Community Area: South Bay

The San Ysidro Planning Area encompasses approximately 1800 acres. It is bounded by the Otay Mesa-Nestor community and State Highway 905 in the north, by the Tijuana River Valley in the west, by the Otay Mesa community in the east, and by the international border with Mexico in the south.

Until its annexation by the City of San Diego in 1957, San Ysidro (and surrounding communities) were part of the unincorporated areas supervised by the County of San Diego. In the mid 1960s San Diego began a decentralized planning program and in 1967, recognized the San Ysidro Planning and Development Group as the citizen planning committee that would work with the Planning Department. The San Ysidro Community Plan was adopted by the City Council in 1974, and updated in 1990 with subsequent amendments through 2000.

The San Ysidro Planning Area is located in the southern most part of the City of San Diego, adjacent to the international border with Mexico. The San Ysidro border crossing is the busiest international border in the world. More than a century of settlement and development makes San Ysidro a changing, dynamic community with a village atmosphere. The architectural and cultural qualities from different periods of its evolving history have been retained and are captured in this village feel. San Ysidro began as an experiment to preserve rural America and has emerged as a multicultural area attempting to maintain its sense of community. Some neighborhoods are characterized by older homes with well-tended gardens where residents know their neighbors while newer, urban neighborhoods and infill development have recently added to the mix of housing stock. Commercial activity occurs along the historic San Ysidro Boulevard and in the new Las Americas Center on Camino de la Plaza. Cohesion of the community is fragmented by the trolley system, and Interstates 5 and 805. In 1996, 766 acres in the community plan area were designated as a redevelopment project area. San Ysidro is a community that is both a small town and bustling city; a gateway to San Diego and the United States.