Caltrain, Millbrae disagree over development

The letter signed by Michelle Bouchard, acting executive director of Caltrain, expressed concern for the city’s plans including the realignment of California Drive.

“It must be noted that California Drive cannot be realigned as contemplated in your staff report because it crosses land owned by the JPB, including portions of the Millbrae Caltrain Station parking lot,” the letter said.

It also said the city must afford the JPB, as well as the other transit agencies, the right to review and approve plans for the proposed California Drive extension or any other development on the parcels, to avoid and mitigate negative impacts to Caltrain.

The city responded stating that the city of Millbrae and Bay Area Rapid Transit entered into an agreement on April 5 that provided for, among other things, the conveyance of three parcels from BART to the city. BART and the city acknowledged that BART is a party to the Use, Operating and Maintenance Agreement for the Millbrae Station and BART/JPB/SamTrans Facilities Related to the BART SFO Extension Project, and that BART has certain rights and obligations pertaining to the Millbrae Station, as it is defined in the UOM Agreement.

The Millbrae station area’s first specific plan was in 1998 and was updated in 2016.

“Our plans haven’t changed, they’re consistent and we have letters of agreements from them way back in the day. To remind everybody, the land around the train station had been Millbrae’s that we gave to BART to build the station with the condition that the land would come back to the city once we had a signed developer agreement,” Mayor Ann Schneider said.

She said everything was moving along fine until high-speed rail came in.

“The multiple means that we are trying to do in Millbrae and the promises made by the transportation agencies in the past, and the realignment of California Drive is absolutely critical for circulation,” she said.

Caltrain is planning to meet with the city to review its plans to ensure that the city’s vision also allows for safe and convenient access to the station, Caltrain spokesperson Dan Lieberman said.

“We understand Millbrae’s goal of turning its BART/Caltrain station into a signature intermodal station with robust transit oriented development, and we’re both supportive and excited about all the potential of the site. Safe, robust, efficient transit stations and TOD is critical to Caltrain and the regional transit system. However, as the city’s future plans for development on the west side of the tracks may impact JPB property and transit station operations, we have to make sure future development and infrastructure investments are done in a way that doesn’t compromise safe and efficient station operations are supportive of the envisioned long term build-out of the station, and are consistent with the corridor’s overall development plans, agreements and obligations,” Lieberman said in a statement.

julia@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200, ext. 105