The Burlingame Voice

SFO: Louder and More Often

I recently had a good talk with a neighbor about the noise emanating from SFO.  Sally Meakin has gone to a lot of effort to get informed and to rally the locals to do something about the noise.  My main concern has been about the noise in the middle of the night and we discussed a curfew here.  Sally is taking a more holistic approach to noise at all times of the day and night.  She believes it has gotten worse lately and that has spurred her to action.  She has attended several Airport Roundtable meeting and toured the SFO Noise Center (that might not be the exact name).  She believes that SFO is not well-equipped to determine which airlines, which planes and which patterns cause the worst noise.  I also believe many residents have stopped complaining to SFO because it really doesn't do any good.

Sally has created a website to address the problems and a possible course of action.  You can visit sforunwaynoise.com for a lot of background material.  She has researched what B'gamers did many years ago to get concessions from SFO and thinks a similar approach may work again.  It involves people filing small claims en masse against San Francisco (which owns SFO).  I agree with her--the noise has become a public nuisance and I also believe it is hurting people's health and energy levels and possibly their driving safety.  Sally has also made up lawn signs which are available from the website.

We have a new Voice category-- SFO Airport-- that is long overdue.  Go Sally, Go.

Hummingbird Question

Dear Voice readers and commenters, I have a question.  B'game is well-stocked hummingbird territory--most of the time.  The Spring was buzzing with buzzing and then we had several months of nothing on the hummingbird front.  Now, all of a sudden, in the last week or two they are back with a fury.  They're buzzing about, feeding on nectar that has been sitting in feeders for weeks untouched and even fighting with each other for first sips.  Does anyone know what is going on in hummingland?

Overbuilding Opus

Today's Daily Journal has a guest opinion piece that is simply awesome.  I don't know the author, Jon Nadelberg, and never even heard of him, but he nails the perspective of those of us with the long view of development.  Here are two excerpts from the column which you really should click through and read in its entirety

But what has gone on in the last 30 years? Like always, lots more people coming here. And the state, along with developers, seem to think that all we have to do is keep building more housing. After all, it’s worked so far. But that’s becoming very unrealistic. More housing does nothing, because more people keep coming in. Further, while we build more housing, we are not building out the necessary infrastructure to support them. You cannot fill a bottomless pit, no matter how much dirt you shovel into it. We do not have a housing crisis. We have a population crisis. People keep flooding in.

and Nadelberg's long view

Then when it is full, and we have 24-hour traffic jams, and the air is filthy and people start moving away because life has become miserable, we will see house prices come down because we’ve destroyed what makes this area desirable. People will no longer wish to live here. This will be the end result of over-building and not caring.

The Bay Area has been a special place for a long time.  There are natural aspects to it that don't exist anywhere else and I, for one, am really frustrated with people who want to screw that up!!  I'm thrilled when someone articulates our shared concern so well.  Thank you, Jon Nadelberg and Jon Mays for running the piece.

Historic on Drake

Every once in awhile things do work out well for those of us who care about recognizing and preserving B'game's history, especially its historic homes.  Finally, after a lot of effort by the homeowners, B'game has it first National Historic Registered residence.  The Daily Journal has this piece along with some nice interior photos that were not in the print edition, noting

The only person architect William Whifler intended to impress when he designed the unique and stylish home tucked away at the end of a quiet Burlingame street was his mother.  But through the tireless efforts of his son Graeme Whifler, the family’s property on Drake Avenue received widespread recognition after recently being added to the National Register of Historic Places.

William Whifler, who designed homes across the Peninsula between 1950 and 1970, was honored by the federal agency for his creative approach to the mid-century modern home template featuring expansive windows and ranging, open interiors.  Despite his reluctance to seek attention, William Whifler’s work established a long legacy in his native community, as he designed Burlingame City Hall and co-founded the College of San Mateo’s department of architecture.

Many kudos to Graeme who noted that "his father deserved accolades similar to colleagues of his era such as developer Joseph Eichler, despite never seeking out such attention while working."  My wife, Cathy Baylock, recalls speaking to Graeme's sister about how to go about getting started back in about 2013 while Cathy was advocating for historic preservation as a city councilwoman.

This so gratifying to see and a great addition to Kohl Mansion's status.  I have now added a photo taken from the sidewalk.  My guess is the plaque is the Historic Landmark marker, but didn't want to just walk in to look.  Very serene setting at the end of the street.

 

B'game on the Avenew 2017

In entertainment-starved B'game any form of music or theater is most welcome.  This year's Burlingame on the Ave. offers just the kind of get-out-of-the-house option we need more of.  Some of the old favorites are still there (kid zone, great photography for sale, the paella) and some returning vendors also added a lot.  "SuperKeith" the record guy is a great example of someone who sold at the old Art on the Avenue, but is just rediscovering us.  The artisan who made the Daily Journal for her barrel stave wineglass holders made at least one sale because the first people I saw as I was walking over had one in hand.  Here are Dennis Johnson and the Ramblers who were great!  Kudos to the guy who was schooling one of the Arthur Murray dance instructors on the dance floor.

City Council: Allot Seats by District?

Today's Daily Post has an article about a letter from a Malibu attorney to the city of Menlo Park "putting them on notice" that they should move to "district elections".  District elections divide a city into districts and allot a council seat to each district--so B'game would have five districts under this format.  The attorney, Kevin Shenkman, has sent similar letters to other cities and claims at least 15 have switched formats to avoid legal action.  The basic motivation is to attempt to increase minority council members--I'm not sure it works, but that is the motivation.

I've mused in the past on whether this would be good for Burlingame or not.  Before my wife was elected to the council, the South end of town was home to only Rosalie O'Mahony for years and years.  Southeasterner Russ served a half-term out for a seat that was vacated.  Now Donna Colson is a south-ender after moving from the north a couple years ago.

But I'm not sure how you would go about meeting some ill-defined minority objective without a gerrymander-looking district that captured the far east-side--Rollins corridor.  Ironically, such a district would look a lot like Malibu--long and thin!  But the issue in B'game, in my opinion, is more about over-development than representation.  If you don't live close to downtown, you feel less of the heat of over-development on a daily basis.  So would having 2 or 3 seats assigned to South-of-Broadway help?  Maybe.

Election 2017: Game On

A late Friday filing by Steve Duncan to run for a City Council seat means there will be a B'game council election this Fall after all.  I speculated on whether anyone would pick up the gauntlet against three incumbents here.  Mr. Duncan has decided to do it and will face a tough challenge.  He last ran in 2013 and finished seventh in a nine person race.  As you see here, he spent $718 on his campaign to garner 392 votes.

Back in 2013, it was Keighran, Brownrigg and Ortiz-- in that order.  Given what I would call a fairly easy election, it will be interesting to watch how much effort and money the incumbents expend.  On the upside, we will have the usual debate(s), newspaper interviews and endorsements and at least some discussion of hot button issues in town.  One the downside, we will start seeing campaign signs right after Labor Day and be stuck with them until November 7.

Per the Secretary of State, on the 82nd day before an election, the Secretary of State conducts a randomized drawing of letters of the alphabet pursuant to California Elections Code section 13112. The resulting order of letters constitutes the "randomized alphabet" to be used for determining the order of candidates' names on the ballot.  Therefore we will know the order on Thursday.

Friends with Benefits: CalPERS gets 11.2%

Anyone paying attention knows that public pension costs are climbing, investment returns have been overestimated and the funding in place is inadequate to cover the future costs.  This week, courtesy of the Wall Street Journal, we got some up-to-date details

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the biggest in the U.S., earned 11.2% in fiscal 2017—largely because of stocks and private equity. But the fund, known by its acronym Calpers, noted that it has just 68% of the assets it needs to pay for future benefits. That is up from 65% in 2016.

“We welcome this fiscal year’s strong returns, but we also remain about 68 percent funded and vulnerable to a downturn in stock markets,” Calpers Chief Executive Marcie Frost said in a statement. The fund has about $332 billion in assets for 1.8 million workers and retirees.

The California State Teachers’ Retirement System, which sits roughly one mile from Calpers in Sacramento, Calif., reported a fiscal 2017 return of 13.4%. The fund’s chief investment officer, Christopher Ailman, touted the number on Twitter as being higher than Calpers: “BOOYAH!!”

This ties to B'game since CalPERS does the investing for city pensions and benefits.  Back on July 24th, the Daily Post noted that the pension shortfall for our burg "has swelled to $51.9 million, up 5.3% from two years ago".  The city has set aside $3.7 million this fiscal year to use in whatever strategy it chooses to close the widening gap:  extra payments earlier--either recurring or ad hoc--or tapping the general fund reserves or borrowing.  More to follow as the Council decides.

Cell Sites vs. Neighborhoods

The issue of so-called "small cell sites" has simmered in B'game for years.  I've lost track of the old lawsuit from a small provider, but that isn't the issue here as the SacBee tries to tie the progress of the bill to political donations from "Big Telecom".  The SacBee has a piece that ties it to better rural fire response stemming from better cell coverage.  Well, we don't have that problem here in B'game--coverage is great, but we do have neighbors who do not want big "small cell sites" dotting their median strips and street corners.

But as the bill (SB 649) breezes through the Legislature with few dissenting votes, hundreds of city and county governments are pushing back. They say it removes their discretion over where unsightly “small cell” wireless antennas – some as big as a refrigerator with their associated equipment – will go, and reduces by millions the leasing fees they collect from the companies to place cells on public lands.

The state would dictate how much jurisdictions can charge providers for leasing public space on telephone poles, street lights, traffic signals, parts of sidewalks and spaces in public parks. Private landowners would still be able to negotiate with companies about design and location of cells on their land as they do now.

“It’s a Pandora’s box for California cities,” said Reinette Senum, a city councilwoman in Nevada City. “It’s one that blatantly strips local government of the authority to protect quality of life for residents, the environment and the public right-of-way.”

If you read through the rest of the SacBee article, they confuse donations by "Big Telecom" companies with those advocating easier placement of "small cell sites".  We know from local experience that it isn't always the name brands that want the sites.  Jolene Voorhis, executive director of Urban Counties of California says “I don’t want to be too crass, but they give a lot of money, and we can’t.”  Rather than worrying about being crass, it would be good if Ms. Voorhis worried about being accurate and accounting for the concerns of the people who live near the not-so-small sites. 

High-Cost Rail - Part 137 Phil Matier's Prediction

Russ and I were up in the city on Friday at the de Young museum where Russ happened to run into S.F. Chronicle columnist Phil Matier.  Matier (of Matier & Ross) is very plugged into the political circle well beyond EssEff.  Russ being an enterprising activist/journalist asked Matier when high-speed rail would die.  Phil's response was "right after Governor Brown leaves office".  Without further elaboration from the source, I would interpret that to mean there is enough back channel chatter from the crop of wannabe governors that all the challenges to HSR that we talk about here at the Voice are well-recognized.  One can only hope!