Category: San Mateo, H’borough & Millbrae

  • Peninsula Ave. interchange “scrapped” for good?

    I can hear the cheers from the Lyon-Hoag neighborhood from here on my perch on the west side.  The "upgrade" to Peninsula Ave. at 101 has been bandied about for almost 20 years.  The neighborhood concerns voiced in public go back more than 10 years as shown in this post from 2015.  Now the weight of the project–cost, eminent domain, and community opposition have apparently caused it to collapse.  I'm guessing this council decision pre-dates the weekend pedestrian fatality on Peninsula.  While I feel happy for Lyon-Hoag, caution and observation remain the best course.  These things can be like zombies.  And the pressure from over-development on the Bayfront is ever growing.  The Daily Journal notes

    A long-standing effort to move the Highway 101 southbound off-ramps from East Poplar Avenue north to Peninsula Avenue has been officially scrapped, though plans to address congestion and mitigate collisions in the area are still being finalized.

    For years, the city (Ed: San Mateo) has looked into relocating the (Poplar Ave.) ramps to Peninsula Avenue because, east of Idaho Street, it has two lanes in each direction, no parking or driveways and has shoulders and bike lanes, all advantages over East Poplar Avenue. The total project cost estimate ranges from $169 million to $227 million, and while some funding could be secured from regional or state agencies, the majority would have to come from the city.

    Moving forward would also require the city to acquire dozens of private properties along North Amphlett Boulevard via eminent domain, another financial burden for the city. Councilmember Rich Hedges said, at this point, many of the affected residents just want to know which direction the city is going so they can plan accordingly.

    A lot of B'gamers are having sighs of relief.  As one local noted "No, it's not April 1st".  Let's keep it that way.

    Peninsula interchange scrapped

  • Housing Maneuvers – Part 1 Pausing the land grab

    We noted that the real action County-wide and State-wide in the Fall election is in the propositions and initiatives since the candidate voting is pretty much a given.  B'game will have a real race or two, but outside our little town there is a lot of fait accompli.  But one controversial move that will not be on the ballot is the County land grab for "affordable housing".  The DJ is noting that the Supes, in their wisdom, have decided to "pause" their land grab.

    Despite a poll suggesting majority voter support, San Mateo County will not be placing a measure on November ballots allowing the development of low-income housing units without voter approval, in pursuant of Article 34 of the state Constitution.  The measure, initially presented at a special meeting of the board July 22, would have provided authorization for the county and other public agencies to construct or acquire affordable rental housing for low-income residents — up to 1% of total existing housing units — without voter consideration. 

    Although Chief Executive Officer Mike Callagy maintained Article 34 “has no place in this county,” he did not ask the Board of Supervisors to consider approving such a measure placement this election cycle.

    One has to wonder what other bits and pieces of the state Constitution have no place in San Mateo County?  Perhaps we could get a list?  The usual blather about "racism in homeownership" and "constituent confusion" and wanting to be "collaborative" with local cities and not "usurp their authority" ensued. The reality is the November ballot is already stuffed with pork.  So much so that voters are likely to Just Say No to the whole lot.  Half Moon Bay and Millbrae led the public charge against this land grab.  Here's hoping B'game electeds did so quietly but firmly.

  • 2024 H’borough Concours d’Elegance

    Sunday was a brilliant, fog-free, wind-free day up the hill at Crystal Springs Golf Course as the Concours d'Elegance took over the 18th fairway for the 68th rendition of the car show.  That makes it "the longest continually running Concours in the world" and a showplace for some amazing cars and Jeeps.  This year's theme car was the Mazda Miata and one locally owned example won best in its class.  The 2024 winners have not been posted to the website yet but check here later.  Burlingame-owned Frank's Texas BBQ provided the eats and drew a long line of patrons as they usually do whenever they do an event.

    I also enjoyed watching kids playing in the sand trap–they found it way more fun than I do.

    Concours 2024

    Concours beach

  • Millbrae recall election: Sign of things to come?

    The La Quinta dogfight in Millbrae described a year ago here that pits the city against the county over tax revenue and homeless housing has given us an unintended view of the future.  The move to district elections at the city level was clearly voter suppression–taking away 80% of any individual's votes for city council and creating tiny little districts supposedly to improve "equity".  Couple the two issues together and we now see that recalling elected officials gets easier.  One hot-button issue can spin up enough people in one (or in this case two) tiny districts easily enough to qualify for a recall election.

    I will skip the personalities involved, but the Daily Journal piece also shows the cost of these efforts at municipal self-determination and running special elections:

    Millbrae is also embroiled in ongoing litigation against the county for choosing to move forward with the project — which the county intends to fund through still in-flux Project Homekey money, as it has done at several other locations throughout the county.   The lawsuit, which has cost the city $230,000 as of May, City Manager Tom Williams said previously, alleges that Millbrae residents have a right to vote on whether they want the housing project in their community under Article 34 of the state Constitution. 

    (Councilmember) Cahalan said she’d wait to see the results of the lawsuit — which the presiding judge said would be returned by June 26 — before commenting further on the project.

    And on the cost front:

    The special election will cost the city approximately $143,000. The councilmember will be recalled if more than 50% of the votes are in favor. Once they are removed, the positions will be vacant until it is filled by appointment or an election to the unexpired terms.

    While that sounds like a lot of money, remember Millbrae would stand to lose $750,000 every year in perpetuity from the lost hotel tax.  One wonders if the Malibu attorney behind the move to tiny little districts had this in mind? 

    Millbrae recall

  • Bumpingame: Taking the car out of Carmelita Ave.

    One way to get people griping less about California Ave. is to roll out another project unpopular with drivers.  While the aversion to the California conversion is on-going (just mention it at the grocery store!), the multitude of new speed bumps on Carmelita east and west of ECR is jarring drivers' senses–and common sense.  A review of the accident history via the Crimegraphics tracker on the city website doesn't yield nearly enough incidents to cause speed bumps to multiply like rabbits there.  Is the city trying to take the "car" out of Carmelita Ave.?  Shall we rename it Melita Ave.–a main thoroughfare from H'borough to Bumpingame?

    The Sunday SF Comicle had a front-page piece titled Drivers feel under siege with S.F. limits.  It described some senior drivers' anxiety over the navigational mazes being implemented as "improvements".  It's more than just banning cars on Market St. or so-called "Slow streets".  And it's not just in EssEff.  I like to pick up the pink Financial Times (of London) sometimes and was amazed to see a Letter to the Editor from a guy in Oakland under the headline Why the nanny state is partly to blame for US road carnage!  He writes:

    Meanwhile, endless reconfiguration of America's streets and pavements by traffic engineers who dream of "Amsterdam in Santa Monica" has cluttered once open roadways with mountains of superfluous signage and millions of plastic bollards; new parking arrangement, often in the middle of the street, bicycle paths switched to different lanes every other corner; and elevated bulbs wherever possible–all designed to slow traffic under the guise of creating bike and bus-friendly streets.

    The addition of all this visual noise impedes every driver's view, making it ever harder to see that bicycle or pedestrian while elevating the stress.  Alas, too many American drivers have reacted to these safety-related distractions and stressors by developing the habits of road rage.

    So don't just blame the culture of freedom that Americans enjoy for the roads mayhem.  At least some fault is due to the nanny state at work, killing us softly with safety enhancements.

    George P Csicsery

    Zala Films, Oakland, CA, US

    My guess is Mr. Csicsery has been to Bumpingame recently.  My wishlist is to take out at least half of the new speed bumps on Melita Ave. and put a moratorium on any more as well as on the cheesy plastic bollards and floppy mid-crosswalk signs that are already looking beat after just a few weeks.  Then bank the money to pay for another police officer to catch scofflaw drivers.  While we're at it, let's check what all of these "improvements" are doing to police, fire and ambulance response times…..

    Driver confusion letter

    Hat tip to a local wag for the name Bumpingame.

    Bumpingame2

  • B’game Train Station ADU?

    I guess deputy directors at Caltrain struggle to find affordable living quarters on the Peninsula even though the payroll at Caltrain is very bloated IMHO.  But who knew it would get this weird?  Former deputy director for operations Joe Navarro and a contractor friend named Seth Worden have been charged with skimming public funds to create living spaces in the B'game and Millbrae train stations!  In small increments, Navarro is alleged to have paid Worden $42,000 for the secret apartment in the B'game station and another $8K for the Millbrae hideaway.

    As shown below, the B'game station has always had living space on the south side as that was the original station master's quarters (to the right of the arches).  Later on, it was the B'game Chamber of Commerce office and had a kitchenette and toilet already.  That was where an arsonist tried to burn the place down in 2016.  It must be tricked out pretty nicely for $42K.  According to the Merc

    Worden was caught first, in 2020, after employees discovered the converted space, authorities said. But the transit agency was reportedly unaware of Navarro’s place in Burlingame until getting an anonymous tip in 2022.  Navarro was fired after being confronted with the tip, and reportedly admitted to “occasionally using the station as his residence,” prosecutors said, though they allege that he was using the small apartment as his primary residence.

    I can't wait to find out why it took years to bring the felony embezzlement charges.

  • Local Jazz: Swinging Songs of Disney

    Wedged as we are between EssEff and Stanford/Palo Alto, we need to take advantage of any opportunities for local live music that pop up.  The Monday night jazz jam at Max's Opera House has been going strong as has the Wed-Sat schedule at Broadway Grill.  Both venues' live music adds to the ambience for a nice dinner out.

    Local non-profit Jazz at the Ballroom is another option for pop-up jazz.  The organization has done events at the B'game library, at private homes and the Hillsborough Raquet Club which is a nice venue for medium sized affairs.  This Saturday, January 27th, Jazz at the Ballroom brings Professor Cunningham and his Old School band to the club for "Swinging Songs of Disney".  The band is billed as

    This award-winning New York based band performs the most swinging and grooving repertoire deeply steeped in the New Orleans tradition; from early jazz to early R&B— the likes of Sidney Bechet, Fats Waller, even Fats Domino. It is one of the most sought-after Hot Jazz Bands on the international festival and Lindy Hop dance scene.  The group is fronted by in-demand vocalist/reedman Adrian Cunningham, an Australian native based in NYC, and one of his home country's finest jazz exports. The ensemble consists of some of the most energetic and accomplished musicians on the New York circuit and has been a regular hit in the NYC underground party and swing dance scene.

    So, they are stretching out a bit into Disney songs like ""Everybody Wants To Be a Cat" to "I Wanna Be Like You" and "Under the Sea.".  Uncle Walt would be pleased.  You can see the details and reserve tickets here.  I saw the JATB last event at the Hillsborough Raquet Club–it was easy to get to and park, cash bar and up close and personal seating.

  • Coyote Alert: Middle of town

    I'm guessing the B'gamers and H'boroughers who live up the hill or near Mills Canyon are much more familiar with coyote sightings than us flatlanders.  Even though I am a flatlander, I'm more familiar with them due to spending a good amount of time in Tahoe.  I think this guy, who was photographed yesterday morning walking down the middle of Central Ave., is a juvenile.  Central Ave is a block west of ECR and right at the southern edge of B'game–on street north of the Barriolhet border.

    Watch your pets as they are reported to easily jump an eight-foot fence.

    Coyote on Central

     

  • Baywood: Chronicle “skirts” the truth

    There are a number of reasons why I call the SF Chronicle the "Comicle".  I might have plagiarized it from Herb Caen decades ago.  There is so much slanted "news" some days that it seems like the whole edition is a comic strip.  Last Thursday, some "reporter" named J.K. Dineen provided the latest example when he/she waded into the San Mateo Baywood happenings around getting historic district certification.  The headline screamed "Effort could skirt state housing laws".  Um, no.  The law (SB9) includes exceptions for historic districts and resources.  You aren't "skirting" a law by complying with what it says.

    Dineen kicks the piece off with "A stealth effort to have the state legislature designate one of San Mateo's wealthiest neighborhoods as a historic district could create a playbook for other Bay Area enclaves looking to avoid complying"…..blah, blah, blah.  It's only a "stealth effort" if one hasn't been paying attention to our local news.  The DJ must have run a dozen articles on the effort and published a couple of dozen LTTEs.  If one's world view generally stops around McLaren Park then it's "stealth".

    Note the coded language–"wealthiest neighborhood" and an "enclave" and "genteel subdivision".  Can "leafy suburb" be far behind?  For some reason, searching the Comicle site for a link does not bring up the piece, but here is the front page.  Can B'game be next?  How will they ratchet up the angst when it's H'borough's turn?

    SM Baywood

  • 94010: H’borough/B’game #22 in the country

    The Merc did a better job of writing up the recent PropertyShark national rankings of median home prices than the Comicle did, so I will link to it here.  It notes

    The Bay Area maintains its status as the most expensive metropolitan area in the U.S.  Bay Area ZIP codes made up 37 of the top 100 most expensive ZIP codes in the country, according to a new 2023 ranking by real estate data firm PropertyShark that looked at median sales prices.

    In a quantification of the Doom Loop in EssEff, it notes

    San Francisco only had three ZIP codes in the top 100 in 2023, a drop from the 13 it recorded in 2019.

    Overall the realtor data shows

    Across the nine-county Bay Area, median home prices are up 6.6% from last year, reaching $1.3 million in September, according to data from the California Association of Realtors.

    Using median sales prices can be deceiving especially when there is the wider spread of prices from our combined zip code with H'borough than some others like Atherton.  And rising interest rates have locked some people into homes that they would otherwise have sold to move.  Nonetheless, numbers are numbers and ours are:

    22   94010   Hillsborough/Burlingame   San Mateo County   CA     $3,200,000

    Our neighbor to the south was down the list aways:

    62    94402    San Mateo        San Mateo County    CA        $2,203,000

    The most interesting real estate development in years happened in court a couple of weeks ago when:

    A federal jury ruled on Tuesday that the powerful National Association of Realtors and several large brokerages had conspired to artificially inflate the commissions paid to real estate agents, a decision that could radically alter the home-buying process in the United States.

    The realtors’ group and brokerages were ordered to pay damages of nearly $1.8 billion. The verdict allows the court to issue treble damages, which means they could swell to more than $5 billion.

    It’s a decision that has the potential to rewrite the entire structure of the real estate industry in the United States, lowering the cost of moving homes by reducing commissions. Under a N.A.R. rule, a home seller is required to pay commissions to the agent representing the buyer, which sellers claimed forced them to pay excessive fees to the agents. The home sellers said the brokerages collaborated with N.A.R. to enforce what is called the “cooperative compensation rule.”

    But under the verdict, the sellers would no longer be required to pay their buyers’ agents, and agents would be free to set their own commission rates, which could be slashed in half or less.

    For the record, 6% of our median $3.2M sales price is a cool $192,000.  Now that is likely to change over the next few years and after the heavy realtor support for Proposition 19 (the "Death Tax") a lot of people will not be the least upset when it does.  

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