Burlingame Safeway goes for final approval

On Monday, grocery store officials could get that vote. The council consideration comes weeks after planning commissioners unanimously green-lit the proposal for a 45,645-square-foot store with a 6,190-square-foot mezzanine sitting at 1420 to 1450 Howard Ave. Plans returned to the Planning Commission after being tweaked to include more trees, a pedestrian walkway and a historical marker.

The mixed-use building at the opposite corner will have 12,428 square feet of retail on the ground floor and 5,460 square feet of retail above. The existing 6,554-square-foot Wells Fargo building will be refurbished. Pedestrian walkways will connect the site to the rest of downtown.

The Planning Commission’s consideration included approval of the mitigated negative declaration and conditional use permits for its height, 24-hour operation, the sale of alcoholic beverages and take-out services. The commission also signed off on rezoning the area.

Safeway first submitted plans to rebuild in 1997. At the time, residents and merchants voiced concerns claiming the design was not pedestrian friendly. A reworked plan — including a 50,000-square-foot grocery store, 12,000-square-foot Walgreens and three to four shops to be on the corner of Howard Avenue and Primrose Road — debuted the following year only to be met with a petition against the proposal boasting over 900 signatures. Community meetings led to no resolution and Safeway eventually pulled the plans.

The back and forth resulted in a new plan for a 66,900-square-foot combined Walgreens and Safeway in 2001 but it was rejected by the City Council in 2004. In 2007, Burlingame created the Safeway working group charged with creating design criteria for a new store tailored to the city.

Safeway officials previously said construction could begin within one week of receiving building permits.

The council meets 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 1 at City Hall, 501 Primrose Road.