Too bad that there were so many people trying to attend this study session that they were spilling out of the door but here is Heather's article about the meeting:

Underground parking? City can't afford it (by Heather Murtagh (Daily Journal)
Parking a car underground before shopping in downtown Burlingame will not be a reality for the envisioned rebuilt Safeway, at least not funded by the city because officials say they simply cannot afford the luxury.
Six parking options ranging from $7.2 million for three levels of above-ground parking to $19.8 million for one level of underground parking were presented to the council during a special study session last night. Trying to add parking to the downtown was accelerated by the idea of incorporating the spots into the forthcoming Safeway redevelopment. Ultimately, the council conceded the one option offering underground parking on the Safeway site was simply too expensive.
We can't afford it. We simply can't afford it,? said Councilman Jerry Deal who would have favored the option if it were feasible and beneficial to the city.
The first option generated 204 new spaces underground on the Safeway site at $98,000 per space for a total of $19.8 million. This was the only option requiring a rush decision. Even if the city did have the funds, a decision to move forward with underground parking could potentially delay a new Safeway by two years, said Public Works Director Syed Murtuza.
The delay allows the city to consider the alternatives during its downtown specific planning process.
Part of [the downtown plan] vision is to organize parking more logically,? said Councilwoman Terry Nagel. She went on to suggest the possibility of selling underutilized lots to add onto lots in busier areas with nice aesthetics as a compromise down the road.
Vice Mayor Ann Keighran echoed Nagel's sentiment, adding she was a big proponent of underground parking. This will give the city time to discuss other opportunities it may be missing right now. We can look for the next step to look at the underground parking and using the surface parking more wisely,? she said.
Residents spoke in favor of keeping the option for underground parking in other places in the downtown. John Root, who sits on the Downtown Specific Plan Committee, sees above-ground, at-grade and underground parking throughout the downtown.
Other options were not nearly as pricey.
Above ground parking at Lot J between Primrose and Park roads were split into three alternatives: Three above grade levels generating 265 new spots; two above grade levels and one below creating 265 new spaces for $17 million; or one surface lot and one below grade lot resulting in new 180 spots for $14.5 million. In any of these options, Blockbuster Video would be rebuilt into the floor level of the parking garage.
Creating 123 new spaces in an above ground structure on Parking Lot A-3, on Donnelly Road, and adding a level of parking on parking structure A was the cheapest choice at $7.2 million.
The final option took the $7.2 million option and added a three-level parking structure on Lot C on Donnelly Road for $13.8 million total.
Thirty e-mails were sent to the council regarding the topic. Twenty-one were against underground parking for one of a number of reasons: Cost, safety or potentially adding excess time to an already drawn out process. Those not against underground parking simply wished the council would move the project along.
A Safeway before I die would be nice,? one resident wrote.
During its regular meeting later in the evening, the council supported encouraging Safeway to proceed to phase three by submitting a project application using the recommendations of the Safeway Working Group.
In addition, the council authorized City Manager Jim Nantell to enter into negotiations regarding the potential use of lots K and L on El Camino Real and Fox Plaza Lane respectively.
Getting to this point has taken Burlingame years. The city is currently getting the two lots appraised. First estimates valued the two sites at $6 million with 75 percent of the value within Lot K.
A February 2004 rejection of a 66,900-square-foot building with a new store and a Walgreens and a Wells Fargo inside spurred the public planning method called the Burlingame Process? in February last year. Months of meetings with representatives from stakeholder groups like merchants, property owners and citizens sharing their desires for the site at Howard Avenue and Primrose Road resulted in the conceptual options brought before the City Council and Planning Commission in August.

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– Written by Fiona