The Burlingame Voice

Tree Alert on El Camino

Leave it to Mrs. Giorni to be a day or two ahead of me.  I stopped to take the photo of the proposed condos on El Camino a couple of days ago, but she has saved me the write-up which I will paste here from her comment on the Historic Eucalyptus Grove post.  Thanks, Pat, you are a gem.

There is a proposed condominium project going through the Planning Commission right now that involves the removal of the grove of protected trees on 1509 El Camino Real. You all know the location, at Adeline and ECR. The project is in early stages so now is the time to rally opposition to the grove's removal and stop the already approved but not yet issued permit to cut these trees.

Believe me, you are going to miss them when they're gone. Their absence will create a noticable hole in our Tunnel of Trees, replaced with an imposing building along that entire frontage. There are story poles now, at the back of the property to indicate the proposed height of the structure. What those story poles do not demonstrate is what the property will look like without those trees because the poles do not extend along the sides or front. Drive or walk by the site and imagine NO TREES softening the structure.

What is equally disturbing will be the precedent set if the City allows the removal of this old growth that sits less than 50 feet from our Historically recognized Eucs. How does the City continue to maintain a strong defense against Caltrans if it cavalierely allows commercial development to trump aesthetics and environmental concerns?

Stopping the removal of this many trees have to at least start as a neighborhood effort.  Impactful things spread from that seed--pun intended.  Here are two photos that together tell the story.

Update:  I've received a copy of a flyer offline that suggests

If you oppose this proposed 4-Story Project, please write our Planning Commissioners before Feb
21, 2013 to voice your opinion and be sure to sign our petitions circulating the neighborhood!

planningcommissioners@burlingame.org

It also came with a much better photo of the trees in question including the Bunya Pine that is not really a pine at all

Fascinating Foliage

We B'gamers love our trees and I am fascinated by the variety we have.  I'm especially fascinated by variety within the same variety!  Here is a photo I took today--January 26th--of two maples that are planted about 5 yards apart.  One is bare and has been for more than a month.  His neighbor still has all its leaves.  Fascinating.

Parking Inventory on the Ave.

I've had several conversations with people in town about the forthcoming changes to the streetscape on the Avenue.  It's been in the works for awhile as you can read here or on the City site here.  Construction bids are being worked on now.  One of the issues in contention is parking and how many spaces are there now and how many will be lost, so I got my pitch-counter out (lap-counter for you swimmers) and walked the Ave. today.

For the record, there are 120 spaces on the Avenue including handicapped spaces and 24 minute slots.  None of the motorcycle spots are directly on the Ave.  61 spaces are on the North/West side and 59 on the other.

Trees have taken a hit from storms and for some other reason I'm not aware of, like these two stumps on Primrose.

And something finally appears to be happening at 329 Primrose which is under interior construction.  That space seems like it has been empty for at least three years since All That Glitters moved to B'way.

It's a great Tudoresque space and when refilled will add to the parking situation--in a good way.

Historic Euc Casualty

This Christmas Day storm didn't pack that much wind especially compared to the prior couple of storms last week.  But the heavy rainfall (6+ inches or 230% of typical season to date rainfall) can play havoc with some of our historic eucalyptus trees' roots.  The key seems to be how well the drainage is near the trunk and the key to that is sometimes how well Caltrans maintains the drains.

Here's a historic euc casualty being cleared away today just south of Sanchez Ave.  And below that is one of the now common signs on El Camino.

Happy Thanksgiving All

I want to wish the little, local Voice community a very happy Thanksgiving.  We have a lot to be grateful for here.  As I wander about town talking to friends and friends-not-yet-met, the feeling that we live in a special place remains as strong as ever even with the problems we know we have.

One of the things I like best about this time of year is the foliage.  It is the City of Trees and the season is much longer than the places we think of as foliage-central...New England.  Back on Oct. 14th I noted the arrival of the season.  Here we are five weeks later watching the ginkos and Japanese maples finally turning.  In New England, the season is usually a week or two long before the winds and rain take the leaves.  Not in B'game.  We have a durable season and a durable town.  Enjoy the time off.

Fall is Here

I like to let my inner New Englander rejoice in the Fall foliage like last year's photo of one of our ginkos.  Here's a fruitless mulberry that can give the ginko a run for it's money on color if not on the cool shape of the ginko leaf.

Little Tommy Jr.

I happened to be up by the Easton Addition branch library so I snapped a photo of Little Tommy Jr. so we can check out how he is growing into his father's shoes.

And with the heat wave and no rain in sight, here's a reminder to water the street trees as well.

Nationally Historic! 140 Years of Protection Rewarded.

There is big news in old B’game!  Our El Camino Real trees have just been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Here's the back story: 

Looking at the tree-lined streets of Burlingame today, one would be hard pressed to imagine a time when the San Francisco Peninsula was largely devoid of trees save for some native oaks dotting the hills.  Winds and cattle drives up the King's Road to South City slaughterhouses kicked up the dust.

All that changed in the 1870s when a group of local property owners, intent on subdividing and marketing their land, hired Scottish landscape gardener and new immigrant John McLaren. The hope was to transform the area between Mills Creek and San Mateo Creek into an oasis of beauty that would beckon newcomers to the newly subdivided territory.  They succeeded!

McLaren, who spent 14 years in San Mateo County in the employ of George H. Howard before being hired to oversee landscaping in Golden Gate Park, transformed 4 miles of the El Camino Real into a tunnel paradise of eucalyptus and elm. By the mid-teens, however, development pressures from El Camino property owners threatened the grove.  B'gamers have been fighting ever since to protect the eucs and elms.  I can recall old timers like Gloria Barton and Karen Key telling me nothing fills the City Council chambers like a threat to the El Camino trees.  Dare we mention the name "Tom" (even though he was a block off El Camino)?

The historic designation of the 2.2 miles between Peninsula Avenue and Ray Drive is an amazing honor.  The Resource (officially called the Howard-Ralston Eucalyptus Tree Rows) however, is within the State Highway 82 right-of-way belonging to Caltrans.   That means its future may be as tumultuous as its past.

As you walk, bike or drive along El Camino in B’game, look up first at the trees and then past the trees to give thanks!  Check these big boys out

Parklets on the Avenew?

The same Wall Street Journal article as above also highlighted the growth of "parklets" in city neighborhoods.

..an Apple employee who takes the company bus to work, covered the driveway of his Victorian with a "parklet," a public space registered with the city featuring seating and greenery.  His crowning achievement: a topiary triceratops, dubbed Trixie, made of succulent plants.

I'm guessing the city registration is for insurance purposes so the public can use it.  Parklets are under discussion as part of the downtown specific area plan.  The idea is to take over a parking space, add boxed plants and seating, and allow people and businesses more outdoor seating.  I haven't seen anyone argue on the Voice for less downtown parking so I'm not sure whether this discussion has any legs or not, but note the example above was a driveway of a house owned by someone without a car.

 

B'game Colors

As the days get shorter in the City of Trees and we deal with drains and gutters choked with leaves, here is a little something to remember

Even is something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn.

Elizabeth Lawrence

I may just be me, but the yellow foliage in town seems to be doing very well, the orange is OK and the reds are having a very muted year.