Burlingame goes underground for more space

"Due to the high property costs in Burlingame, there is a limit to the amount of floor area and people want more square footage," Deal said. "People want to build basements for the extra space."

According to Deal, there have been two basements already approved by the commission and a third is currently going through the process.

Deal, along with Commisionmember Ann Keighran, formed a sub committee of the planning commission, together they are writing a proposal to put before the rest of the commission at the Oct. 11 meeting for a public hearing. The proposal makes specifications and regulations for residents building basements.

Deal said the proposal will require every resident who wishes to build a basement to go before the commission for review. The proposal also puts a 1000 square foot limit on the size of the basements, and bedrooms and bathrooms with showers and tubs will not be allowed.

"This is so someone can't load the basement up with bedrooms," Deal said. The provision also states that if a resident builds a basement, he/she also has to build a two car garage in order for there to be enough parking on the streets.

"[The basement] will allow for an extra room, like for hobbies, it is an accessory to the house" Deal said. "What happens is things like a ping-pong table or a pool table end up in the garage and parking space is used."

But Commissionmember Martin Dreiling said that it is hard for the city to tell people what to do with rooms. "The city can't dictate what people use a room for," Dreiling said. "If people put their recreation space in the basement there is room for more bedrooms upstairs."

Dreiling, who is also an architect, said the entire procedure of building a basement is a massive project. "It's a nice way to get more space, but I tend to wonder why people need so much space, 'Do I need 5000 square feet to live?' It's about greed for space and not about quality of design," Dreiling said.

Dreilng also said that when basements are built, people typically have to tear down the house because it is too difficult to get the basement under an existing house.

Commissionmember Deal acknoweldges that while this is one way to attain more space, neighbors are concerned. People in the community are concerned about potential drainage problems when the rain begins. "Whenever someone wants to build a basement they are required to build a drainage system around the basement," Deal said. "Some people don't understand that drainage is not really a problem. Drainage problems are solved all the time."

Deal also said that people are not building basements to get around design review. "If it's a new house we get to look at it automatically," Deal said. If the house is not new, Deal said it would be very difficult for the resident to build a basement without going through design review.

"We have the same concerns as the neighbors," Deal said. "We have to live here too and we are being careful."

Contact reporter at: kristin@smdailyjournal.com