Downtown to Get a New Look

The Burlingame City Council Monday night voted  4-0 for approving the Burlingame Downtown Specific Plan after tweaking some specifications, as well as the Mitigated Negative Declaration, which addresses environmental impacts of the plan.

"It's been a long road," said Community Development Director William Meeker of the plan more than four years in the making, which is aimed at enhancing the success of Burlingame's downtown area through civic, cultural and retail expansion.

The approximately $43.6 million, 20-year plan was presented by Kevin Gardiner of Metropolitan Planning Group.

"Certainly the price tag is large," Gardiner said. "But for a 20-year downtown plan, it's a lot of projects under a long period of time."

The plan draft discussed at the meeting was crafted through 18 meetings of a Citizens Advisory Committee composed of residents, business owners and planning commissioners, three public workshops and two joint meetings between the planning commission and city council. It was released in June 2010 and revised to acknowledge comments on the environmental report.

The plan spans from Oak Grove Avenue up north to Peninsula Avenue down south and from California Drive and Anita Road to El Camino Real.

"One of the big goals of the plan is to provide more retail on Howard Avenue," said Gardiner. "[We're] really looking for an economically viable downtown."

Key plan elements include mixed-use developments along Howard Avenue and Myrtle Road, more open spaces and pocket parks, new parking structures and effective use of existing parking resource, reconfiguration of the Lorton Avenue and California Drive intersection, a uniform streetscape, a cohesive landscape and a focus on trees and preserving historical buildings.

"All the details are there, as well as the big picture," Gardiner said. "[We want] to create that kind of vibrancy people were looking for."

However, council members felt uncomfortable with retail spaces and heavy business use in the Bayswater Avenue area, a relatively residential corridor. They amended the plan to permit residential and personal services development in the area and offices and corner store retail on a conditional basis. Retail and service commercial developments are not permitted.

Additionally, Vice Mayor Terry Nagel suggested including in the plan the goal of promoting diversified housing in the mixed-use facilities, such as those for seniors looking to downsize or young couples just moving in.

The overarching concept in the plan is expanding downtown while linking the area together through pedestrian and bike-friendly areas and cohesive landscaping maintained by necessary utilities, as well as keeping in mind future growth in Burlingame while maintaining the town's historic feel.

Other ideas include creating open space for people to gather along Chapin Avenue, a Civic Center Circle and an open piazza on Highland Avenue where it hits Howard Avenue to deter people from using the street solely as a thoroughfare.

John Root, a member of the Citizens Advisory Committee, said he was in favor of the plan.

"This really is a blueprint and guidelines for the future," Root said.  "It's not a list of absolute specifics…I think it's positive for the citizens in town and its also very positive to business."

He said preserving the character of Burlingame Avenue was important to the committee members.

However, not all members of the committee were convinced it was acceptable as written. Jennifer Pfaff, a Citizen Advisory Committee member, was concerned about the southern portion of the plan around El Camino Real, Bayswater Avenue and Peninsula Avenue.

"There…is no compelling reason to expand downtown retail southward," Pfaff said. "[The area] can so easily be cheapened." She said the area's canopy and residential-only development is unique to Burlingame, and she is concerned about the departure from Burlingame's character retail and commercial development would bring.

These concerns were mirrored by Mayor Cathy Baylock and other council members, which led to the changes made in the plan before its approval.

More specific details of the project will be considered and worked out during implementation of the plan.