Burlingame City Council fends for local control

While lauding their own approach, councilmembers rushed through the sweeping legislation proposals in a study session during which they needled lawmakers over regulations which most felt were poorly crafted.

Vice Mayor Emily Beach passionately detailed her perspective on the importance of preserving local control during the fight against the affordability crisis plaguing many throughout Burlingame and surrounding communities.

“We are supporting housing but they have to respect local jurisdictions. We are the best people to implement this because we know our communities,” she said, according to video of the meeting. “We want to solve our housing crisis perhaps more than anybody in Sacramento, because we have to see people that are displaced in our grocery stores and our places of worship and our community. And we care about it and we are trying to solve it and we are being thoughtful about it.”

She balanced her position against concerns shared by most councilmembers who felt proposals such as the CASA Compact and state Sen. Scott Wiener’s SB 50 are too vague and flawed to be effective.

The CASA Compact, a legislative package crafted by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and Association of Bay Area Governments, seeks to facilitate housing construction near transit stops while also proposing tenant protections in a slate of policies to be financed by roughly $2.5 billion in tax measures.

Wiener’s proposal, which advanced out of its first hearing Tuesday, April 2, meanwhile aims to upzone urban areas and streamline dense housing construction by limiting oversight of local officials.

Advocates for these measures, and the many other similar policies, claim intervention by lawmakers is necessary due to the historic reluctance of local officials to build more homes.

Councilman Michael Brownrigg though argued the issue is not so cut and dry.

“It starts from a premise that local officials are the problem. We are the reason that stuff isn’t getting built. And certainly in the past, maybe one could make that case. Maybe there are some jurisdictions where one could make that case,” he said. “But I don’t think it’s fair in many, many cities and certainly not ours.”

In touting Burlingame’s progress, officials pointed to the recent update of the city’s general plan which loosened development regulations in certain areas most capable of accommodating more homes.

Burlingame officials argued the update is a model of thoughtful planning which aims to meet the goals of building new homes while preserving existing neighborhoods and respecting the quality of life.

“We are doing it in a discerning way that makes sense for Burlingame,” said Councilman Ricardo Ortiz.

Mayor Donna Colson concurred, and shared further fears implementing the state’s efforts would throw off kilter the desireable development environment in Burlingame.

“I would be very concerned to disrupt that situation, in that I think it would actually stall our future development and building,” she said.

Rather than blame local officials for the housing crisis, Brownrigg suggested the private sector should be held responsible as well.

“I think one of the things all of these legislators miss is the incentives to get longtime property owners off their duff and to do something,” he said.

Beach too suggested lawmakers would be better served to spur housing development by offering resources, rather than focusing on punishing cities which may not meet building thresholds.

“Give us targets. Give us incentives. We also shouldn’t be penalized. We should be credited for units that we approve but not penalized for ones that haven’t been delivered because we don’t control the market and the developers and market forces that actually bring that online,” she said.

With further concerns regarding financing for the state’s effort, Councilwoman Ann Keighran said she felt seeking additional tax measures was misguided.

“We’ve been able to make this work without taxes. So it comes back to local control again. So I do think they are asking for too many taxes,” she said.

Ultimately, officials agreed a letter which will be sent to Sacramento should be drafted detailing the variety of concerns shared regarding the effort of state lawmakers. The correspondence will also highlight the initiatives included in the legislative effort which Burlingame officials support.

But while the fight between city officials and their state counterparts rages on, Brownrigg suggested a regional discussion should be held in San Mateo County to identify local solutions.

“Instead of MTC telling us what to do and ABAG, I think we should get together and figure this out for ourselves,” he said.

austin@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200 ext. 105