California Coverage · San Mateo County
San Mateo County base maps & site data for designers
The existing-conditions base map and pre-design site analysis that normally takes a half-day of GIS hunting and a site visit — for any Peninsula address, from estate lots in Atherton to hillside parcels in Woodside, in about a minute.
What Lekua resolves in San Mateo County
Every layer below is pulled live from San Mateo’s own GIS and authoritative state sources the moment you enter an address — no manual tracing, no generic insets, every source cited.
Active Parcels boundary with APN, site address, and lot area — drawn to the recorded line from the county’s own parcel service.
San Mateo publishes no public vector contours, so Lekua generates fine 1–2 ft contours on-demand from the 1-meter USGS 3DEP elevation model — far finer than the USGS 10-ft fallback, and valuable on the Peninsula’s hillside lots.
County 2024 building footprints, gap-filled with FEMA national structures for any the county layer misses.
Zone code resolved for 20+ Peninsula jurisdictions. Atherton’s setback table — including its lot-width-scaled side yards — is encoded verbatim from MC §17.32/§17.38 and cited on the export; rings are drawn once the table passes independent review, and until then exports carry the code-cited values with an explicit “unverified” advisory.
CAL FIRE FHSZ severity with Zone 0 / 1 / 2 defensible-space perimeters drawn around structures — pointed where it counts on the wooded western Peninsula (Woodside, Portola Valley, the coastal hills).
USDA SSURGO soil profile, historical rainfall, and modeled seasonal sun-hour heat maps for the parcel.
California natives matched to the site’s soil and microclimate, plus lawn-replacement rebate estimates from the serving water provider.
Tuned for the Peninsula’s wooded fire interface
Woodside, Portola Valley, and the western and coastal hills sit in mapped fire-hazard severity zones, and defensible-space planting rules now shape those projects. Lekua draws the CAL FIRE Zone 0 / 1 / 2 perimeters on the plan and filters the plant palette to what each zone allows — so a fire-wise, code-aware design comes out of the first pass.
- Zone 0 (0–5 ft ember-resistant), Zone 1 (5–30 ft), and Zone 2 (30–100 ft) perimeters drawn around the structures.
- Every recommended plant carries a defensible-space zone rating, so you place the right species in the right zone.
- Flammability ratings draw on Las Pilitas burn-time research and UCANR / CAL FIRE-aligned fire-safe lists.
Zoning setbacks, by jurisdiction
Setbacks in San Mateoare set per town, not countywide. Lekua resolves the parcel’s jurisdiction and zone code and encodes each jurisdiction’s adopted setback table, citation and all. Setback rings are drawn only after a table passes independent panel review — until then the export carries the code-cited values with an explicit “unverified” advisory instead of lines we can’t stand behind.
Example — Atherton residential setback table, as encoded from the adopted code
| Zone | Front | Side | Rear |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-1-A | 60′ | 10–50′ by width | 60′ |
| R-1-B | 30′ | 10–50′ by width | 30′ |
Atherton’s side yards scale with lot width per §17.38 Table 17.38.010-1 (10–50 ft); Lekua computes the applicable value from the parcel geometry. The table is pending panel review, so exports currently carry these values as cited text with an advisory rather than drawn rings. Older lots of record and tall structures carry exceptions — always verify with Atherton Planning before submittal.
A native palette, enriched beyond the plant list
Start from the Calscape native plant database — then get the research-backed traits Calscape alone doesn’t put at your fingertips, matched to the parcel’s exact soil, sun, rainfall, and microclimate. Hand a client a list that’s code-compliant, climate-appropriate, and built to perform.
Flammability and defensible-space zone suitability from Las Pilitas burn-time research and UCANR / CAL FIRE-aligned fire-safe lists — not just a name on a list.
Slow / moderate / fast growth plus mature height and spread, so spacing and time-to-fill are realistic from day one.
Calscape cultivation and longevity guidance, so the palette reads for how it performs over 10–20 years, not just at install.
WUCOLS-aligned water-use ratings (for the MWELO budget) and pollinator / bird support scores on every species.
Plant data: Calscape / CNPS, enriched with Las Pilitas burn-time research, UCANR & CAL FIRE-aligned fire-safe lists, and WUCOLS water-use ratings.
Water districts & rebates
Lawn-replacement rebate estimates are matched to the serving district: BAWSCA “Lawn Be Gone!” regional rebate · California Water Service (Cal Water).
San Mateo County base map FAQ
Can I get a CAD base map for a San Mateo County parcel?
Yes. Enter any San Mateo / Peninsula address and export a layered DXF (AutoCAD-compatible) with property lines, building footprints, on-demand 1–2 ft contours, spot elevations, and zoning where resolved — plus a designed PDF site report for the client.
What contour interval is available in San Mateo County?
San Mateo doesn’t publish public vector contours, so Lekua generates fine 1–2 ft contours on-demand from the 1-meter USGS 3DEP elevation model — far finer than the USGS 10-ft national fallback, which matters on the Peninsula’s hillside lots for grading and drainage.
Does it include zoning setbacks for Peninsula towns?
Lekua resolves the zone code for 20+ San Mateo jurisdictions and has Atherton’s setback table — including its lot-width-scaled side yards computed from the parcel geometry — encoded with citations, with more towns (San Mateo, Menlo Park) captured and in review. Rings are drawn once a table passes independent panel review; until then the export carries the code-cited values with an explicit “unverified” advisory and always labels the zone.
How does it handle defensible space and fire-safe planting?
Lekua draws CAL FIRE Zone 0 / 1 / 2 defensible-space perimeters around the structures and tags every recommended native with the zones it’s suited to — using flammability data from Las Pilitas burn-time research and UCANR / CAL FIRE-aligned fire-safe lists.
Is the data current and reliable enough for submittals?
Layers are pulled live from county GIS, USGS, and CAL FIRE at export time, and setback tables are curated from each jurisdiction’s code with a dated source note. Everything is labeled “for planning reference — not for construction.” Verify against the current code and a stamped survey before submittal.
Start with a San Mateo address
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