Parking, public plaza top downtown goals

Downtown San Mateo should have a places for the community to gather but more importantly places for patrons to park, according to city officials in the midst of shaping a downtown area plan.

And a move of City Hall downtown is seemingly losing support.

Having City Hall downtown is an idea of a "bygone era,” said Councilwoman Jan Epstein referring to a time when San Mateo built its downtown around its civic center. The former civic center was located on Ellsworth Avenue, but pieces of it were sold off and City Hall was eventually moved to 20th Avenue. All that remains of the civic center is Fire Station 21.

Instead, the next 15 years may bring more parking, a slimmer pedestrian-oriented Fourth Avenue, a variety of housing, a public plaza either at Third Avenue and San Mateo Drive, near Fourth and Railroad avenues or at the entrance of Central Park where tennis courts are now.

City officials discussed a recently released draft revision of the downtown area plan at a joint study session of the San Mateo City Council and Planning Commission last night. The plan’s aim is to provide a template for revisions to the city’s retail core while providing sought after amenities. One such thought was moving City Hall from 20th Avenue to downtown with the city-owned property at Fourth Avenue and Claremont Street. However, Mayor Carole Groom suggested the city immediately consider selling it.

"I don’t think we can, in all good conscience, be here talking about this in another year,” Groom said.

She said she wanted to see the city issue a request for proposals to develop the site no later than the first quarter of 2009 with a vision for mixed uses at the site.

Some officials wanted to bring City Hall downtown to increase foot traffic and the economic vitality of the area. The Downtown San Mateo Association supports the idea for the same reasons. However, other officials call it a costly idea that takes a lower priority to parking, a public plaza and pedestrian traffic issues.

Officials also support the idea of creating a public plaza at the U.S. Bank parking lot site at the corner of Third Avenue and San Mateo Drive. The city has long considered ways to work with the property owner to retain downtown parking while turning the prime corner location into something more appealing. However, money is a major issue.

"A plaza would be a nice thing to have. I don’t understand at this point how it would be funded,” said Planning Commissioner Chris Massey.

The city cannot afford to lose any parking and wants to make a strong effort to increase the number of downtown parking spaces. However, parking spaces are estimated to cost $30,000 and the city only has limited funds to assist developers in paying for them. All officials said they supported a renewed effort to create a parking district to collect extra money from downtown property owners to pay for additional parking.

Public parking should be considered in any proposal for the Fourth Avenue and Claremont Street site, Groom said.

The city also owns property at the intersection of Fifth and Railroad avenues. It is currently used for ground-floor parking and the worker resource center. Downtown merchants want the property developed into more parking.

Not everyone was supportive of making parking a top priority.

"If we have a really desirable downtown then people will come and hunt around for parking,” said Planning Commissioner Robert Gooyer.

Central Park’s tennis court parking garage is likely to be razed in the next few years. It provides semi-underground parking with tennis courts on the roof, but is seismically unsafe. It will either need to be rebuilt or removed and officials agreed the raised tennis court obstructed the rest of the park.

Downtown merchants want San Mateo Drive to end with a welcoming entrance into Central Park.

However, Groom said she would rather see the city focus on parks and libraries because those are the public spaces where most residents spend their time.

The city is also likely to take up the issue of allowing ground floor office space at select downtown locations. Current regulations require ground floor retail throughout downtown, but at least one property owner is asking for an exception. The owner of the Crocker Bank building, at the corner of Second Avenue and B Street is asking that historic buildings be allowed to return to office space if that was its original use. The building was originally a bank, but is currently used for a ground floor billiards bar. The Barulich, Schoknecht, Dugoni Law Group occupies the second level. Paul Barulich owns the building and is currently drafting plans to expand offices to the ground floor.

Only three downtown buildings — St. Matthew’s Hotel, the Post Office and the Crocker Bank building — are on the National Historic Register.

The city will hold a public workshop later this month to discuss the ideas for downtown with residents. The council is expected to vote on the downtown plan early next year.

Dana Yates can be reached by e-mail: dana@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 106.