One of my regular correspondents in town alerted me to a possible new tactic in the residential tear down game after he got his blue card from the Planning Dept. about this house. Apparently this little house on Laguna used to have a ton of lovely flowers and plants on the two levels of the retaining wall. No one can say for sure why they are gone now, but it does make the house look a lot more forlorn.
The 1939 reverse directory for B'game shows that Robert and Caroline Swanson lived there that year and he was an assistant cashier at B of A. That would have been the old B of A, originally the Bank of Italy, and now the Apple store. Anyone know either of them? It will be interesting to see if the palm tree survives.
Obviously, something like this could use replacing with a much nicer house, but quite frankly ripping out flowers and bushes before the next planning commission is pretty rotten in my view. As if the new house isn't going to get built like 99% of them in burlingame do. Give us a break developers. I'm really sick of developers who are trying to skirt the process to ensure the slam dunk approval as opposed to the have to come back maybe once more to the commission--at most. Just don't try to pull stuff off that leads to bad will in the community, you are only shooting yourselves in the foot and angering residents in the process.
What is as troubling is that this type of dubious activity is allowed to happen... developers seem to be feeling quite comfortable in trying to pull this stuff off, and why shouldn't they, considering there is little to no checks and balances in the city government.
Posted by: Mark | October 15, 2013 at 08:50 PM
If the concrete retaining walls go, i'm all for it. This looks like oakland as it stands right now.
Posted by: jahzebel | October 16, 2013 at 09:20 AM
Maybe the neighbors "rescued" the plants. Fortunately, sometimes this does happen.
Posted by: jennifer | October 16, 2013 at 11:12 AM
hillsider says if you are gonna build on a hill then you need retaining walls. It looks like the trick is working for fooling some of the people some of the time.
Posted by: hillsider | October 16, 2013 at 12:33 PM
It does look like Oakland, CA Neighborhoods.
When those homes in Oakland were built and designed, landscape as well as the design of any room in the home were considered crucial to the development of the community.
Getting people out of their homes, talk to the neighbors, it was the end of WW2 and the beginning of "possiblities."
Landscape of homes, City of
Burlingame Trees are what make "Our Fair City" valuable.
When any "developer's" project is all about Square feet, the term-"There goes the Neighborhood" is not only a concept, but a fact of what the future of Burlingame will become.
Who has not experienced a Giant House R&R in their neighborhood with 6-8 cars parked on the street, driveway, easment.(As well as wondering why there are about 24 pairs of shoes on the front porch)
More consideration and permit requirements are crucial that they include landscape, and trees. Getting our City Elders to consider the long term implications of what a "small town urban enviorment" brings to the value of "Our Fair City" is a cornerstone to the future property and values that seem to be "uneffected" by Real Estate Market trends.
Do you want...
Pottersville or Bedford Falls as a legacy for your children?
Holyroller
Posted by: Holyroller | October 16, 2013 at 03:37 PM
Hollyroller, do I detect xenophobia? (lots of shoes extended families moving into expensive houses?) I really hope not. That's what makes Burlingame great-- a ton of socioeconomic and racial diversity. I am very proud of the fabric of Burlingame and think that's what adds to its appeal as a place to live. Otherwise I'd live in Marin, where there is next to no racial diversity.
Posted by: Mark | October 16, 2013 at 07:04 PM
Dear Mark,
I am disappointed that you considered my comments "Racial."
The point I wanted to share was New Homes in Burlingame should consider the landscape and "neighborhood theme"
when building. Trees and landscape are very important in Urban enviorments for lots of reasons.
Considering the large Morman Community in the SF Bay Area, there are probably a few Polymagist's in Burlingame too.
Therefore, my comment "24 pairs of shoes, and so many cars." We all know who's cars are who's in our neighborhood too.
Posted by: Holyroller | October 17, 2013 at 08:02 PM