We had a wonderful turnout at the charrette on Saturday, September 30! About 200 people participated during this all-day design workshop, which focused on Howard Avenue and its connections to Burlingame Avenue.

Sixty-three architects, associate architects, student architects and landscape designers participated, along with about 20 city officials and dozens of members of the public. The architects divided into four groups and welcomed suggestions from others. As the day progressed, the chatter in the room died down and all you could hear were pencils scribbling, as the architects rushed to complete their designs.

The ideas that the teams presented at the conclusion of the day were amazing! To cite just a few:

–Turn Howard Avenue into a pedestrian-friendly arts district with gateways at both ends, lots of public art, a performing arts center and vibrant shops

–Create a green "ribbon" of pedestrian paths midblock between El Camino and California Drive

–Expose the underground stream and build a creekside pathway

–Relocate Victorian houses in the area to a "Heritage Square" with the charm of Carmel

You can learn more about their visions for the area by visiting Burlingame's Web site.

What's next? Leaders of the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA San Mateo County) will collaborate with city representatives to create a written report that captures all of the ideas generated at the charrette and includes full-color pictures of all the designs. The architects plan to give a formal presentation of their recommendations at an upcoming City Council meeting.

The city will refer to their ideas throughout the three-year process of creating a new Downtown Specific Plan for Burlingame, beginning in early 2007. The charrette was the kickoff for many months of seeking input from diverse groups throughout our community as we seek to translate our collective visions into a detailed plan for how we want our downtown to evolve.

Many thanks to the hard-working architects from AIA who donated many hundreds of hours to help us see the possibilities for future development. I also want to thank City Planner Meg Monroe and Senior Planner Maureen Brooks for working very hard during the past six months on the charrette. AIA representatives have told us it was the best-organized charrette they had ever attended and that they were impressed and engaged by the many enthusiastic members of the community who participated.

Terry Nagel

– Written by Terry Nagel