The Burlingame Voice

Density Tsunami Approaches

We have known the tsunami of development has been approaching for several years.  The townhouses on Anson Lane have arrived for sale:

Brand new construction in Burlingame. This 3 bedroom, 3.5 bathroom, 2 story townhome style condo is located in the brand new community The Residences @ Anson is built by D.R. Horton, America's builder. Included features, Avalon shaker style cabinets w/satin nickel door pulls, Stainless steel Jenn Air appliances, minus washer, dryer and refrigerator.   $1,903,540.

The massive block of 268 apartments that are part of the same development on Carolan Ave. will be hitting the market soon I imagine.  I have verified with a member of the School Board that the kids in this development are zoned to Roosevelt School.

Further north, the Planning Commission has cleared the first of three big developments.  Per the Daily Journal

The Burlingame Planning Commission unanimously approved the plan to construct at 1766 El Camino Real a development featuring 60 residential units atop 148,000 of office space during a meeting Monday, Aug. 24. The plans will advance onto the Burlingame City Council, which will ultimately determine the fate of the development.  Officials admired the seven-story tower which will also feature a ground-floor lobby and retail center plus underground parking — differing from those who feared the development was incompatible with its surroundings.  

“Will it change the neighborhood here? Yes. That’s the point,” said Loftis, who noted the stretch of north Burlingame has been identified by officials as an area to build additional housing and allow greater density.  He added officials recently approved a general plan update making way for the new uses, making clear the character of the area would change.

And the next two shoes to drop are

To advance the synergy of the emerging area, plans have been filed to build a seven-story tower nearby with 169 units at the corner of El Camino Real and Murchison Drive, and about 1 mile away a proposal was made to build 120 units in a six-story development which includes cultural art space.

That's 349 new units in "North Burlingame".  I'm researching which school(s) these kids will be assigned to when they are all open.  In the meantime, I think we need a better name for this big new neighborhood. Any suggestions, readers?  There is also plans afoot at the Mercy property for a sizable residential development.  That one will be easy to name:  Have Mercy on Us.  That's 630 new units plus the Hower Auto development on Bayswater and whatever gets added at Mercy.  And still, "housing advocates" say it is not enough.........

Keep this view of ECR in mind as it won't look like that much longer.

 

BHS on Zoom: A Update

Long after one's kids graduate from BHS it's easy to recall how central to the community it (and Mills) are, hence my interest in this crazy school year.  I noted the uncertainty that was being felt in town a month and a half ago here.  Now that sessions have started, there is some information available on what is being done in the way of tech access.  Across the nine schools in the District, more than half of 7,500 Chromebooks have been distributed and another 2,200 are on order.  1,000 Wi-Fi hotspots have been distributed and 90 outdoor access points will be installed--BHS and Mills are apparently deployed already.  800 Zoom accounts have been set up.

I've gotten the link to the SMUSHD Board's first meeting post-restart; it was recorded and is available on YouTube here.  You can see BHS Principal Paul Belzer give a five minute update starting at 2:15:30.  He noted excellent attendance at "Panther Prep" day where 1,100-1,200 Chromebooks were passed out.  The counselors at BHS helped 90 students sign up for community college courses (an accelerated study tactic mentioned in the comments on the July post linked above) and another 135 students signed up for about 500 independent study courses.  He notes the challenge will be "Zoom fatigue".  No surprise there and it will be interesting to see how kids, parents and teachers react over time as it gets tougher to focus day after day, week after week.

For reference, San Mateo County is at 7,535 total cases with 14% being age 19 and below.  Hopefully Zoom attendance data will be regularly released so everyone can gauge the effectiveness vs. the risk of reopening the physical classrooms.

Changes Afoot at School Boards

The Daily Journal did a nice survey of the candidate filings for the upcoming election.  B'game is in an off-year for Council, but the all important school board trustee ranks look like change is in the wind.  First, the caveat on timing

The filing deadline for local candidates was 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7, but will be extended until Wednesday, Aug. 12 if an incumbent declines to file for re-election. There may be a delay in getting information from city clerks to the Elections Office so the information on the roster posted Friday night may be incomplete.

So for each body, there is still the possibility of new candidates since:

In the Burlingame Elementary School District, incumbent Elizabeth Kendall has qualified for the ballot with Deepak Sarpangal and Lisa A. Mudd for three seats. Incumbents Davina Drabkin and Kay Coskey have not filed for re-election.

In the San Mateo Union High School District, finance executive Neal Kaufman, incumbent Greg Land and disability rights advocate Ligia Andrade Zuniga have qualifed for three seats. Incumbent Marc Friedman did not file for re-election.

I also don't want to lose this comment from a week ago on the other school post:

A member of the SMUHSD Board has their email account set up to automatically forward communications to the Superintendent.  (How do I know, the individual member (or the IT Department) failed in the set up and did not use the entire email address on the forward and it bounced back.  When sending a communication to the Board, the following should not be the response from the mailer-daemon.

"Your message wasn't delivered to skelly@smuhsd.org because the address couldn't be found, or is unable to receive mail."

Isn't the Board elected to represent the students, parents, and community? The Superintendent is an employee of the Board. So if a citizen sends a communication to the Board, then the item is automatically forwarded to the Superintendent with all of the writer's contact information?

This assertion really needs to be addressed--probably after the election.

B'game School Days? Uncertainty Abounds

What happens in the Fall at the elementary schools, BIS, BHS, and Mills is pretty up in the air right now.  It's a convoluted picture of the science, kids' behavior, risk management and facilities.  "Groundskeeper Willie" made this comment on another school post, but the reopening question deserves its own thread.

What do you think is going to happen when the public finds out that an entire building at BHS has no operational HVAC system? The metal schools have classrooms without any windows and the buildings are enclosed. These compounds are petri dishes ready to be filled with teenage hosts passing the virus along. If the kids can't wear a mask on the Ave, what makes you think they are going to do it when no one is looking at school, or on the way to school, or home from school, or at the home of a "friend" where the virus already exists. Corona Virus likes this :}

That caught me attention more than usual because of a piece in the WSJ on Wednesday about reopening offices.

Modifications from equipment manufacturers such as Trane Technologies PLC, Carrier Global Corp. and Johnson Controls International PLC include filtering indoor air more thoroughly, drawing more outdoor air into buildings and deploying ultraviolet light against the virus inside ventilation systems.

Recirculated air should include about 20% outdoor air to effectively dilute coronavirus particles, the Atlanta-based engineers’ society says. Many buildings’ air handlers were set up to draw less outdoor air, to maximize energy efficiency.

“The past few years there was a lot of emphasis on energy saving and there was less outside air in buildings,” said Seth Ferriell, chief executive of SSC Services for Education, a Tennessee-based company that manages ventilation systems for schools and universities.

So aside from another "green" policy falling by the wayside (think reusable bags), school officials will have to consider which buildings are the lowest risk to use.  I see this pointing to more limited, shift-based schedules.  The website noted on the other post for SMUHSD paents is quite useful for following this big issue.  It's https://reopensmuhsd.com/.

BHS: Graduation 2020 Like No Other

As I look for silver linings amidst the shelter-in-place restrictions, a few things come to mind.  The staff at BHS have done a nice job of getting to virtual and providing some live memories to grads.  Tonight's virtual Senior Awards Night and Thursday's virtual graduation are first steps.  The pre-recorded graduation will feature speeches by Superintendent Kevin Skelly, Board Member Linda Lees Dwyer, Principal Paul Belzer, and three graduating seniors as well as the BHS Choir and Band.  In between is a family stroll through the gardens at Filoli tomorrow with a defined path and two ticketed entry times.  I did a similar stroll through Filoli a week ago and the setting and the gardens are a welcome change of pace.  The warm weather is expected to last through tomorrow so it should be nice down there in the evening.  Willie Brown highlighted a similar "stroll" in his Sunday column:  Monterey County grads and their families will get to drive the whole race course at Laguna Seca and get their diploma at the end.  Sweet!

Congrats to the Class of 2020.  Everyone will remember your year as something special.

30 Ingold Rd. To Get 298 Units

I'll bet not one in a hundred B'gamers know where Ingold Rd. is.  I didn't.  It's a small street off Rollins just over the train tracks from the Police station, a little south of Guittard Chocolates--which many B'gamers can locate.  When Ingold get a seven story building with 298 residential units built on it you will notice it.  The Daily Journal reports

The Burlingame Planning Commission gave glowing reviews to the 298-unit proposal at 30 Ingold Road from Summerhill Apartment Communities, during a meeting Monday, April 27.  The discussion marked the first formal examination of the planned seven-story building — which if built would be one of the largest housing developments in Burlingame over recent years.

Officials are optimistic the area is primed for development due to its proximity to the Millbrae joint Caltrain and BART station.  To that end, Loftis said he believed the project will catalyze further construction on and around Rollins Road.  “I would be disappointed and shocked if there wasn’t something else out there that doesn’t tie into this,” he said.

Well, I would be disappointed and shocked if the Planning Commission and the City approve anymore monster buildings prior to completing the 5-year update to the Urban Water Management Plan and figuring out where all of the kids in these new buildings are going to go to school.  Exactly which elementary school district is the northern part of Rollins Rd. in?  How much room does it have?  And does any planning commissioner care?  I doubt it.

School Bonds...And Then There Were 3

For the first time in more than 20+ years, I've been contemplating whether or not to support a B'game school bond measure (Measure O) and the SMUSHD Measure L.  Over the last 20+ years it's been a no-brainer to vote "yes" and to further support the schools with donations and charity auction donations and bids.  Parcel taxes and bonds for the local schools are the most local taxation we have and local is good.  In reading the full text of Measure O, my concern was the last bullet point on the Project List 

Workforce housing to increase accessibility for District employees to quality, affordable housing

I decided to check in with Superintendent Maggie MacIsaac about any housing plans and she brought Board member Davina Drabkin into the conversation.  Davina and I had a good conversation about the pressures the district is feeling to retain staff including credentialed staff in key areas like math.  Here are a couple things that came out of that discussion

• There is no pre-allocated portion of the $97 million for housing.
• There are a number of models being tried elsewhere (subsidies, partners, build to suit, etc)
• The Board included the language in order to be able to spend money on studying the issue
• Unlike some Districts, B'game doesn't have land available for any sort of build project and is unlikely to be able to buy it

As a former analyst, I also want to look at the metrics that might point to the severity of the problem, so Maggie was kind enough to provide the teacher turnover (not counting retirements which don't fit the problem) over the last 12 years which are

• Year        % Certified Staff Turnover
• 2007/2008             8.7%
• 08/09                    4.4
• 09/10                    10.6
• 10/11                    9.8
• 11/12                    7.6
• 12/13                    14.4
• 13/14                    12.2
• 14/15                    15.1
• 15/16                    13.8
• 16/17                    16.6
• 17/18                    12.25
• 18/19                    13.3   

There are a lot of factors that go into teacher turnover, but you can say there is a slight upward trend to the data.  There are also a number of non-District-driven projects that might address the housing issue-- the city project on Lots F&N, the stunning amount of building going on it town with affordable unit components, and the possibilities of additional teacher compensation that might not involve millions of dollars of debt.  Of course, the stunning amount of building will only exacerbate the school budget problem. The real challenge for Measure O and L is that a state Proposition, crazily listed as 13 that I'll just call the New Prop. 13, is also on the ballot for $15 billion.  As the Chronicle reported today

The largest school bond in state history, at $15 billion, is going to voters in March as supporters try to put a dent in a $100 billion backlog of failing boiler rooms, leaky roofs and new construction projects needed at K-12 schools and universities.

Proposition 13 — unrelated to the same-numbered 1978 tax measure — was placed on the ballot by the Legislature with bipartisan support.

Supporters, which include the education establishment as well as the construction industry, would allocate $9 billion to K-12 schools, $4 billion for California’s public universities and $2 billion for community colleges.

The prospect of voter fatigue is very real-- I am hearing it all over town.  So I'm still contemplating how I will vote, but I feel a little better having some information that I didn't have before.  Hopefully you are too.          

Arrivederci Fattoria e Mare

For some in town the Fattoria e Mare property will always be the "Velvet Turtle".  Visitors often ask me "What was the name of that restaurant right by the freeway and Broadway"?  But those days are long gone as will be Fattoria e Mare after a six year run -- another relic that provided memories, music and comraderie.  In it's place:

The Hanover Company is proposing a six-story building replacing the restaurant and adjacent parking garage and tennis court. The development would include 35 studio apartments, 74 one-bedroom apartments, 38 two-bedroom units and three three-bedroom units. Of the 150 units, 15 would be set aside at a moderate rate.

The project would also provide 195 parking spaces, 175 of which would be accommodated through a stacking system while six would be provided in tandem spaces and 14 would be standard spots. Most of the parking would be in an underground garage.

Parking concerns were raised at the Planning Commission session along with neighborhood compatibility of a six-story building.  But it passed 4-2.  There's no indication of discussion about where the kids from Anson Apartments (Summerhill), the Adrian Rd. development and now this Hanover project will go.  Hanover adds 194 bedrooms to the mix.

I'm also wondering which of these Big Four projects (counting the delayed Howard Ave. at Bayswater project) will trigger any major additions to the projected water deficit in town for a three-year drought.  The five year old Urban Water Management Study predicted on page 72  that supply available to Burlingame in multiple dry years is estimated to be reduced to 1,628 MG (year 1) and 1,376 MG (years 2 and 3).  I'm still hunting for why is a third consecutive year is estimated to be the same as the second consecutive year.  Table 6-4 shows demand exceeding supply in such a multi-year drought situation by 21% in 2020 and 30% if it occurs in 2040.  But these estimates predate the latest building boom here and in the rest of the SFPUC water service area.  And that is only for a three year drought.  At least the revision to these plans that is due this year includes a new 8 1/2 year drought scenario.  I'm betting the numbers will be scary to environmentalists and people who drink water.

School Funding: Newsom's Next Budget

There is a group called Govern For California (GFC) that keeps an eagle eye on where state monies go--and suffice it to say they often point out poor trade-offs and poor policies regarding expenditures.  I like the group a lot and rely on their assessments of various buckets of spending.  School funding is going to be a hot topic in B'game over the next two months as Measure O is on the ballot hoping to raise $97 million in bond money for school facilities and teacher housing.  Before we get into that, here is GFC's latest comments on the Gavinor's 2020-2021 budget proposal

K-12. At $84 billion, Proposition 98 spending is nearly 70 percent greater than ten years ago and total K-12 spending will exceed $100 billion this year on nearly six million students but student performance has not materially improved and many school districts are in fiscal distress despite record revenues. The causes predate Governor Newsom's tenure but still we are disappointed the governor proposes only to modify bureaucratic Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) forms and to boost training dollars rather than to enact bold reforms that would enable school districts to manage workforces and budgets for the benefit of students.

90 percent of California's public schools are operated by public employees under an Education Code written by elected officials who have been heavily influenced by public employee unions since 1975. When combined with the centralization of school funding in Sacramento following the passages of Proposition 13 in 1978 and Proposition 98 in 1988, one result has been central control that runs schools chiefly for the benefit of those unions instead of students.

Also, the Governor's Budget doesn't address easily fixable fiscal distress in school districts such as Sacramento City where, despite record revenues, young teachers are currently being laid off in part because -- believe it or not -- that district is unnecessarily diverting money from classrooms to subsidize out-of-pocket health costs for retired employees, including retirees covered by Medicare or eligible for Obamacare or new state subsidies for middle-class Californians enacted last year.

The rough numbers of $100 billion divided by 6 million means spending is about $16,600 per student.  There are multiple sources for state-by-state spending and they vary quite a bit from source to source, so I wouldn't take any of them to the bank for comparison purposes, but they mostly show California in the middle of the pack.  The last Superintendent election didn't go as I had hoped so I'm not sure there will be any progress on most of these allocation issues any time soon.  In the meantime, we can ponder the best way forward for our excellent Burlingame schools, especially with all of the residential construction going on.

Santa, I Want a Swimming Pool

Another long-running B'game saga is coming to a conclusion in the next two weeks as the BHS pool is ready for swimsuits.  Here is your personal invite to the Grand Opening courtesy of the Trustees:

Be among the first to dive in when the San Mateo Union High School District and City of Burlingame celebrate the Grand Re-opening of the Burlingame High School Aquatic Center: 

Wednesday, January 8 at 5 p.m.

Burlingame High School 

 With strong financial support and through a partnership with the City of Burlingame, the San Mateo Union High School District has just completed renovation of the Burlingame High Pool including a new shell, deck and substantial sustainability upgrades.

It's likely to be chilly at 5pm in two weeks, but go for it anyway.  You can click through to here for what it looked like in January and this is what $6.4 million can do