Last night Senator Leland Yee addressed the City council about the State budget situation. Mayor O'Mahony expressed her concerns to the Senator about the amount of infrastructure incentives that are headed to the south of the state.
If the mayor is seriously perturbed how L.A. has garnered the lion's share of statewide voter-approved tax assessments for infrastructure improvements, then perhaps she and the rest of the council should get on board with AB32 and SB375 by adopting a serious downtown housing initiative, and eschewing suburban auto-dependent land development patterns. That may be a very viable way to secure Burlingame a larger part of the state and federal funding pie.
The basic sequence of the new laws is straightforward. The state's Air Resources Board will determine the level of emissions produced by cars and light trucks, including S.U.V.'s, in each of California's 17 metropolitan planning areas. We should note that passenger vehicles are the biggest single source of carbon dioxide emissions in California, producing nearly one-third of the total. Over the past 20 years the number of miles driven in California has increased 50 percent faster than the rate of population growth, largely because people have to drive greater distances in their daily lives.
Under these two bills emissions-reduction goals for 2020 and 2035 will be assigned to each area. Local governments will then devise strategies for housing development, road-building and other land uses to shorten travel distances, reduce driving and meet the new targets. The bills contain significant incentives, including the promise of substantial federal and state money to regions whose plans pass muster. In addition, and with the consent of the environmental community, the state will relax various environmental rules to allow "infill" – higher-density land use in or near cities and towns.
Unlike many cities in California, Burlingame has a wonderful transit component. The entire Burlingame / Howard Avenue area for example is well within the 1/4-mile walking radius (transit shed) of the Burlingame station as well as the public transit corridor of El Camino Real.
One obvious approach in Burlingame would be to change zoning laws so developers can build new housing closer to where people work. A simple change could be the city wide requirement for 2 parking spaces for every habitable unit. That might make sense in the uplands but not downtown. Another might be to set minimum levels for floor area ratios (FAR) i.e. the amount of land that accommodates human activity so we don't end up with large acreages of land dedicated to at grade' parking.
The city council should show its leadership (and its interest in garnering federal and state money!) by supporting AB32 & SB375 and encouraging all developers, including Safeway, to dedicate more of their development to active human usage rather than simply accommodating parked cars.
It's for our children's sake!

– Written by stephen