The Ocean Beach Community is bounded on the north by the San Diego River, on the west by the Pacific Ocean, on the east by Froude Street and West Point Loma Boulevard, and on the south by Adair Street. Ocean Beach contains three residential sub-areas: North Ocean Beach, north of the mid-block between Santa Monica Avenue and Saratoga Avenue, South Ocean Beach, south of Niagara Avenue and The Hill, east of Sunset Cliffs.

The community of Ocean Beach includes 742 acres, the majority of which are developed with low and medium density residential uses. Three primary commercial areas exist along Newport Avenue, Voltaire Street, and Point Loma Avenue, which contain a diverse mix of small businesses. There is no industrial development in Ocean Beach. The Ocean Beach Precise Plan was adopted by the City of San Diego in 1975 and is currently the oldest community planning document for the City of San Diego and with the exception of three minor amendments, has remained essentially unchanged for over a quarter of a century.

The Ocean Beach Precise Plan land use plan designates the majority of Ocean Beach for low and medium density residential development with remaining areas for higher density residential development, public facilities, commercial use, and parks. A companion document to the Ocean Beach Precise Plan, the Ocean Beach Action Plan, was designed to implement Precise Plan goals and recommendations. The Ocean Beach Precise Plan is currently undergoing an update with a goal of combining existing Precise Plan policies and sections of the Action Plan into one community area planning document.