Bay Meadows work just beginning

The citizens' advisory committee shaping the city's vision for the transit corridor wrapped up its work just last month. The CAC was charged with evaluating three controversial items; the future of the San Mateo's transit corridor, the specific plan being proposed for the Bay Meadows race track and any possible changes to Measure H, a 1991 initiative that capped building heights at 55 feet throughout the city. The group reflected a wide array of representatives from the community, including everyone from developers to homeowners to city officials.

In the end, the committee's recommendation was that Measure H be tweaked to allow for the possibility of a limited number of 75-foot buildings at the Hillsdale station. As with other areas in San Mateo where buildings can climb to that height, the developer would have to provide public amenities. Lempert doesn't think the recommendation is controversial, but just how residents and homeowner groups will react is another matter.

The public hearing is now under way and city officials are sure to get an earful.

For Lempert, that's the difference between her role on CAC and on the council.

"It's the public hearing," she said. "With my council hat on, I'm going to be listening very carefully to what people have to say."

Mayor Carole Groom, Councilman Jack Matthews and Planning Chair Fred Hansson have also sat on the committee. These officials have an advantage when reviewing the transit corridor, Matthews said.

"We spent so much time studying the issues - the other councilmembers are going to have a lot of catching up to do," he said.

Groom said participating on the committee has given her greater insight on the mechanics of a variety of topics including traffic management, landscaping and architecture.

"For anyone on that committee, it's been a great learning experience," Groom said.

Although Hansson said he's learned a great deal about the community sitting on the CAC, he said the role wasn't such a stretch from his responsibilities as a commissioner.

"The role is to look at the greatest good, for the greatest number, over the greatest amount of time," said Hansson. "We are to leave the political decisions for City Council and use our vision. Both the Planning Commission and CAC are visionary groups."

CAC was the city's way of being proactive about the city's planning rather than just reacting to individual projects, Lempert said.

"The understanding is that if there is to be any growth, this is where it would be and it would be in an orderly fashion," she said.

It's the type of process the city could have benefited from decades ago, Lempert said. Better thought-out planning in the 1950s and 1960s may have prevented the proliferation of large single-family homes being split and used as multi-unit buildings, for example.

"Now you can't change it, we just have to live with it," Lempert said.

Yunmi Choi can be reached by e-mail at yunmi@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 109. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.