Burlingame Bayfront development gets OK

Councilmembers also introduced the first reading of an ordinance for a 20-year development agreement with DivcoWest. 

The project would see the creation of a biotech campus along with 5.5 acres of open space at the 12-acre location, which is currently occupied by a mix of retail and office space including Max’s Restaurant and a Holiday Inn Express. 

The multiple public benefits — including a 20-foot wide Bay Trail segment that connects two previously detached portions, a public plaza, two cafes and the developer’s commitment of $3.5 million to Burlingame’s Broadway grade separation project — were espoused by both councilmembers and developers throughout the April 1 meeting. 

Mayor Donna Colson also pointed to the sea-level rise and erosion protection plan, which will provide the Burlingame community as a whole greater security against the impacts of climate change for the next 100 years, she said. 

“Not for 25 years, not for 30, not for 50, but for 100. One-hundred years of sea-level rise adaptation built into this project and the taxpayers are not paying a penny — it is all being done with the developer, and the work that’s going on up there,” Colson said. 

DivcoWest will now seek a number of required additional state agency approvals, including the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, Virginia Calkins, DivcoWest director of Environmental, Social and Governance, said.

“The meeting last night was the culmination of a very lengthy collaborative process. We’re proud of a design that reflects the priorities of the community,” she said Tuesday. 

However, some community members, including Mark Zuckerman, felt the development didn’t pay enough attention to traffic concerns it would bring to Burlingame. 

“My interest after living here for 35 years is dealing with the traffic. This project seems to me a nightmare, coming into Burlingame — especially coming from the south — getting across the bridge is going to be difficult and leaving going north up to San Francisco, I see that being horrible traffic. Even with construction of a new entryway that could take years,” he said. 

Traffic analysis results found that implementation, which includes redoing the nearby Highway 101 intersection for signal optimization, would actually improve the level of service at the Broadway-Rollins intersection at peak hour. 

Councilmember Ricardo Ortiz emphasized that although residents might experience some disruption due to the construction, development isn’t in downtown. 

“There will be disruption … [but] I always like to remind people this is all happening close to the Bay. It’s not happening near our neighborhoods, it’s not happening near our homes,” he said. 

Ortiz’s only qualm is the development timing, which splits construction into two 10-year time frames. The construction would occur in stages, Calkins said, with the first phase including the center building and southern parking garage, as well as a commitment to Bay Trail installation. The second phase would include the southern portion and the third, the northern portion.

Residents, as well as the Burlingame Planning Commission — which approved the project on March 11 — also expressed concerns around the project’s allotment of only 40 parking spots for community member use of the 3,400 spaces. 

DivcoWest expanded parking spaces to 40 stalls permanently open to the public from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and at least 210 additional public stalls open from 6-10 p.m. Monday to Friday and 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends based on this feedback, Calkins said during the meeting.

Councilmember Michael Brownrigg said that he felt the project, which has been in the works for years, is a thoughtful blend of community insights. 

“Land is really precious in the Bay Area. It’s really precious — God isn’t making more of it and [Bay Conservation and Development Commission] isn’t letting us fill in the Bay,” he said. “There’s no more of it, and when we decide to redevelop a piece of land we ought to make sure we get the most use out of it that we can in the best possible way, and I believe this project strikes that balance.”

Note to readers: This story has been changed to clarify that Beach's absence from the vote was a recusal due to conflict of interest.