Category: Parking

  • Support your favorite $4,500 parklets

    The chickens have come home to roost on fees for parklets as we noted last month here.  The council went with a $250 per month cleaning fee in addition to the $1,500 annual rental fee.  Per the Daily Journal article there was some discussion along the lines of what we noted last month about Broadway perhaps being a lower fee than the Avenue, but that did not come to pass.  It was unanimous.  I was in contact with John Kevranian who heads the Broadway Business Improvement District ("the BID") and I asked if I could publish his whole letter to the Council since I believe it explains very well the state of small businesses on B'way and more generally.  Here's the full letter:

    Dear Mr. Mayor, Vice Mayor and City Council members,

    I have been asked by my Broadway BID members to convey our position in regards to the parklet owners sidewalk cleaning fee. We on Broadway are Not in support of the recommended city staff report on sidewalk cleaning fee of $250 per month.

    Some of you may perceive and have the impression that our restaurants are doing very well. Well, the bottom line is, they are not doing the business they had pre-Covid. The staffing shortages, increased cost of products, and supply chain issues have taken a toll to their bottom-line profit. Also, I would like to remind all of you that the majority of the business landlords did not discount rent the past 22 months during the pandemic.

    This year, the increase in minimum wage, sewer rate increases, extra cost of composting, new food-to-go container mandates in March 2022 and other cost increases in the food industry will take a chunk of profit away from our restaurants. Also, not to mention Covid issues and less indoor dining.

    The cleaning fee of $250 has to come from somewhere such as reducing the hours of workers or increasing prices on customers. The cost of chicken has tripled and the cost of beef and other products have skyrocketed. How much can you increase on a customer? 

    Over the past 2 years, I have convinced my Broadway BID board of directors to waive our assessments (2 years' worth $54,000) to help save our businesses. I approached San Mateo County Supervisor Dave Pine to have the county waive the Environmental Health Department fees county wide for 1 year totaling $5.8 million, and I was successful with my request. I have done everything possible to save these merchants expenses, so they can survive during the pandemic and after. 

    Businesses who have Parklets and outside seating are being targeted with federal lawsuits for ADA noncompliance. So far, I have 3 Broadway BID members who have received the lawsuit. The plaintiff's attorney will not settle for less than $10.000 and also the cost to remediate the violation.

    I respectfully ask the entire council Not to adopt this program.

    Best Regards,

    John Kevranian

    President

    Broadway Burlingame Business Improvement District

    John also researched the Covid relief funding that the City has received and reports that it was $371,871 from the CARES Act and is estimated to be $5,814,178 from the American Rescue Plan allocation.  As I noted in the comments to the December post, my surveying of restauranteurs about the additional fees has yielded split views.  Some will pay thinking they have little choice and others will give up the parklet.  John asked that I also publish the joint email address for the Council in case you want to weigh in even after the vote.  It is council@burlingame.org.

  • EV Charging: Still Slow Uptake at Lot Y

    It has been a year since we checked in on the usage of the eight EV charging spaces in Lot Y south of Broadway on Chula Vista.  I use Lot Y often and have noticed some uptick in usage which has been extremely low in the past as noted here.  Last October/November 2020 usage was running a half of a charge per day, per space during Covid limitations.  Things have opened up a lot since then–just look at the traffic in town these days.  So one would expect some uptick in EV charging as well.  Here's the numbers from the city:

                       2020 minutes    2020 sessions          2021 minutes    2021 sessions

    October            2650                121                        12,287                366

    November         3571                137                        13,386                360

    So the spaces are being used 2.8 times as frequently and providing 4.1 times as many minutes of juice.  That tallies to one and a half charging sessions per space per day.  That is still very light usage although I once saw four EVs charging at the same time.  I was at the lot on Wednesday afternoon when the regular spaces were very close to full and the eight EV spaces were empty. EV Empty

    There has been plenty written about the increasing load on the California grid from EVs, but not as much about the environmental effects of all the new batteries for EVs.  NBC News jumped on that last week

    A nickel mine stretching nearly 4 square miles scars the forest above farmland (in the Philippines). The mine, Rio Tuba, plays a vital role in satisfying the global demand for a mineral more coveted than ever due in part to the explosion of the electric car industry.  The raw nickel dug out of the ground here ends up in the lithium batteries of plug-in vehicles manufactured by Tesla, Toyota and other automakers, according to an NBC News review of company filings and shipping records.

    With the demand for nickel skyrocketing, the Rio Tuba mine is now on the brink of expanding deeper into the rainforest, adding almost 10 square miles to its current footprint. Local environmentalists fear that it will wipe out the forest’s fragile ecosystem and increase toxic runoff into the rivers that flow past the farmland down below, jeopardizing the crops.

    I'm sure there are other mining areas seeing the same growth.  There's no free lunch, somewhere, somehow someone pays.  

  • Parklets are here to stay, if restaurants can afford them. Safety first.

    By now our parklet lifelines to local restaurants have the feel of permanence on the streets of B'game.  Back in August 2020, I noted that parklets are far superior to closing the whole darn street and that has played out as expected.  Now comes the question of permanence and payment.  The Daily Journal is reporting that

    While businesses thus far have not been charged for use of the public space, the City Council this week voiced favor for establishing cleaning and rental fees likely to cost upwards of $5,100 yearly.  The charges would likely begin at some point next year for a one-year pilot period, after which the city would reassess and make changes as needed. The bulk of the cost, a $300 per month cleaning fee, could be reduced if the city’s expenses for the service were less than expected.

    The remaining rental cost was determined based on Mountain View’s permanent parklet program that charges 9% of going rental rates. Given Burlingame commercial rents and the typical 300-square-foot size of parklets, a $1,500 yearly charge was decided on. Additionally, a $769 new application fee and $205 permit renewal fee would be levied.

    If that is the algorithm, and I'm not sure it should be, then B'way parklets should be a little cheaper than on the Avenew.  Burlingame is currently home to 43 parklets occupying 88 parking spaces, according to the city.  So we are talking about $220K per year added to the restaurant bills in town.  I'm not fluent in restaurants' P&L's but I will ask a few owners to find out.  They are probably in "what choice do I have?" mode which might explain this:

    Councilmember Mike Brownrigg, part of the economic subcommittee tasked with determining appropriate fees and guidelines, noted input from businesses in the process had been limited, though “not for want of trying.”

    And then there is the street parking issue for non-restaurants which may come to a head when "permanence" starts filtering out

    Also, in some instances where parklets extend into the frontage of a neighboring storefront, the neighboring business could request the parklet be moved or shrunk. Councilmember Donna Colson suggested the neighboring business could be required to pay for part of the rebuilding, or a timeframe could be established in which parklets would not be required to be moved or rebuilt. 

    “You have to have some fairness, you can’t build a $40,000 parklet and then your neighbor says ‘you know what, you have to take it down now,’” she said.

    Left unsaid was the hubbub from San Francisco where a 60 page rulebook landed on restaurants' doorsteps causing havoc according to the Comicle.

    The notices from multiple city agencies cited rules that she’d never seen: The walls needed to be lowered. The roof needed to be removed. It could occupy only one parking space. And if it wasn’t all fixed in 14 days, she’d be fined $100, then $200, then $500 on the third day onward.

    Sidewalks less than 10' wide mean Fire Department access to the building would be impeded by having a roof on the parklet and they need to have 3' of buffer (meaning an opening) on each side also for emergency access.  I'm reminded of the Chicken Chicken! fire in 2005.  And SF wants a 20' clearance from any intersection which seems too small to me.  I also worry about being able to see through the parklets to see on-coming traffic.  When I drive north on Laguna at B'way, the Rocca parklet has a takeout sign on the side of the parklet that blocks the visibility of eastbound traffic.  It's very tricky to get through that intersection in any direction.

    Bottom Line:  There are some refinements to be made and money to be collected, but parklets are here to stay at least until some climate warrior outlaws propane heaters.  And there are some really nice ones in town.  Maybe Beautification should start a new category– Best Parklet.

  • Lookout. Not one, but two wrong way parkers.

    We haven't had a bad parking post in awhile.  There was this one that got the attention of San Mateo city staff and probably earned the driver a demerit.  Some incidents are more blatant than others.  And Lot Y is always good for a shake of the head or two.

    A regular reader got a surprise last night when turning south on Capuchino–not one, but two wrong way parkers.  It's contagious.  I'll just guess what happened.  They pulled into the Post Office parking lot, it was full, they went around and saw the open spot to their left–"hey, it's only 30 yards going the wrong way on a one-way street and I gotta get to my dinner reservation."  The second guy sees the maneuver and does same.  It had to be dangerously entertaining leaving the spots.  If BPD wants the plate number, they know where to find me.

    Doubly Wrong Parking1

  • The CA exodus is real, so why do we need SB 10?

    There are plenty of people who foolishly believe we can build our way out of the so-called "housing crisis".  Dense development hasn't caused lower housing costs anywhere in the world–in fact, many of the densest locations are also the costliest.  And when the other quality of life components and job prospects are as good as the Bay Area, one would have to be extra foolish to try to out-build the demand and further diminish the quality of life.  But Sacramento has foisted SB 9 and SB 10 on us anyway.  Most of them couldn't get through Econ 101, but that is where we are at.

    The Burlingame City Council will discuss what to do about SB 10 tomorrow night.  The Staff Report is super thin on SB 10:

    SB 10. California Senate Bill (SB) 10 allows (but does not require) local agencies to adopt an ordinance to allow up to 10 dwelling units on any parcel if the parcel is within a transit-rich area or urban infill site. (Ed:  pretty much all of B'game).

    The General Plan Update has already provided a range of multiunit residential and mixed use land use districts with a wide range of residential densities, and the Zoning Ordinance Update underway will provide refined development standards for the corresponding zoning districts.

    Staff requests direction from the City Council on whether to pursue zoning allowed by SB 10.  Whereas SB 9-compliant zoning is required, municipalities may choose to adopt (or not adopt) SB 10-compliant zoning.

    And the report claims that neither SB 9 or SB 10 will have any fiscal impact!  It might be time to double-check the thinking on that since residential property taxes never cover the cost of providing city services–never mind the costs to the school district that is pretty much out of real estate.

    But let's look a little deeper courtesy of last Sunday's Mercury News piece with the sub-head "In an area noted for its booming economy, stunning weather and natural beauty, a majority feel their quality of life is in decline".  The Silicon Valley Leadership Group and the Bay Area News Group commissioned a survey by Embold Research to dig into this and it's not pretty.

    In a foreboding breakthrough, for the first time since the poll began posing the question in 2018 a solid majority — 56% — said they expect to leave the Bay Area in the next few years…a similar majority said the region is headed in the wrong direction.  In the survey of 1,610 registered voters, 71% said the Bay Area's quality of life has declined in the last five years.

    Two problems topped the list of increased concern being "serious or very serious"?  Drought (+41%) and Water Supply (+32%).  I'm glad to know I'm not alone on this.  The cost of housing was still the highest overall at 92% but only up 6%.  What if even half of the half of people that are considering leaving do so?  Even if it is only 10% that would be significant.   B'game has a huge amount of new housing already approved, in design and "in-the-dirt".  Maybe we should see how that all plays out?  I hope the council's direction to staff on SB 10 is a brisk, clear "forgetaboutit" so they can get back to ensuring our public safety, water supply, small business vitality, economic health and quality of life.

  • Park it, Mack

    The first phase of the new downtown parking structure is open for biz about 11 months after we discussed it here.  The ground floor has been offering free, try-before-you-buy parking for a couple of weeks, but that is now over.  It should relieve a little of the pressure from parklets and construction, especially at the old post office where today is groundbreaking day.  Here's the view of the ground floor–full– except for the EV spots which were……empty.  I think they will be more successful than the spots near Broadway which shouldn't be hard to accomplish.

    Parking structure gnd floor

    An eagle-eyed reader forwarded this photo of the rooftop parking and noted the absence of the concrete "wheel blocks" in front of the cable railing that appears a bit flimsy.  We've seen a few instances of drivers thinking they were in reverse when they weren't or hitting the gas instead of the brake, so the wheel blocks seem like a good idea here.

    Top Floor rail

  • The Economics of EVs and B’game

    Dan Neil is the automotive columnist for the Wall Street Journal and one of the funniest writers around.  He also has one of the best jobs on the planet as one after another car manufacturer delivers cool test cars to his house and lets him "drive them like he stole them" for a week.  He makes a compelling case that the two main knocks on electric vehicles (EVs)–their cost and range– will diminish rapidly over time.  He writes

    When commercial batteries attain specific energy levels on the order of 500 watt-hours/kg, and when pack-level costs level off around $50/kWh—within a decade—mass-market EVs will be capable of 700+ miles between charges and cost less to build than gas-powered equivalents. With that kind of energy onboard you could make cars fly—and houses and restaurants. Gas-electric technology will become as irrelevant as quadraphonic sound.

    Sounds good, but what about the dealers?  A WSJ article notes

    As auto executives and investors buzz about the coming of age of the electric car, many dealers say they are struggling to square that enthusiasm with the reality today on new-car sales lots, where last year battery-powered vehicles made up fewer than 2% of U.S. auto sales.  Most consumers who come to showrooms aren’t shopping for electric cars, and with gasoline prices relatively low, even hybrid models can be a tough sell, dealers and industry analysts say.

    Tesla Inc.’s influence on the electric-car market has created a new standard for car shoppers, offering an online transaction and a simplified lineup with no price negotiation. Other electric-vehicle startups, like Rivian Automotive and Lucid Motors, say they’ll likewise sell directly to consumers and bypass traditional dealerships.  Some car companies are now following their lead, initially stocking dealership lots with few if any electric models and allowing customers to order more directly from the manufacturer.

    Adding to the dealer uncertainty

    Electric vehicles typically have fewer mechanical parts and don’t require the same type of service that gas engine cars need, such as oil changes. That work right now is a big profit center for dealerships.

    Why do I care here at the Voice?  Auto Row has been a signature feature of Burlingame since, well, there have been dealerships.  My 1939 directory lists 27 Auto Agencies – New and Used including Nash, LaSalle, Packard, De Soto, Hudson and Terraplane dealers.  Autos and Transportation is our number one sales tax revenue source at $1.2M in 2Q19.  That dropped to $800K in 2Q20 as Covid took effect.  It's one thing to dedicate eight off-Broadway parking spaces to EVs that seldom show up for a charge.  It's another thing to see a major revenue source get whacked.  We have a Tesla showroom in town, but I'm not sure if they "make the sale" in B'game or on-line.  This is a very long term trend, but one that bears watching just like the hoped-for recovery in hotel occupancy and ToT. 

  • If You Like Your House, You Can Keep It…..

    I have been mulling over this post for a couple of months.  That is because it is so distressing.  But some things just need to be said.  When Paloma Ave. made a comment on the natural gas ban post today, it was the match that lit the fire.  Here is his/her/their comment:

    I just read in the SF Comicle that Berkeley is now discussing banning single family neighborhoods.  Didn't Berkeley start the trend to ban natural gas, which our City Council decided they should also ban?  Question to the City Council: Will you also try to ban Single Family Homes in Burlingame? After all, wouldn't that be the woke thing to do?

    I'm struck by the follow-the-lemming aspect of it all.  Jon Mays at the Daily Journal had an editorial about the follower mindset among city councils here.  Jon let these councils off easy by noting "To be clear, the following is not a judgment, but rather an observation."  Another observation, mine, would be that city councils need to stand up for their communities even if it means slinging a stone at Goliath.  Nowhere is that more important than in the protection of the neighborhoods.  Let's face it.  The housing thugs in Sacramento are Goliath and they have it in for single family housing.  It has been in the works for awhile as I noted here.  Personally, I think it is an unhealthy sign of envy, but that is a topic for another day.

    What they have already done is today's topic–Accessory Dwelling Units, or ADUs are coming to a lot near you.  The first one in my neighborhood just got into the planning queue.  But it's not a restrictive queue.  I have it from multiple informed sources that the city has minimal control over ADUs.  Sure they can dither over whether 16' or 20" height limits should be imposed, but the bottom line is Sacramento has turned the whole state into R2 zoning with no input from the public.

    Some predictions have a very high probability.  Here's one.  If your residential street has a parking problem now, expect it to get worse in five years.  City councils will have to get very smart quickly.  Maybe the ADU "granny unit", as they used to be called, really is for granny.  Maybe it's a perfect Work From Home office.  But maybe it's the AirBnB ticket that helps pay the mortgage and has no effect on local affordability.  Maybe your kid will live in it.  Maybe all of the above.  Anyway you look at it, it's more density and that has ramifications that will reveal themselves as we go.

    ADU RC DJ

      

     

  • Post Office Approval: Done Deal

    Back in February of 2012 we asked "Whither the Post Office?" when USPS announced plans to sell the main post office.  A lot of water has since flowed "under the bridge" and through the underground culvert that runs next to the old post office.  It sold, then sold again, and the latest owner, Sares Regis, has worked diligently on plans with the city to get to the approval it just received.  The DJ reports

    The Burlingame City Council unanimously voted in favor Monday, Feb. 1, of a development agreement with Sares Regis to convert the shuttered facility at 220 Park Road into a six-story commercial tower, expected to become the city’s tallest building.  The office building is proposed to be six stories, with five floors of office space built over a ground floor of retail and dining space.

    The site is adjacent to city property where a surface parking lot is expected to be reconstructed into a new community gathering hub officials imagine to be similar to Courthouse Square in Redwood City.

    We've worried about the building itself tucked behind fencing for nine years with potential maintenance issues that inevitably accrue to any building of any age.  The marble-clad lobby seen here is a gem and will make for a great retail or restaurant space.  And the "town square" will be a welcome addition particularly if it can successfully host some much-needed entertainment in town.  It will certainly get more use than the lawn ever did.

    Post office lawn2

    Parking should be OK given the giant new parking structure that many residents are gazing up at–some shaking their heads at the size and the shadow it casts.  Along with the Village at Burlingame, 220 California, the Bayswater development at the old Hower Auto site and now the Saris Regis project, one wonders if it is time to take a breather?  Perhaps we should see how this all plays out for awhile?

    P.S. I kind of like the juxtaposition of the approval headline with the San Mateo downtown vacancy headline

    Post Office and SM Vacancies1

  • A Chat With the New Mayor

    I had a chance to sit down with our new mayor for 2021, Ann O'Brien (Keighran) to discuss her priorities for the year.  In a normal year, City Hall would fill with people on the evening when the mayorship and vice-mayorship rotate, everyone would hear from the outgoing and incoming mayors and adjourn for cake and champagne in the lobby; where the politically active in B'game would catch-up.  I felt bad that Ann Zoomed it instead of having the live event and the cable TV broadcast, hence the socially-distanced, outdoor chat.  That's just me–she noted that this is her fourth time as mayor, so her excitement would have been muted regardless.

    O'Brien's long tenure on the council, preceded by her long tenure on the Planning Commission, and buttressed by her day job as a staffer for a County supervisor shows in her grasp of a wide range of issues.  Whether it be city finances, local business conditions, edicts coming down from Sacramento, or her main priority this year– what's happening on our own backyard — she's fluent and sensible in my opinion.  It can be enticing for any local politician to grapple with state or national issues, but when push comes to shove the job is about the local community.  Issues like our very own minimum wage, banning natural gas in new construction, or forcing rent control take a back seat to relief for our business owners, our hospitality sector and helping residents back to work.

    On the bright side, the council has recently approved funding of $500K for small business grants, purchased the parklet barriers, leveled the playing field for our hotels by implementing a TOT for short-term rentals and developed CARES debit cards to help businesses and low-income families.  These all need continuing care, feeding and tweaking.  Village Burlingame, the downtown parking garage, Top Golf and other Bayfront improvements like a park on state land speak to a stronger B'game economy.

    On the not so bright side, the housing edict from Sacramento to create a free-for-all on Accessory Dwelling Units leaves the council with little room to moderate the effects–mainly parking and backyard privacy.  Anyone who served as a Planning Commissioner would know what the effect on street parking will be from an onslaught of ADUs–and it's not like street parking has been great in town to date.  I'll bet there are very few former planning commissioners in the Assembly or State Senate.

    Similarly, the current state election laws give a lot of cover for a single private attorney to force cities to go to district elections.  I think it's misguided, counter to good government and probably detrimental to the people it is supposed to help, but that's just me.  As the census data comes available, this council will have to determine district boundaries and a new election process.  There are about 20 applicants for the city attorney position and the new hire will definitely be busy with this change.

    Kudos to Ann on her fourth turn holding the rudder to the city government.  Here's hoping it is a productive year focused squarely on local issues. 

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