WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE DOWNTOWN SPECIFIC PLAN PROCESS
Planning Commission Public Hearing on the Downtown Specific Plan
On July 26, 2010, the Planning Commission will hold a public hearing to take action on the Draft Downtown Specific Plan and the Mitigated Negative Declaration prepared for the plan. The meeting will be held in the Council Chambers of Burlingame City Hall, 501 Primrose Road, at 7:00 p.m. The Planning Commission's action is a recommendation to the City Council. It is expected that the Council will take action on the Downtown Specific Plan in late September or early October, 2010.
The Executive Summary of the Burlingame Downtown Specific Plan provides an overview of the plan document, the goals of the plan, and a summary of each of the plan's chapters. The latest version of the full Draft Plan is available for download below.
BURLINGAME DOWNTOWN SPECIFIC PLAN - Public Review Draft - June 2010
Cover & Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Goals & Policies
3.0 Land Use
4.0 Streetscapes & Open Spaces
5.0 Design & Character
6.0 Historic Resources
7.0 Circulation & Parking
8.0 Implementation
Environmental Document for the Draft Downtown Specific Plan is Now Available
A Mitigated Negative Declaration has been prepared for the Downtown Specific Plan and this document has been filed with the County Clerk's Office and the State Office of Planning and Research. The 30-day review period for this document is now complete, and responses to the comments made will be presented to the Planning Commission and City Council as part of the public hearings on the plan. The Draft Mitigated Negative Declaration for the Downtown Specific Plan analyzes the environmental impacts which may result from implementation of the plan. Based on this analysis, a determination has been made that with the mitigation measures proposed, adoption and implementation of the plan will not result in any significant adverse impacts on the environment.
Draft Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration
Appendices for Draft Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration
Community Presentation
On November 18, 2009, the Community Development Department hosted a community presentation on the Draft Burlingame Downtown Specific Plan. There were about 100 community members in attendance, and many people at the meeting made comments or asked questions about the plan.
Planning Process
For the past two years, we've been working with community members to develop a plan to shape th future of downtown Burlingame. The Draft Burlingame Downtown Specific Plan provides guidance on issues like parking, streetscape, architecture and design, housing density, and infrastructure.
City Council Review of Focused Development Alternative
On October 20, 2008, the City Council reviewed a Focused Development Alternative for the Downtown Specific Plan. This alternative will serve as a basis for drafting the plan as well as for the environmental analysis of the plan. This approach would focus new development in a limited area of Downtown, on and around Howard Avenue.
10/20/08 City Council Staff Report - Review of Focused Development Alternative
10/20/08 Presentation - Focused Development Alternative
City Council Review of Preferred Alternative
On Monday, July 21, 2008, the Burlingame City Council received a presentation from Kevin Gardiner & Associates (lead planning consultant) regarding the Burlingame Downtown Specific Plan. The presentation provided an overview of the preferred plan alternative supported by the Citizen’s Advisory Committee (CAC) that has been working closely with the consultant team, staff and the community as work on the specific plan has proceeded since mid-2007. The preferred alternative recommendations are based on background research and community input from public meetings during the past year, and was developed by the 12-member CAC over the course of a dozen meetings. The recommendations of the CAC will be used as the basis for developing a draft specific plan, and accompanying environmental analysis. The plan study area includes the area generally bounded by Peninsula Avenue on the south, Oak Grove Avenue on the south, El Camino Real on the west and California Drive and Anita Road on the east.
Council Staff Report - Preferred Alternative
PROCESS TO DATE
In the summer and fall of 2007 the project team analyzed opportunities and constraints for the future of Downtown Burlingame. An existing conditions workbook was created providing an overview of land use patterns, historical resources, parking and traffic issues, economic and market issues, infrastructure issues, and planning and design issues. During the fall of 2007, two community workshops were held to present the existing conditions information and develop ideas for the future of Downtown Burlingame.
A volunteer Citizens’ Advisory Committee (CAC) was formed, consisting of representatives from key area stakeholder groups including neighborhood organizations, homeowners associations, businesses and business associations, property owners, city residents and others to ensure that the issues and goals of the community are addressed and represented. The CAC has met throughout the process and has worked to establish goals for the project, develop alternatives, and determine the preferred alternative.
On March 15th, an “Options & Alternatives” workshop included presentations and breakout groups that saw the community weighing in on the options and alternatives for the future of downtown. The information gathered from this meeting, along with a variety of case studies, research, and conversation conducted between the consultants, staff, and the CAC led to the preparation of a Preferred Alternatives document.
On July 14th the Burlingame Planning Commission reviewed the CAC’s recommendations on the Preferred Alternative. Refinements and additions recommended by the Planning Commission have been summarized and will be presented along with the preferred alternative to the City Council on July 21, 2008. The meeting will be held at the Council Chambers of the Burlingame City Hall, 501 Primrose Road, at 7:00 PM.
The Preferred Plan will be the basis for the first draft of the Specific Plan document and corresponding environmental review and analysis, including traffic, parking, economics, and environmental factors. Once the first draft of the plan is developed and analysis completed, the CAC will evaluate the findings and make suggestions for any needed changes based on the additional information. The community will have the opportunity to review the draft plan and findings in a workshop in the fall. The plan will then be further refined based on feedback, with anticipated review and action by the Planning Commission and City Council in late 2008 or early 2009.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The Community Development Department has established a link on its portion of the City of Burlingame website (www.burlingame.org). The existing conditions workbook, the options and alternatives workbook, and the staff report for the City Council meeting, including a description of the preferred alternative, are all available for download from the City’s website.
Citizens seeking more information regarding the specific plan process can contact the Planning Division of the Community Development Department at planning@burlingame.org, or by phone at (650) 558-7250.
Planning Commission review of Preferred Alternative for Downtown Specific Plan
At their regular meeting on July 14, 2008, the Planning Commission heard a presentation from the Downtown Specific Plan consultant regarding the preferred plan alternative for the Downtown Plan. The preferred alternative will serve as the basis for drafting the Downtown Specific Plan and in preparing the environmental analysis for the project.
The preferred alternative was developed based on input received at a series of Community Workshops held over the past year, and further refined by the input of the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) for the Downtown Specific Plan. The components of the preferred alternative cover such issues as potential for residential development, density and height limits, possibilities to increase Downtown parking supply, ideas for streetscape, and development of new open space areas in the Downtown area.
Planning Commission Staff Report - Preferred Alternative (PDF - 1.8 MB)
Informational Meeting Regarding Potential Historic Properties
On Thursday, May 1, 2008, the City of Burlingame Community Development Department conducted a meeting with property owners to discuss the draft Inventory of Historic Resources prepared in conjunction with the Burlingame Downtown Specific Plan.
The purpose of the meeting was to review the findings of the draft Inventory, and discuss the implications of the document, and to respond to any questions from owners of properties which were identified in the draft inventory as either potentially "historically significant" or possessing certain characteristics that are representative of Burlingame's history and architectural heritage.
Link to the Draft Inventory of Historic Resources
Map of Potential Historic Resources
Map of Buildings of Interest
Recap of March 15th Options and Alternatives Workshop
The Options and Alternatives Workshop was held on Saturday, March 15th from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Lane Community Room, Burlingame Public Library at 480 Primrose Road. There were about 50 citizens in attendance. The consultant made a presentation which described the process thus far and gave examples of how some of the issues and opportunities raised in the process could be addressed in the plan. Three land use alternatives were discussed, and workshop participants were asked to provide input on certain key aspects of the plan. The Plan Alternatives Summary describes the various options being considered.
OPTIONS AND ALTERNATIVES WORKBOOK NOW AVAILABLE
The Options and Alternatives Workbook to be used to review the land use alternatives for the Downtown Specific Plan is now available. The workbook provides an introduction to the area and the planning process, an overview of the goals and policies developed for the plan, a review of the three land use alternatives being considered, additional issues which have been raised during the planning process, and the next steps in the process.
Options and Alternatives Workbook
Cover and Table of Contents (PDF - 581 KB)
Chapter 1 - Introduction (PDF - 1 MB)
Chapter 2 - Goals and Policies Overview (PDF - 494 KB)
Chapter 3 - Plan Alternatives (PDF - 7.2 MB)
Chapter 4 - Additional Issues (PDF - 1.7 MB)
Chapter 5 - Next Steps (PDF - 150 KB)
WHAT HAS HAPPENED SO FAR
Collecting Information - This summer, the consulting team conducted interviews with citizens, business owners, property owners, community groups and developers to get a sense of the issues and interests concerning downtown Burlingame. A survey was also sent out to residents, posted on the website and posted in City Hall, the Library and the Recreation Center. The survey asks some key questions about Downtown Burlingame. Consultants have also been studying the Downtown Burlingame infrastructure, parking and circulation, historic resources and economic viability. A Citizens Advisory Committee has also been appointed to help develop the vision for Downtown Burlingame.
Existing Conditions Workbook - An Existing Conditions Workbook was developed to provide background information about the Downtown Burlingame area. The workbook describes the existing conditions in Downtown Burlingame related to plans and policies, streets, transportation and parking, existing urban character, historic resources, economic conditions, infrastructure (such as sewer and water services, storm drains and sidewalks), and environmental considerations. This workbook was used as a basis for discussions at the first Visioning Workshop for the Downtown Specific Plan held on October 10th (see below).
Workshop One - On October 10, 2007, a kick-off event and visioning workshop was held at the Lane Community Room of the Burlingame Public Library. At that workshop, participants were asked to share their ideas about what they would like to see in Downtown Burlingame. Topics included streetscape, parking, architecture and design, housing and infrastructure. Click on the following link for a Summary of Workshop One (PDF - 160 KB).
Workshop Two - On November 7, 2007, a second workshop was held at the Lane Room of the Burlingame Public Library. The purpose of this workshop was to develop specific goals for the plan. People were asked to review and comment on some draft goal statements which were developed based on the input received at the first workshop and refined by comments from the Citizens Advisory Committee. Click on the following link for a Summary of Workshop Two (PDF - 125 KB).
CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE
A Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) for the Downtown Specific Plan has been formed. Members of the committee assist in the planning process by providing input into the development of the plan and its policies.
WHAT IS THE SPECIFIC PLAN PROCESS?
The City of Burlingame has started to develop a specific plan for its downtown district, centered on Burlingame Avenue. The Burlingame Avenue commercial area first developed in the 1900s, growing west from the railroad station until it joined El Camino Real. Over the years, the area has become a vibrant pedestrian-oriented, locally and regionally attractive shopping area, supported by an active retail main street which is enlivened by a range of restaurants.
While the current success of the downtown area is acknowledged and enjoyed, change and new opportunities are fundamental to the downtown's continued success. The Downtown Specific Plan will help to explore these opportunities and chart a course for the furture. while setting forth a strategy to sustain the existing success of the downtown.
Project Area
The Downtown Specific Plan area is framed by Oak Grove Avenue on the north side, the CalTrain tracks south to Burlingame Avenue and Anita Avenue on the east side, Peninsula Avenue and the city limits on the south side, and El Camino Real on the west side.
Click on thumbnail for larger view
Previous Visioning Process - For information about the charrette visioning process for the south of Burlingame Avenue area that took place in the fall of 2006, click here.
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