Lots F and N Bulking Up to 5 Stories

The Daily Journal is reporting on the Planning Commission's approval of the affordable housing plan

Burlingame officials are pushing ahead a proposal to transform downtown surface parking lots into a new affordable housing development and parking garage.

The Burlingame Planning Commission approved the bold vision for city land during a meeting Monday, Dec. 10, moving the initiative before the City Council for final approval.

Following years of deliberation, revision and examination, officials agreed they were finally comfortable with the design of the proposal from Pacific West Communities to redevelop parking lots F and N.

Under the commission’s unanimous approval, councilmembers will soon consider the proposal to build 132 units in a five-story building at parking lot F, on Lorton Avenue, between Howard and Bayswater avenues. Of the units, 78 will be set aside as workforce housing and the remaining 54 will be reserved for seniors.

So now the issue is "which comes first, parking or housing"?

Comments

[resident]

What is workforce housing? Is that like mill housing for city workers?

[It Don't Come Easy]

Can they vote for a small city park (with water features and comfortable park benches) instead?

[Hollyroller]

"Workforce Housing" is what was built during WW2.
Hunter's Point-SF, South San Francisco, Treasure Island-SF, Vallejo CA., Port Chicago, CA. etc. during WW2 for the civilian workforce needed to provide Ships, Submarines, Armaments, and Soldiers.
Hopefully, that will never happen again.

[resident]

So why is it happening now?

[Hollyroller]

Ask Hillsider

[Becca]

Oh dear this is just awful. Gotta remember this next time we vote

[Hollyroller]

Nobody votes who is not over the age of 50.
People who do not vote are the children of parents who still believe that their Mommy/Daddy know what's best.
Parents with minimal skills and education, live through their spawn.

Nothing Wrong with that.

[Hollyroller]

What the heck does that mean anyway?

Merry Christmas Everyone.

[Burlingamer]

Good question about 'what is workforce housing'.

This FAQ on the project outlines that workforce housing is not really defined, but gives general guidelines on how much one makes to qualify for 'workforce housing'.

https://www.burlingame.org/Village%20at%20Burlingame%20Draft%20FAQs%20(02-20-18).pdf

[Joe]

Thanks. That is a very useful link. In answer to the question, we get, umm, no answer:

"Workforce housing is a term that is increasingly used by governments, planners andorganizations concerned with housing policy or advocacy. The term does not have awell- recognized definition, but is often used to describe a portion of the population that is seen as earning too much to qualify for subsidized housing and earning too little to be able to afford rents in a region.

In the Bay Area, the term is frequently used to describe households earning between
80% - 120% of Area Median Income (AMI). Some planners reduce the lower end to
60% of AMI because housing subsidies are not available to households earning above
this level.
----------------
I could foresee an application process with associated city staff to design it, advertise it, solicit applications, evaluate them and then run a lottery to award the winners with a below market apartment.

[Unhappy]

great. let's make burlingame more like a big city. I had a great big city experience just this evening. Went to the japanese restaurant on Howard and had a homeless guy, covered in tattoos rant and scare away all the customers. After an hour of this I had to have the waitresses call the police. They came in about 10 minutes and eventually politely convince the dero to leave. A totally rotten big city experience. To not expect more of this when we embrace urban planning is foolish. I am so pissed. I will never be back to that restaurant.

[Unhappy]

and while we are building the workforce housing let's build some non workforce, never could be part of the workforce because they are too drugged out housing too. That ought to fix all our problems.

[Hollyroller]

Dear Unhappy,
I do not believe you.

[The Guy Next to Unhappy]

Well then you are a fool

DRUNK IN PUBLIC
Call Type: Public Disturbance
Address: 1100 Block of BURLINGAME AV
Date of Call: 12/18/2018
Time of Call: 22:07:09
Date Closed: 12/18/2018
Time Closed: 23:42:00
Disposition: Arrest Made
Incident #: 1812180231

https://brm.crimegraphics.com/2013/default.aspx

[hillsider]

LOL.

[Hollyroller]

There is no need to throw insults around Mr. Unhappy.
That web site is really good. I did not know that was available.
Dear Hillsider, maybe we can get together for another Mistletoe kiss like last year.
Let me know.
Merry Christmas All.

[Joe]

This is an interesting piece from yesterday's Comicle. Will B'game taxpayer money go where smart, private money fears to tread??:

Development of market-rate housing in San Francisco will slow to a trickle in 2019, because a combination of higher construction costs, escalating fees, a softening market and increased interest rates has persuaded many builders to wait on the sidelines, developers and industry analysts say.

Development “is not going to happen,” said Sean Keighran, president of the Residential Builders Association, which represents developers and contractors. “There are four strikes, and you only get three. It’s hard to foresee a rosy path forward.”

“Nobody buys land and develops in a downward market,” Keighran said. “Our guys stopped buying sites a year and a half ago.”

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/SF-s-boom-in-home-building-to-slow-in-2019-13497817.php

[94010'er]

Homeless people in 94010 is a reality. They find it unsafe in SF so they migrated to cities like Burlingame.
Who is this hollyroller person who spends their days with their head in the sand.

Try walking around in the early-morning hours before 7am. They are sleeping in doorways on Howard, Lorton, etc.

Just a sign of a mismanaged State.

[Joe]

From the city e-newsletter:

The Village at Burlingame Project on City-owned parking lots F and N in the downtown area, just south of Howard Avenue, is anticipated to begin on October 8, 2019. The Village at Burlingame development will include 132 senior and workforce housing units, and a 368-space, multi-level, state-of-the-art public parking garage. The first phase of the project will include construction of the 5-story parking garage in parking lot N, which will provide a net increase of 162 parking spaces to the City’s parking inventory.

The City recognizes that the project may create disruptions and impact parking and encourages merchants and their employees to utilize alternative modes of transportation. In addition, the City has taken the following steps to help mitigate parking impacts during construction:

• Peninsula Parking, Inc. will provide valet-assist parking services for those with valid employee parking permits in Parking Lot A on Donnelly Avenue (upper levels only). This service was originally planned in Parking Lot F, but will now be in Parking Lot A in order to accommodate the developer’s construction needs. The valet-assist parking will enable double parking and will add more parking spaces.
• An additional 40 parking spaces have been leased from Caltrain at the Burlingame Avenue Station.