The Burlingame Voice

Safeway Part 57 Construction

With demolition scheduled to start in June, it seems the construction trades will be stepping up their picketing of Safeway.  Last month's protest was on the corner and now there are five guys in front of the entrance.  I hear the plans call for the exterior of the building to be complete by Thanksgiving.  We'll see.

Safeway - Part 56 Construction

I suppose it should be considered progress towards a new store when the first trade union protest appears in front of the old Safeway.  Today is that day as the Carpenters Local 152 has a man and a sign out front.  The flyer states:

Don't let Safeway become the ultimate price slasher at workers expense! Complain to the store Manager or reach out to Safeway Corporate.

Safeway -- Part 55

Six years to the week of the last Safeway proposal's defeat, we have an approved plan.  The San Mateo Daily Journal article begins with

Thirteen years after the city of Burlingame first entertained proposals for a new Safeway, plans for a 45,600-square-foot 24-hour grocery store were unanimously approved by the City Council last night.

Countless public meetings, community input, environmental documents and scotched proposals ended with a new plan that nearly everyone could appreciate, and even like.

And goes on to recount the green modifications, fountain plans and the prior timeline.  These are exciting times at Howard and El Camino!

Safeway - Part 54

In the first action since July 29th, it appears that we have reached the Next Step shown on the City website's Safeway Project page.  The public notice sign in front of the store indicates that it will be on the December 14th Planning Commission agenda.  That probably means the environmental review will be heard by at most six planning commissioners since Councilman-elect Brownrigg's replacement would not be chosen in the next month.

Safeway Project - Part 53

Safeway is back five weeks after the Planning Commission last looked at the new store plans with a revised plan.  Just posted today on the City's web site at http://www.burlingame.org/Index.aspx?page=1366 is this summary:

On July 29, 2009, the applicant submitted revised plans for the Safeway Project to address the comments made by the Planning Commission and the public at the June 22nd Study Session.  The primary changes to the project include: redesign of the retail/office building at the corner of Howard Avenue and Primrose Road, pedestrian connections throughout the site including a new pedestrian walkway through City Parking Lot L, a wider walkway in front of the Safeway store, an enclosed returnables area behind the loading dock, and an entry feature at the corner of El Camino Real and Howard Avenue.

The environmental study work is in progress and we may see another Study session around October.  Here's the rendering:

The latest on Safeway

At last night's planning commission meeting a Safeway proposal was brought forward. Both commissioners as well as citizens in general agreed that the proposal was far better than the one rejected by both the commission and council  three years ago. However, there were some shared concerns including:

• Truck flow directly through the parking lot
• Location of loading dock
• Absence of landscaping on the rooftop parking lot
• Better defined pedestrian walking paths
• Design of the structure on the corner of Howard and Primrose
• Width of Fox Plaza Lane
• Lighting on rooftop parking structure that could disrupt surrounding areas

Safeway reps said that they will address many of these issues in the next round of review.

Safeway Project - Part 52

If it seems like the Safeway project has been in the works forever that's because IT HAS.  You can go back to the printed copies of the Burlingame Voice circa 2000 in the library and read all about it.  There have been numerous meetings, scale models in the store and hundreds of conversations in the aisles of Safeway and Mollie Stone's.  It has its own category on this blog.

This coming Monday night, June 22nd at 7pm the latest and greatest version of the plan will be presented to the Planning Commission at City Hall.  This version is the result of dozens of stakeholder meetings that included Safeway.  It considered underground parking, rooftop parking (which made the cut), 1, 2 and 3 buildings, access, egress and maybe even some largesse.  If you want to hear the "whole nine yards" be there early for a seat.  I have to be out of town or I would bring a big bag of popcorn.  Here is your official notice and invitation:

 

Safeway - "A Creative Collaboration"

Safeway submits plans (by Michelle Durand Daily Journal) (see link for photo) Rendering courtesy of the city of Burlingame A proposal for a new Burlingame Safeway at Howard Avenue and El Camino Real will feature rooftop and surface-level parking. The proposal, years in the making, has been subject to countless public study sessions to determine if it would be a good fit for both the city and the grocer. The project is expected to go in front of the Planning Commission by late summer and to the City Council soon after just in time for the council's election season. The latest plans for a renovated Safeway in downtown Burlingame boasts rooftop parking and 77,000 square feet of development stretched between the store and a satellite building that will also feature a roof garden. The specifics are part of a new plan brought by Safeway to the Burlingame Planning Department based in part on recommendations from the Safeway Working Group, comprised of interested community members. While the plans include a number of the group's suggestions, such as locating the proposed store in the northwest corner of the property with a separate development at the corner of Howard Avenue and Primrose Road, the submitted plans widely deviate from the group's wishes by placing the truck loading in the front of the main store next to El Camino Real. Truck access will come from Howard Avenue and cross the main parking area. Deb Karbo, real estate manager for Safeway, heralded the outcome as a creative collaboration? that enhances the city of Burlingame and is financially feasible for Safeway.? Mayor Ann Keighran echoed the sense of compromise needed to formulate the plans and called the lengthy process worthwhile. We learned from mistakes the first time around and we've learned that it helps to have stakeholders involved from the very beginning,? Keighran said. The process worked better.? Safeway officials anticipate the Planning Commission looking at the project this fall with construction beginning the following spring but City Manager Jim Nantell cautioned the process is about three months behind. Hopefully, instead we can get it to the commission by the end of summer,? he said. In February, Safeway officials outlined vague plans which included renovating the Wells Fargo building and adding in pedestrian paths, rooftop parking, an enclosed loading dock and second-floor office space. At the meeting, working group members voiced concern about the difference between what they wanted and the recommendations by Safeway. The newest Safeway design is a 44,982-square-foot footprint with a 6,865-square-foot mezzanine. The mixed-use building at the opposite corner will have 13,332 square feet of retail on the ground floor and 5,407 square feet of retail above. The existing Wells Fargo building will be refurbished with 6,554 square feet. Pedestrian walkways will connect the site to downtown Burlingame. The project, a result of the Burlingame Process? design criteria, is uniquely tailored for the city, according to Karbo. Keighran said she was struck by the airy? design which includes more glass and an open courtyard. Despite earlier community concerns about the truck loading location, Keighran said landscaping and other tweaks can be used to buffer the aesthetics. The proposal does not include any city-owned property. Charles Voltz, a previously outspoken proponent of using city land, could not be reached for comment. Councilwoman Terry Nagel said she had yet to see the plans and others on the council could not be reached for comment. The battle for a new Safeway and related retail stretches back a decade and includes numerous designs, hearings and trips back to the drawing board. Three years after the February 2004 rejection of a 66,900-square-foot combined Safeway and Walgreens, the public planning process named the Burlingame Process? was created to get more public input. The plan will require rezoning of one parcel on El Camino Real currently used for parking. The full plans are available at the Planning Division, Second Floor, Burlingame City Hall, 501 Primrose Road.

- Written by Fiona

New Safeway Plan

Safeway has finally brought a new plan forward for the Howard / Primrose site. Broadly following the recommendations of the Safeway Working group (curiously details of which are no longer available on the Burlingame City website!). The new plan includes roof top parking on the 51,000 sq ft main store witha satellite development on the Primrose / Howard corner that includes a roof top garden. Safeway has opted for truck loading in the front of the building, next to El Camino, with trucks crossing the main parking area.

- Written by stephen

Safeway Submitting Application Today?

Members of Safeway Working Group irked by plan for new store (by Christine Morente, San Mateo County Times) BURLINGAME Eighteen months of drumming up design options for a new Safeway grocery store on Howard Avenue now seem futile to some stakeholders in the process, who say the conceptual project ignores traffic and safety concerns. The location of the store's loading dock and how it will be accessed provoked the most displeasure at a City Council study session Tuesday from members of the Safeway Working Group, a volunteer planning body that has been meeting since 2007. The group which consists of citizens, local merchants, a Safeway representative and other interested parties had hoped that the city would agree to put the loading dock on Lot K behind the grocery store, with truck access off El Camino Real, but that idea was nixed during negotiations between the city and Safeway. City Manager Jim Nantell said a loading dock in Lot K would "significantly reduce" the real estate value and future use of the site. Instead, the loading area would go along the side of the building off El Camino Real and be accessed from Howard Avenue, according to the company's conceptual plan. That would force traffic onto Howard Avenue and Primrose Road, argued Carl Martin, a representative of the city's downtown business owners. Kathy Schmidt, who represents neighborhood residents, said she was "disappointed and disillusioned" by the process because it seemed major recommendations were being thrown out. "A lot of thought came out of the discussions," she said. Safeway is expected to submit its application to the city today, according to Maureen Brooks, Burlingame's planning manager. Deborah Karbo, Safeway Inc.'s real estate manager, said Tuesday night that she believes the company has a "foundation" for an application. She said the plan is to complete construction in 2011. The Planning Commission is expected to review the project this spring. The goal had always been to have a store that both enhances Burlingame and is financially feasible for Safeway. So far, the plan is to build a 45,000-square-foot single-story building angled toward Howard Avenue. The plan envisions rooftop parking, pedestrian pathways, an enclosed loading dock, a public plaza, and retail along Primrose Road, with office space on the second floor. In addition, Fox Plaza Lane would be widened and made into a one-way street, while the Wells Fargo building would be renovated. Lot L, located on Fox Plaza Lane behind Fox Plaza Arcade, would be left alone.

- Written by Fiona