San Francisco, California Zoning Map
Zoning, overlays and hazards on every parcel — and an answer to what the code actually lets you build. Compiled from current zoning data for all 841 districts.
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What's in the San Francisco dataset
Every field below is available for any San Francisco parcel, on the map and through the AI.
Zoning
- District code & full name
- Category & ordinance article
- Parcel boundary & APN
- All 841 districts mapped
Use classes, resolved
- Read per zoning district
Building controls
- Maximum building height
- Floor area ratio (FAR)
- Front setback
- Side setback
Overlays, hazards & AI
- Flood hazard & environmental layers
- Ask the AI about any parcel
- Powered by live parcel data
Where uses are permitted in San Francisco
Share of San Francisco's zoned land where each use is permitted.
- Single-family
- 27.10%
- Multi-family
- 10.45%
- ADU
- 6.28%
- Two-family
- 11.81%
- Retail
- 48.30%
- Eating & drinking
- 12.16%
- Office
- 61.41%
- Hotel / motel
- 38.39%
- Industrial
- 4.48%
- Storage & warehouses
- 43.78%
San Francisco, California Zoning Districts: What Do They Mean?
Zoning districts are areas regulated by specific laws that determine land use, building types, and development rules. Each district below shows its zone type and which uses it permits.
| Zone Code | Category | Permitted Uses | Area | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
BR-MU-48-X Balboa Reservoir Mixed Use | Mixed |
| 3.5 ac | Standards & uses → |
BR-MU-78-X Balboa Reservoir Mixed Use | Mixed |
| 13.1 ac | Standards & uses → |
C-2-100-G Commercial Community Business | Commercial |
| 2.5 ac | Standards & uses → |
C-2-130-E/PEG-SUD Commercial Community Business Priority Equity Geographies Special Use District | Commercial |
| 2.6 ac | Standards & uses → |
Showing 4 of 841 districts
Start from what you're trying to build
Each one runs against the live San Francisco dataset and returns the districts, standards and approvals involved.
Where can I build multifamily in San Francisco?
103 of 841 districts permit multifamily - by right, conditionally, or by variance.
Run it →Are ADUs allowed in San Francisco?
Allowed statewide under California law, subject to local development standards.
Run it →What does BR-MU-48-X actually permit?
The full standards for one district, read straight from the source.
Run it →What should developers know about San Francisco zoning?
San Francisco's zoning map contains 841 distinct district designations, placing it among the most complex municipal land-use frameworks in California. That complexity stems from the city's layered approach: base zones carry height and bulk suffixes encoded directly into the zone code, and special use districts (SUDs) - including the Priority Equity Geographies SUD (PEG-SUD) - stack atop base designations to add or restrict uses in specific neighborhoods. The Commercial Community Business (C-2) series is the most numerous commercial classification in the zone list, with height variants ranging from C-2-40 to C-2-200 and PEG-SUD overlays reflecting the city's equity-focused planning priorities in lower-income corridors. The Downtown General Commercial (C-3-G) district family governs the high-density core.
For residential development, San Francisco's framework is dense and highly constrained by neighborhood plans. The Balboa Reservoir Mixed Use (BR-MU) districts, at 3 and 13 acres respectively, exemplify the city's project-specific planned district approach for major infill sites. Building controls include FAR, lot size, density, height, coverage, pervious surface, lot width, and all four setback directions - but in San Francisco, height and bulk limits encoded in the zone code suffix often govern more practically than FAR alone. The PEG-SUD overlay signals areas where anti-displacement and community benefit standards apply alongside standard entitlement requirements.
This is pre-development intelligence, not legal advice - verify with the local planning department before acquisition.
San Francisco zoning: frequently asked questions
How do I read a San Francisco zone code like C-2-65-X or C-2-40-X/PEG-SUD?
San Francisco encodes the base zone, height limit (in feet), and bulk type directly into the zone code string. C-2 is Commercial Community Business, 65 is a 65-foot height limit, and the final letter (X, A, D, E, J, etc.) indicates a bulk district that governs massing constraints beyond simple height limits. The /PEG-SUD suffix adds the Priority Equity Geographies Special Use District overlay, which imposes additional requirements around displacement prevention and community-serving uses in low-income neighborhoods.
What is the Balboa Reservoir Mixed Use district and what does it signal for infill development?
The BR-MU-48-X (3.47 acres) and BR-MU-78-X (13.14 acres) districts are project-specific planned designations for the Balboa Reservoir infill site, a former SFPUC reservoir converted to a major mixed-use housing development. These designations illustrate San Francisco's practice of creating bespoke zone codes for large-scale infill projects, where the standard base zone series does not provide the right envelope. Developers pursuing similarly complex infill sites should expect a general plan amendment and rezoning process.
How does the Downtown General Commercial (C-3-G) zone govern development in San Francisco's financial core?
The C-3-G district is the city's highest-intensity commercial designation, covering the Financial District and neighboring downtown areas. Like all C-3 zones, it allows the broadest range of commercial, office, hotel, and residential uses and typically carries the tallest height limits in the city. The C-3-G codes in the zone list include PEG-SUD overlays on several parcels, indicating that equity and anti-displacement requirements have been layered onto portions of the downtown core as part of more recent planning amendments.
How do state housing laws - ADU, SB-9, density bonus - interact with San Francisco's zoning?
San Francisco has adopted its own ADU ordinance that in many respects exceeds state minimums, particularly for backyard cottages and garage conversions in its dense residential fabric. The density bonus law is actively used in the city's multifamily pipeline, often combined with 100% affordable housing financing. SB-9 applies city-wide in single-family zones but has limited practical impact in San Francisco given that the city has relatively few single-family parcels and already permits higher densities in most residential areas.
What entitlement pathway should developers expect for projects subject to PEG-SUD overlay requirements?
Projects within a PEG-SUD overlay go through standard Planning Department review but must also address Priority Equity Geographies standards, which can include community outreach requirements, restrictions on formula retail or PDR-displacing uses, and anti-displacement commitments for residential projects. The overlay does not prohibit development but adds procedural steps and may restrict certain use types that would otherwise be permitted in the base C-2 zone. Early pre-application consultation with the Planning Department is strongly recommended on PEG-SUD sites.
California zoning maps
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Zoning data is pre-development intelligence, not legal advice. Verify with the San Francisco planning department before acquisition or design.