Category: San Mateo, H’borough & Millbrae

  • Dividing Up the High School Board

    An activist lawyer out of Malibu is causing all sorts of disruption to a multitude of city councils–to no useful end, in my opinion, and perhaps even to the detriment of residents' representation.  That seems to be the consensus among the people I have spoken to in town.  We discussed it last year here.  Now the "trend" is moving towards the high school boards of trustees.  The Daily Journal notes:

    Acknowledging the legal challenges associated with defending the status quo, school board President Robert Griffin said it appears as if the shift to district elections is inevitable.  “It seems to be the direction that everyone is going,” he said. “And we are going to abide by the law. We have to.”

    As it stands, candidates who receive the most votes in a districtwide election are awarded seats on the school board. Under the by-district system, officials would approve an electoral map dividing the districts into wards, where candidates must live and seek support from voters within those borders.

    Critics of the by-district system often claim it promotes balkanization and encourages elected officials to only defend the interest of their constituency, rather than the entire community.

    In some ways I think this district approach makes more sense for a sprawling multi-city school district even if all of the negatives are still present.  It's just plain stupid in a city of 28,000 people.  As one commenter noted on the city council post, this seems like a consultant and attorney full-employment move.  Where are the state legislators who can do something about the state election law?  Too busy with saving the globe and being woke? BHS Front view

  • Peninsula Ave. – A Fix in Search of a Problem

    It more than four years since the last flurry of activity on the City of San Mateo's plans for the Peninsula Ave. interchange, as we noted here.  There wasn't much support from regular people for the plan then and I doubt there is much more now, but they just keep trying.  Per the city–San Mateo, not B'game:

    We are proposing to relocate the existing U.S. Hwy 101 southbound on- and off-ramps from East Poplar Avenue to Peninsula Avenue in order to create a single, full-access interchange at Peninsula Avenue and Airport Boulevard. This would improve safety and traffic operations as well as reduce most typical travel times within the Peninsula Avenue interchange area for residents of both San Mateo and Burlingame.

    Lots of eminent domain takings are needed for such a giant maneuver and the "improvements" in safety and traffic operations seem quite speculative to me.  As I noted here almost four years ago, the slight changes at Poplar Ave. have worked wonders for improving that 101 on/off ramp.  Simplifying it with a bit of median strip and fencing and voila.  Now they want to close it?  What's up with that?

    San Mateo will make its pitch on-line next Wednesday, Jan. 27th at 6pm.  You can register to get the link sent to you here and there are a lot of links to other official documents.  If you live in the Lyon-Hoag neighborhood this is practically a mandatory meeting.

  • A Bombing in B’game: 1974

    As a history nut I could not help but dig in a bit more after reading about the bombing on Ogden Dr. back in 1974.  It resurfaced in the Planning Commission staff report about 1868-1870 Ogden Dr. that is under consideration for yet more condos.  The building is less than 100 yards from the front of Mills High School.  Here's some history:

    Due to the United Farm Workers of America's (Cesar Chavez' UFW) leading role in advancing labor rights for farm workers in the United States, the organization encountered the Western  Conference of Teamsters, the original owner and tenant of the subject building, repeatedly during the 1960s and 1970s.  The first of these historic contexts involved a major grape strike and boycott of Delano-area grape growers, which took place between 1965 and 1970. In September 1965, the AWOC struck against Delano-area wine and table grape growers in protest of years of low pay and poor working conditions. Weeks later, the fledging NFWA voted to join the strike in solidarity. Initially, the strike had little effect on growers, and starting in December 1965, NFWA began organizing a boycott of products from Delano-area growers.

    The Di Giorgio Company, another major grower, recruited strike breakers and required them to sign cards consenting to be represented by the Teamsters Union, thus breaching a jurisdictional agreement between the Teamsters and NFWA (now the UWF). Progress continued to be made, though. In 1967 the Perelli Minetti Company and six other wineries also signed with the UFW.

    There was on-going battles between various agricultural unions and efforts at the ballot box to gain advantages

    In March 1977, Teamsters President Frank Fitzsimmons announced that the International Brotherhood was giving up its claims to field workers and that, with the exception of a contract with Bud Antle, it would not seek to renew any of its remaining contracts covering farm workers in California. This development, though unexpected, reflected the reality of the Teamsters’ mounting defeats at the ballot box in 1975 and 1976. The announcement marked the end of the bitter, wasteful struggle between the two unions. Chavez looked back at the period with regret, but looked to the future with great optimism. With a membership approaching forty thousand, the UFW in 1977 was unquestionably the dominant union in California agriculture.

    Beyond simply serving as the headquarters of the UFW’s chief adversary in the late 1960s and most of the 1970s, research revealed that 1868-1870 Ogden Drive has the following direct associations with the UFW’s long-term struggle against the Western Conference of Teamsters: The building at 1868-1870 Ogden Drive served as a negotiation site between the UFW and the Teamsters. The building was again the scene of negotiations, this time with Teamster leadership, in August 1973.

    But all was not settled and picketing and demonstrations on Ogden continued

    The building at 1868-1870 Ogden Drive was bombed on April 18, 1974. At a few minutes after 6 a.m., an explosive device attached to a support column at the rear of the building exploded. The blast, which was powerful enough to be heard four miles away, shattered most of the building’s windows, blew a crater in the floor of the building’s parking area, ripped apart metal air ducts underneath the building, and caused other damage inside and outside the building. Dozens of windows in nearby buildings were also shattered. Only one of the building’s employees—a custodian—was present at the time of the blast, and no injuries were reported. Teamster officials refused to speculate as to who may have been responsible for the blast but indicated that the only conflict involving the Teamsters was with the UFW.

    Mention of the Perelli Minetti Company caught my eye as I am familiar with the wine and some of the local story from our local expert.  Here is a bit more on Mario Perelli Minetti from Gerald Weisl:

    He was quite a worldly gentleman, an attorney by trade, and sold and delivered his wines directly to our shop on Broadway himself.  We would see him out walking in Hillsborough- his house may have been on Jackling Drive.  He would always apologize for having had to raise the price of his wine by maybe 25 or 50 cents a bottle.  And he marveled at how some brand new producers would ask $50-$100.

    Another time I mentioned I met an Italian winemaker whose daughter is name Miriam.  Mario's late wife was Miriam and I asked him if I could trouble him for a label so I could send it to that winemaker in Abruzzo, Italy.  "Hell no I won't give you a label!" he thundered.  "I'll bring you a bottle!"  He did and I sent it to Italy…and these days Miriam is helping her Mom run the family winery and they are a leading producer.  Mom tells me that bottle is on a pedestal, proudly displayed in the family home.  We are delighted to have the the current Napa Cabernet wine in the shop.  We keep a photo of "Uncle Mario" behind the counter…still old-time styled and priced.

    So now you have two more bits of local history:  the historic events that took place on Ogden Dr. and one of the movers and shakers who lived here.  Stop by Weimax to see the photo!  Here's the Teamster hall

    Ogden Drive_Teamsters

  • San Mateo: Dodged a bullet by 43 votes

    Let's just take a moment to thank the 23,038 voters in San Mateo that put Measure Y over the top.  The details are here if you haven't been watching, but in essence it keeps the rules in place that put limits on over-development in the 105,000 resident city that is our southern neighbor.  We are intimately tied to Millbrae, H'borough and San Mateo.  This was a squeaker which is scary since it should have been a no-brainer for people who care about the quality of life on the mid-Peninsula, but at least it passed–by 43 votes.

     
     
      Candidate Name   Total Votes Percentage  
     
    		   23,038 50.05%
     
    		   22,995 49.95%

    This is reminder number 4,246 that your vote matters.

  • SMUHSD: Kaufman and Land

    For B'gamers the long ballot is short on local issues.  Unlike Millbrae, San Mateo and H'borough, we do not have a city council race, nor do we have any local measures like Y and R in San Mateo.  We do have a race for two seats on the San Mateo United High School District where incumbent Greg Land and two newcomers are running.  Land is well-known in town, has incumbency and has the school administrator credentials that make him a knowledgeable insider.  From where I sit, the race is between Ligia Andrade Zuniga and Neal Kaufman.

    Having watched some video from their campaign websites and a good bit of the candidates' forum found here, I found this a pretty easy choice.  Kaufman has a broad perspective and broad experience.  His statement emphasizes his financial background including as Chair of the Citizens' Committee that advocated for the school bond measure that raised $385 million and as a finance professional (his day job).  This is a big district and financial controls can always use improvement.  He also hits right on the need for a school re-opening plan.  Today's Daily Post noted a poll showing distance-learning for kids has recently lost 22% of support among parents.  This is a hot button issue and needs attention–i.e. more pressure than the existing Board has exerted.

    We have a number of Voice posts over the last several years about alleged misconduct by BHS school staff and District staff.  I won't get into it here, you can click on the Schools category to the right and read the history–if you have a couple of hours.  Bottom Line:  I think the next new Trustee has to have broad, more hands-on background like I see from Kaufman.  Just one man's opinion, but an informed one. 

  • Cruising El Camino Real: San Mateo

    Although I am a member of the Bay Area Cruise Night Facebook group, I did not realize last night was on the event schedule.  We happened to go to All Spice for dinner (highly recommended) and could hear plenty of muscle cars on ECR as we ate in the back parking lot.  After dinner we joined the parade for one circuit and it was fabulous!  It felt like about 1972.  Bel Airs, El Caminos, GTOs, Falcons, vintage pick-ups and a gorgeous California Special Mustang.  I couldn't get a pic of the Special, but I did capture this sparkly ride.  Could not help but think there were more than a few people out last night who would like to show the Gavinor where their tail pipes are.

    IMG_0377

    The Facebook page sponsor thanked SMPD for being out there and helpful.  They set up shop in front of the Safeway and drew a supportive crowd.  Maybe B'game's stretch of ECR will be next.

  • High-Cost Rail- Part 152 San Mateo Wakes Up

    You really have to just laugh sometimes when you read supposedly professional and elected officials' statements on long-running issues.  It makes you wonder where they have been for years?  This week's comments on HSR wait times for cars from various leaders in San Mateo are perfect cases in point.  The Daily Journal gets a couple of quotes that start the laughter

    Once both efforts are realized, there will be so many trains traveling through the corridor that in downtown San Mateo, cars could be stuck at railroad crossings for as long as 20 minutes per peak hour, said Brad Underwood, San Mateo’s Public Works director.  And that’s based on Caltrain’s “baseline” growth scenario. If Caltrain opts for the “high-growth” scenario then gate downtime goes up to almost 27 minutes per peak hour.

    “It’s a huge concern in the city,” Underwood said.  San Mateo councilmembers have echoed the concern.  “We can’t have our intersections closed for 26 minutes during peak hours. It shuts down the city,” Councilwoman Diane Papan said at a meeting in August.

    Back in 2015, the frequency of trains was well-documented, for example in Part 108 of this saga 

    Parsons said the high-speed rail system could carry 116 million passengers a year, based on running trains with 1,000 seats both north and south every five minutes, 19 hours a day and 365 days a year. The study assumes the trains would be 70% full on average.

    It was old news five years ago, but San Mateo is just waking up to the problem.  Years ago San Mateo was a non-player in the Peninsula Cities Consortium that sought to stop high-speed rail's destruction of the Peninsula and our collective budgets.  Now their residents will have to sit in their electric vehicles pondering the waste of time, money and reduced emergency vehicle response time because of that decision.   

  • Density Tsunami Approaches

    We have known the tsunami of development has been approaching for several years.  The townhouses on Anson Lane have arrived for sale:

    Brand new construction in Burlingame. This 3 bedroom, 3.5 bathroom, 2 story townhome style condo is located in the brand new community The Residences @ Anson is built by D.R. Horton, America's builder. Included features, Avalon shaker style cabinets w/satin nickel door pulls, Stainless steel Jenn Air appliances, minus washer, dryer and refrigerator.   $1,903,540.

    The massive block of 268 apartments that are part of the same development on Carolan Ave. will be hitting the market soon I imagine.  I have verified with a member of the School Board that the kids in this development are zoned to Roosevelt School.

    Further north, the Planning Commission has cleared the first of three big developments.  Per the Daily Journal

    The Burlingame Planning Commission unanimously approved the plan to construct at 1766 El Camino Real a development featuring 60 residential units atop 148,000 of office space during a meeting Monday, Aug. 24. The plans will advance onto the Burlingame City Council, which will ultimately determine the fate of the development.  Officials admired the seven-story tower which will also feature a ground-floor lobby and retail center plus underground parking — differing from those who feared the development was incompatible with its surroundings.  

    “Will it change the neighborhood here? Yes. That’s the point,” said Loftis, who noted the stretch of north Burlingame has been identified by officials as an area to build additional housing and allow greater density.  He added officials recently approved a general plan update making way for the new uses, making clear the character of the area would change.

    And the next two shoes to drop are

    To advance the synergy of the emerging area, plans have been filed to build a seven-story tower nearby with 169 units at the corner of El Camino Real and Murchison Drive, and about 1 mile away a proposal was made to build 120 units in a six-story development which includes cultural art space.

    That's 349 new units in "North Burlingame".  I'm researching which school(s) these kids will be assigned to when they are all open.  In the meantime, I think we need a better name for this big new neighborhood. Any suggestions, readers?  There is also plans afoot at the Mercy property for a sizable residential development.  That one will be easy to name:  Have Mercy on Us.  That's 630 new units plus the Hower Auto development on Bayswater and whatever gets added at Mercy.  And still, "housing advocates" say it is not enough………

    Keep this view of ECR in mind as it won't look like that much longer.

    North ECR Redevelop

     

  • Municipal Charity is Limited

    The City-funded support for local businesses, residents and charities is coming into focus as the DJ reports today

    The Burlingame City Council agreed to build a $500,000 grant program for local businesses, while setting aside $250,000 to purchase gift cards for struggling families and donating another $250,000 to service providers.  The program is to be administered by the San Mateo County Economic Development Association, or SAMCEDA, which is also operating a similar program through the county.

    Noting the city’s contribution capacity is limited, Councilman Michael Brownrigg said the Burlingame Back in Business program would likely serve about 50 companies fitting a limited criteria with grants capped at about $10,000.

    Officials also agreed to purchase about 1,000 gift cards from Visa or Mastercard worth $250 which would be distributed to families in Burlingame, with hopes the cards would be redeemed at local businesses.  Councilmembers had first discussed attempting to restrict spending to a specific zip code, but ultimately determined allowing flexibility for families who need assistance would be more valuable.  Those eligible for the program will be contacted by the city’s utility provider, which maintains a list of those who qualify for financial aid.

    We are in the fourth quarter of the city's fiscal year which ends on June 30th.  Using last year's financial report as a rosy baseline,  page 34 shows the $84.5M of revenue had major components of property taxes (25.7%), sales and use taxes (21.1%) and the biggie that is also the most at risk, hotel tax (34.8%).  When Michael Brownrigg says that the city's contribution capacity is "limited", he ain't kidding.  We could easily see the hotel tax get cut in half for the year–which would be a $15M hit to the budget.

    Even at the end of June when the next report arrives, we won't really see the complete picture since the pain arrived at the end of the third quarter.  Another DJ piece on the San Mateo budget shortfall lays out the timing issue

    “There’s a challenge we have on sales tax in that the data we get is essentially six months in arrears. The most recent sales tax data we have is for the third quarter of 2019,” said Finance Director Richard Lee. “We won’t see the true impact of COVID-19 for another six months. … It’s a similar concept for [hotel] tax.”

    San Mateo's predicting a $7M "structural imbalance" next year which seems small to me.  It's total projected budget is $251M but only 14.3% in sales and hotel tax, so we shall see.

  • El Camino “Renewal”

    You probably got the glossy mailer announcing the El Camino Real Renewal meeting next Tuesday and it just arrived in the e-newsletter as well.  I can't make it, but I did get a chance to sit down with Mayor Emily Beach and our resident tree expert, Jennifer Pfaff, recently to discuss the project at length.  Here is the official announcement:

    Caltrans is hosting an open house to discuss the El Camino Real Roadway Renewal Project on Tuesday, January 28, at the Burlingame Recreation Center from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

    The project area stretches three miles, between East Santa Inez Avenue and Millbrae Avenue, and encompasses some of the most challenging pavement, vegetation, sidewalk, utility, drainage, and safety issues. This stretch of El Camino Real is also lined with heritage tree rows that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

    Caltrans will share information about potential improvements to drainage, landscaping, sidewalk safety, ADA compliance, and rehabilitation of pavement. Learn more about the project by visiting www.elcaminorealproject.com.

    During my meeting with the mayor we discussed things like the amount of money held in reserve for this major project ($110 million), the downward trend in the replacement rate of the trees (there were 750 in the 1970's and we are down to about 500 now) and the various CalTrans construction standards that may or may not be required for this project.  There are some trade-offs that will have to be made since full-CalTrans specifications can be in conflict with the Blue Gum Euc grove's historic status.  Things like the distance from street corners and poles, the distance between trees and the irrigation plans have to be negotiable.  The types of trees that would replace the Eucs is also on the table.

    I'll leave the details to the experts like Jennifer and to those who conduct this first public meeting.  Let's just say it will be a controversial and yet hopefully collegial meeting. 

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