Like many cities on the Peninsula, Burlingame is transitioning from a sleepy residential suburb to a more vibrant urban setting and that shift invites an unfamiliar set of challenges for those seeking City Council seats.
Balancing emerging issues such as affordable housing needs, increased infrastructure demands and economic development against a community’s desire to preserve its quality of life are among the hurdles faced by those chasing the three council seats up for election Tuesday, Nov. 7.
Incumbents Ann Keighran, Michael Brownrigg and Ricardo Ortiz said they wish to continue grappling with the issues they’ve spent the past four years addressing while challenger Stephen Duncan believes he’s suited to take on the matters as well.
“This is a transition phase for Burlingame and I really want to be a part of it,” said Keighran, who cited housing, a proposed rebuilt Recreation Center and infrastructure repairs as some of her priorities to be addressed during the transformational period.
Money generated by incoming sports entertainment chain Topgolf leasing the city’s golf center as well as Measure I, the city’s proposed sales tax hike, offer officials potential means to take on some of those sizable tasks, said Ortiz.
Ortiz, who is spending the last year of this term as mayor, noted though the power of officials is restricted in their capacity to rectify some of the challenges at hand.
“We are limited in what we can do,” said Ortiz, in reference to the effort to make Burlingame a more affordable place to live.
The perspective comes following a charged debate in the previous election over a variety of rent control ballot measures which ultimately were soundly defeated by voters.
Following the divisive proposals, councilmembers committed to addressing the issue through projects such as affordable housing developments proposed on city property.
Brownrigg echoed Ortiz’s sentiments that the council’s authority assuring affordability is limited, but said that should not preclude them from seeking a vibrant, mixed community.
“We have to do more and I want to do more about affordable housing,” he said.
Duncan credited much of the current council’s work on the issue, but suggested opening up the city’s slice of the Bayfront for development of affordable housing may offer additional relief from rising housing costs.
“The Bayfront should be used to its capacity,” said Duncan, pointing to the area east of Highway 101 as a rare piece of underdeveloped land on the Peninsula.
Ortiz though opposed such a suggestion, claiming the waterfront should be preserved primarily for development of Burlingame’s thriving hotel industry, which generates considerable annual tax revenue for the city’s general fund.
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When working to update the city’s general plan, officials agreed recently to disallow Bayfront housing development in favor of focusing further home building in an area such as Rollins Road near the Millbrae BART station.
Keighran agreed that would be appropriate for accommodating growth, while noting officials must be mindful to preserving Burlingame’s charm while concurrently looking ahead.
“The community is concerned about our increased population and we need to listen to our community,” she said.
Residential development is not the only pressing issue for officials, as promoting economic growth while keeping the city’s finances sound are top of mind as well.
Rejuvenating the shopping district along Broadway by improving its aesthetic appeal could be a means of improving business in Burlingame while also helping assure the city’s financial health, said Duncan.
“It should be the crown jewel of Burlingame,” Duncan said of the shopping district on the northern end of town.
Brownrigg agreed Broadway offers opportunity aplenty, but suggested a lot of collaboration between merchants, officials and landlords is necessary to make the independent-centric street competitive with the chains and high-end retailers populating Burlingame Avenue.
He also pointed to paying down the city’s unfunded liabilities as a justified financial focus and lauded the current council’s work on that effort in recent years.
“We’ve done a really good job of keeping services high while paying down our debt,” he said, while crediting Ortiz for taking a lead on the effort to getting a hold on the city’s financial burden.
Ortiz also lauded the work benefiting the city’s retirees, and said the effort to address past obligations should continue while officials also look to a new set of hurdles brought by a community in transition.
“The reality is that we are changing and we will need to change and evolve and be a part of that change,” he said.
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(3) comments
Burlingame voters, vote for the person who shows the fiercest opposition toward rent control
Steve Duncan I believe has it right to utilize that state land which has been vacant for years.We are talking affordable housing.Suggestion Mobile home park.(2)Mullti level tilt up concrete structure ,Amazing views with a 100 year ground lease to ensure the cost be more reasonable.
"“The Bayfront should be used to its capacity,” said Duncan, pointing to the area east of Highway 101 as a rare piece of underdeveloped land on the Peninsula.
Ortiz though opposed such a suggestion, claiming the waterfront should be preserved primarily for development of Burlingame’s thriving hotel industry, which generates considerable annual tax revenue for the city’s general fund."
Well, Ortiz is not getting my vote. There's vacate land. Let's not leave it vacant to support future hotel development and actually use it for something useful now!
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