Commercial Real Estate in San Bruno: Downtown, Transit Corridors, Bayhill and Industrial Zoning

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

San Bruno’s commercial property clusters in four places: the San Mateo Avenue downtown, the transit corridors on El Camino Real, San Bruno Avenue and Huntington Avenue, the Bayhill office park and shopping center off San Bruno Avenue, and the small industrial and research pockets near Highway 101 and SFO. Each is governed by a different chapter of Title 12 of the Municipal Code. Confirm the district for any parcel with the San Bruno Community Development Department before relying on this page.

Who controls the parcel

San Bruno is an incorporated city, and Title 12 of the Municipal Code is its zoning law. The district list in Chapter 12.96 was last amended by Ordinance 1965 on August 26, 2025. San Francisco International Airport adjoins the city to the east, so airport noise and land use compatibility rules apply across much of town. Some larger sites carry Planned Development zoning, where an approved development plan, not a fixed district standard, sets the rules. For County rules, see our San Mateo County commercial guide.

San Bruno zoning for commercial, industrial and mixed use

District	Intended uses	Notes
C-N Neighborhood Commercial	Neighborhood retail, food, personal and professional services	35 ft; medical offices and drive-throughs by use permit
A-R Administrative and Research	Light industry, R&D, large offices, medical offices	1-acre minimum; 40 ft; 40% coverage
M-1 Industrial	Warehousing, light manufacturing, fabrication	35 ft, 50 ft on sites over 1 acre; use permit above 1 acre
CBD Central Business	San Mateo Avenue downtown	55 ft, 4 stories; offices upper floors only
TOD-S Station Office	Office, housing and retail by the Caltrain station	65 ft, 90 ft in some areas; minimum height in some areas
TOD-1, TOD-2	Mixed use on San Bruno, Huntington and El Camino Real	65 ft and 70 ft
MX-R Multi-Use Residential Focus	Housing on El Camino south of Crystal Springs Road	Retail by use permit; 50 ft
BRO, BNC	Bayhill Regional Office; Bayhill Neighborhood Commercial	Campus office and hotels; shopping center retail
P-D Planned Development	Site-specific mixes	Standards set by the approved plan

Downtown and the transit corridors

Chapter 12.280, adopted by Ordinance 1898 in 2021, implements the city’s Transit Corridors Plan.

CBD. The San Mateo Avenue core is meant for stronger commercial uses, more housing and a walkable street. Offices are allowed only on upper floors, hotels need a use permit, and storefronts are limited to 25 feet wide.
TOD-S. Around the new Caltrain station, the code allows the city’s most intense office, residential and retail mix, and some areas require buildings of at least 60 feet and four stories.
TOD-1 and TOD-2. TOD-1 covers San Bruno Avenue and Huntington Avenue; TOD-2 covers El Camino Real. Gas stations and check cashing are allowed only in TOD-2.
Shared standards. FAR is 2.0 on parcels under 20,000 square feet, with no FAR limit on larger parcels. Street-facing ground floors must be at least 15 feet tall with clear glazing over at least 65% of the frontage.
Barred uses. Industrial uses, vehicle repair, personal storage, firearm dealers and surface commercial parking lots are not allowed in any mixed-use district; bars and cardrooms need Planning Commission action.

Bayhill, A-R and industrial land

Bayhill. Chapter 12.290, adopted in 2021, governs the Bayhill Specific Plan area along Bayhill Drive, Grundy Lane, Cherry Avenue and San Bruno Avenue.

BRO. Regional office and hotel use in a campus setting, with retail only as an ancillary use; hotels need a use permit and housing is barred outside the overlay.
BNC. Convenience and retail commerce; offices in the Bayhill Shopping Center are capped at 30,000 square feet and health clubs at 15,000.
Overlays. A residential overlay allows up to 363 homes on two named office parcels, with permitted office space reduced for each unit built. A mixed-use overlay allows up to 210 homes at the shopping center, provided its commercial floor area is not reduced.

Administrative and Research. A-R allows R&D, electronics manufacturing, printing and offices with an architectural review permit. Sites must be at least an acre, and personal and copy services are held to 25% of floor area.

M-1. Warehousing, distribution and light manufacturing are permitted on sites under an acre. Larger sites, auto repair, contractor yards, cannabis distribution and firearm dealers need a use permit, and limited retail or food service on San Mateo Avenue also needs one.

SFO noise, lodging and short-term rentals

Airport noise disclosure. Chapter 6.18 requires sellers of homes, including apartment buildings, to disclose aircraft overflight noise and the 65 CNEL contour map on the local option disclosure form. Inside that contour, homes rebuilt or renovated at 25% or more of market value must meet FAA noise insulation standards, which matters for mixed-use redevelopment.
Hotels. Hotels are conditional in the CBD and BRO and need Planning Commission action in BNC.
Short-term rentals. Under Chapter 12.270, whole-unit stays are capped at 120 days a year, permits require fire and building inspections, and corporate events are barred. Transient occupancy tax is in Chapter 3.32.

Transfer tax, business tax and property tax

The County Recorder charges documentary transfer tax at $0.55 per $500 of value, less assumed liens. San Bruno’s Chapter 3.36, first adopted by Ordinance 1357 in 1980, sets $0.275 per $500 under the state enabling law, administered by the County Recorder. That law generally gives cities 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 the total in escrow. Business license taxes are in Chapters 3.12 and 3.16; we did not verify rates. A change of ownership generally triggers Proposition 13 reassessment.

Due diligence that matters in San Bruno

Start with our commercial due diligence checklist, then add:

Confirm the district; downtown offices must be above the ground floor.
For an industrial site over one acre, budget time for a use permit.
At Bayhill, check how much office or commercial area a parcel keeps if housing is added under an overlay.
Locate the parcel against SFO’s 65 CNEL contour before planning a major renovation.
On TOD-S parcels, confirm any minimum height that could make a small project nonconforming.
Check whether the site carries P-D zoning and what its approved plan allows.

Questions people ask

Can an office lease ground-floor space on San Mateo Avenue?

No. In the CBD, offices are allowed only on upper floors.

How tall can buildings be near the San Bruno Caltrain station?

65 feet in TOD-S, and 90 feet with seven stories in some areas, with a 60-foot minimum in parts of the district.

Can I convert a Bayhill office building to housing?

Only on parcels in the Bayhill residential overlay, which allows up to 363 units on two named sites, with office area reduced per unit.

Is warehousing allowed in San Bruno?

Yes in M-1 on sites under an acre; larger sites need a use permit.

Do I need a use permit for a drive-through?

In C-N, yes, with Planning Commission approval. Check the mixed-use use table before planning one on a transit corridor.

Does San Bruno have a transfer tax?

Chapter 3.36 sets $0.275 per $500, administered by the County, and appears to share the County rate; confirm in escrow.

Does Diamond handle commercial property in San Bruno?

Contact Matthew Martinez to discuss buying, selling or leasing commercial property in San Bruno.

Sources & notes

Note: We did not read the Transit Corridors Plan or Bayhill Specific Plan documents, Bayhill height limits, the airport land use compatibility plan or business tax rates. Whether the city transfer tax is credited within the County rate was inferred, not confirmed.

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

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