses from the 1920s, and the avenue itself is a three-block neighborhood commercial district.
That mix of a house neighborhood and a Muni Metro hub is what makes West Portal different from its quieter residence-park neighbors. The sections below cover where it runs, what the houses are, the zoning that changed in 2026 and what to check when you buy or sell.
West Portal homes for sale
West Portal market report
Where the tunnel comes out
The Twin Peaks Tunnel opened to revenue service on February 3, 1918, and its west portal sits at West Portal Avenue and Ulloa Street. The neighborhood takes its name from that opening. West Portal station, just inside the portal, is where the K Ingleside, L Taraval and M Ocean View lines leave the subway; Wikipedia’s neighborhood article puts the ride to Castro station at about seven minutes.
Bus lines at the station include the 48 Quintara/24th Street and the 57 Parkmerced, which begins there and runs to Daly City BART, per published route lists. Check SFMTA for current service, because the route list we used dates from 2022. The West Portal branch of the public library is also in the neighborhood.
The Assessor’s 4T parcels run from Portola Drive and Sloat Boulevard up to Taraval and Vicente streets, and as far west as 19th Avenue. Its streets include Wawona, Ulloa and Vicente streets, 14th and 15th avenues, Claremont Boulevard, Granville and Kensington ways, Madrone and Forest Side avenues, and Allston, Dorchester and Lenox ways.
Neighbors are Forest Hill uphill to the north, Forest Hill Extension to the east, St. Francis Wood across Portola Drive to the south, and the Parkside neighborhoods of District 2, including Inner Parkside, to the west.
West Portal Avenue: rules for the shopping street
The Planning Code defines the West Portal Avenue Neighborhood Commercial District (Section 729) as the avenue from Ulloa Street to 15th Avenue, plus one block of Ulloa from the tunnel entrance to Claremont Boulevard. Its stated aim is to keep the street’s small- to mid-scale character and discourage lot mergers that create large lots.
- Non-residential uses over 2,500 square feet need a conditional use permit.
- Formula retail and new bars need conditional use approval; hotels are not permitted.
- Late-night hours from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. are not permitted.
- Housing is allowed on every floor, with density set by building form, and projects of 10 or more units must include a share of two- and three-bedroom units.
The code lists several amendments to this section in 2025 and 2026, including one effective January 12, 2026, the date the Family Zoning Plan took effect. Anyone pricing a mixed-use building on the avenue should read the current control table rather than an older appraisal.
The houses behind the avenue
The Assessor’s 2025 roll lists about 1,045 parcels in West Portal. The breakdown shows a house neighborhood with a commercial spine:
| Property type (4T, 2025 roll) | Parcels |
|---|---|
| Single-family houses | 831 |
| Condominium units | 86 |
| Commercial store buildings | 47 |
| Flats and apartment buildings, including buildings with ground-floor shops | about 23 |
| Other commercial, institutional, public and vacant parcels | about 58 |
The single-family houses are mostly from one decade. The median recorded build year is 1925, about 78 percent carry build years before 1930 and only about 54 were built after 1945. Median lot area is 3,300 square feet, well above Sunnyside’s 2,500-square-foot median, and the median house has about 1,925 square feet of building area.
Planning has found a West Portal Park Historic District eligible for the California Register for its architecture. Its builder was Fernando Nelson, its period of significance runs from about 1916 to 1929, and Planning’s context codes include residence parks and Storybook revival styles. The mapped area lies west of the avenue around Forest Side Avenue and Ulloa Street.
Zoning after January 2026
In the Assessor’s zoning field, about 697 West Portal parcels are RH-1(D), 142 are RH-1, 98 are RH-2 and 90 are in the West Portal NCD. Planning’s current zoning layer, edited in January 2026 as the Family Zoning Plan took effect, adds RTO-C (Residential Transit Oriented – Commercial) on lots along Ulloa Street west of the station and near Sloat Boulevard and St. Francis Circle, and Inner Taraval Street NCD frontage along the northern edge.
Heights changed too. Planning’s height layer now shows a two-tier designation, 50//85-R-4, at a mid-block point on West Portal Avenue. Ask Planning how the two figures apply to a particular lot before relying on development potential.
The residential blocks also fall inside the Family and Senior Housing Opportunity Special Use District at the point we checked. That SUD can allow two to four units on a qualifying RH lot, but it does not allow demolishing a building that is listed in or eligible for the California Register, which matters inside the West Portal Park district. Our SB 9 guide explains the separate state route.
Ground and hazard checks
Most of West Portal sits on the gentler ground at the foot of the hills. Planning’s seismic hazard layers show no mapped liquefaction zone in the area, and its landslide polygons are on the steeper slopes nearby, including the St. Francis Wood side of Portola Drive and the western edge toward 19th Avenue, rather than on the blocks around the avenue.
Check the exact parcel anyway. A lot that touches a state landslide zone, or averages steeper than 4 horizontal to 1 vertical, triggers DBI’s slope protection checklist for additions over 500 square feet of new roof area. The San Francisco hazard maps page shows where to look.
Selling a home in West Portal
Buyers here weigh three things against each other: distance to the station and the avenue, the quiet of the side streets, and the condition of a 1920s house. A house two blocks from the station on a level street is a different product from one up the slope on Granville or Kensington Way.
- Document the lower level. Garage-level rooms and baths are common later additions to houses of this era. Pull the permit history and, if a room was never permitted, read our unwarranted units guide before listing.
- Gather system records. Foundation, sewer lateral, roof and electrical work from the past decades answers the first questions an inspector will raise.
- Check historic status. If the house is in the eligible West Portal Park district, say so; it affects what a buyer can add.
- Handle tenancies carefully. Flats and mixed-use buildings on the avenue may have tenants protected by the city’s Rent Ordinance; our San Francisco multifamily guide covers what buyers ask.
- Complete city requirements. The 3R report, energy and water rules and transfer tax are on our San Francisco selling requirements page.
Condominium sellers should add the association documents buyers will expect; our San Francisco condo guide lists them. The market report on this page shows current figures for 4T.
Questions people ask
What are West Portal’s boundaries?
The Assessor’s 4T area runs roughly from Portola Drive and Sloat Boulevard north to Taraval and Vicente streets and west to 19th Avenue, with West Portal Avenue at the center.
Which Muni lines stop at West Portal?
The K Ingleside, L Taraval and M Ocean View stop at West Portal station, and the 48 and 57 buses serve the area per published route lists. Check SFMTA for current schedules.
Is West Portal a historic district?
Not a city-designated one. Planning has found a West Portal Park Historic District, built by Fernando Nelson, eligible for the California Register, which can affect demolition and major exterior changes.
Did the Family Zoning Plan change West Portal?
Yes. Planning’s current maps show RTO-C parcels near the station and St. Francis Circle and a two-tier height designation on the avenue. Check the zoning and height maps for a specific lot.
Are there condos in West Portal?
A few. The 2025 roll lists about 86 condominium parcels in West Portal, against about 831 single-family houses, so most sales are houses.
Thinking about selling a West Portal house or a building on the avenue? Request a home valuation, or see how we prepare listings on our San Francisco selling page. The San Francisco guide covers the rest of the city.
Sources & notes
- DataSF / SF Assessor-Recorder: Assessor Historical Secured Property Tax Rolls, 2025 closed roll (parcel counts by class, build years, median lot and building area, zoning codes and street lists for subdistricts 4A-4T; queried October 2026)
- San Francisco Planning: PlanningData map service (zoning districts, height districts, special use districts, landmarks, National and California Register historic districts, Article 10 districts, seismic hazard zones; queried October 2026)
- San Francisco Planning Code (via GoCodebook): Sec. 729, West Portal Avenue Neighborhood Commercial District
- San Francisco Planning: SF Family Zoning Plan
- San Francisco Planning Code (via GoCodebook): Sec. 249.94, Family and Senior Housing Opportunity Special Use District
- California Government Code section 65852.21 (SB 9 two-unit projects), via California Public Law
- Wikipedia: Twin Peaks Tunnel
- Wikipedia: West Portal, San Francisco
- Wikipedia: List of San Francisco Municipal Railway lines (route termini; page states service as of July 2022)
- SF.gov / Department of Building Inspection: Comply with slope protection requirements for your building project
- San Francisco Association of REALTORS: MLS district map (2001 edition, via Reineck & Reineck)
Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.
