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August 19, 2003

Comments

Terry

I've been talking with lots of Burlingame residents and the overwhelming sentiment appears to be: No housing on the bayfront! Previous council members had the wisdom to encourage hotels and offices to build there and we were the envy of other cities for many years because of the fat taxes we've received. We shouldn't change tactics just because the economy has temporarily tanked.

Jennifer

I'd love to see our bicycle use extended all over the city, in a safe and sound manner. People in Europe bike everywhere, not everyone drives. This could even make a dent in our parking woes.

It would be wonderful to see a recreational area on the bayfront, that ties in with both the Bay trail and the west side of the freeway. In Europe, there are little drink and snack stands along the way. It makes for a very pleasant outing.

There could be swimming, wind-surfing, fishing, canoeing. Before the freeway was built, this area was very well utilized for recreation. Now, it seems that San Mateo residents who live close to Coyote Point have most of the benefits. I'm happy for them. However, we Burlingamers are missing out on a wonderful opportunity.

Russ

I have been advocating that The Burlingame bayfront become a destination place like many other communities have made of their waterfronts. It is unclear why this has not been discussed further by Council. Bringing cultural, educational and recreational opportunities to Burlingame will undoubetedly help fill our hotels , bringing back much needed tax dollars and will give visitors and residents an enhanced experence called Burlingame.

Michael

As someone who started out on the Bayfront Committee, but had to leave because of other commitments, I was somewhat surprised to see residential property on the agenda again. The idea of residential property was "dropped" early on in the process. Although I was indifferent to the idea, I thought the reasons for dropping it were sound reasons.

What concerns me more than the land use, is the access to that part of Burlingame. The current access points (Millbrae, Broadway and Peninsula) are totally inefficient for ANY use. It seems to me, we need to address the access issues before ANY development issues.

By the way, as someone who commutes to the Bayfront by bicycle on a daily basis, I don't have much problem, except when stuck behind a smog choking SAMTRANS bus. An overpass with an efficient and safe bicycle lane would be a nice improvement. A pedestrian/bicycle bridge, like what Berkeley put in to connect with their bayfront, might make it more attractive to recreational users, particularly if it took you straight to the soccer fields and golf range.

Bruce

Before anyone come up with their 2 cents, why don't we ask the Owner/Developer first? Land is not FREE, therefore a park or recreation will never be on the table.

Fiona

Thanks Bruce - what do the developers want to do now that they know their old proposal won't work. Some people believe the housing proposal is to get Glenborough out of a bad business decision. Is this true?

Bruce

Fiona, One can't make any decision until a proposal is layout on the table. Just a thought, "Mix-use" type of project might work in that area, with combinations of offices, retails, live-work or low-income housing, and recreations. But, the ugly truth is only IF the project (whatever it is) make sense $$$$ for the developer. Business decision are not made by the council...

Gerald

How about "killing two birds with one stone"? My modest proposal is to have Glenborough swap land sites with Safeway.
Then Glenborough can build condominiums near Burlingame's major downtown area and we don't have all the "to do" regarding a humungous store in a neighborhood of smaller shops.

Then Safeway can build its megastore out on the old drive-in lot and people from Hayward can wind-surf over here to do their grocery shopping, too.

Bruce

Gerald

LOL

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