Another rail yard is bedeviling Brisbane

The aim of the ambitious Baylands plan is to create what amounts to a multifaceted Brisbane 2.0 east of Bayshore Boulevard on land once dominated by the Southern Pacific Railroad and now home to a lumber yard, a landfill/recycling center and other enterprises.

The redevelopment effort has been moving along slowly as officials wrestle with all of the myriad factors involved in such a large undertaking.

There is a potential monkey wrench hovering over all of this: Key acreage north of Tunnel Avenue is in question, courtesy of the state’s high-speed rail project, a well-publicized, fiscally-challenged and intrusive boondoggle.

The HSR intent is to build a big rail storage/maintenance facility, complete with an extensive network of spurs and sidings, in that valuable 121-acre location (nearly one-quarter of the land available for commercial/residential development).

Current HSR online documents point out the desire/need for it. A video simulation displays what it would look like and how it would fit in to the surrounding locale. If implemented, it would drastically alter the Baylands vision.

Brisbane authorities and the Baylands developer, Baylands Development Inc., are adamantly opposed. A recent revised notice of the preparation of an environmental impact report contains no mention of the HSR facility.

It’s not a surprise since significant revenue is at stake as Brisbane authorities fight the HSR effort in court. They filed suit, based mainly on environmental issues, to prevent the rail authority’s proposal (and that not-so-faint whiff of eminent domain wafting ominously in the future) from becoming reality last September in Sacramento Superior Court. Action on the case has been delayed several times this year.

One of the important goals of the Baylands proposal involves rehabilitating and repurposing much of the old Southern Pacific land that had been used as an extensive (and polluting) repair/freight storage yard which included a roundhouse for engine maintenance. Crumbling remnants of the roundhouse remain.

The fast-train planners are proposing to bring back a new version of that old Southern Pacific operation, albeit an electric-powered one.

The Baylands developer, in concert with the town, is currently projecting 2,200 new dwelling units, 6.5 million square feet of commercial space, a 500,000-square-foot hotel and park and open space.

As things stand today, most of the acreage is barren with few indications of any substantial site work underway. It’s a relatively bleak landscape.

The entire proposed Baylands project, to be completed in phases, would be one of the most significant in the North County in decades, if it ever comes to fruition.

An online timeline indicates that grading and infrastructure improvements are scheduled to be finished in 2027. A full project buildout is envisioned in 2035.

If the high-speed system designers have their way on the Baylands site (there is no certainty in that regard), it would be a serious drawback tossed into the mix for the developers and the town itself.

Interested parties have until May 25 to comment on Brisbane’s latest Baylands EIR notice.

The town’s website is www.brisbaneca.org. The Community Development page includes a link to the Baylands project and its listed particulars.

STATE ROUTE 92 NOT ALWAYS EASY: Still on the subject of Peninsula real estate, a local property sales firm has been promoting an attractive coastal manse not far from the Half Moon Bay Airport and Pillar Point Harbor.

The enthusiastic blurb notes that, “It’s an easy drive to either Silicon Valley or San Francisco.” Really? Have you checked out recent traffic problems on State Route 92? It’s hardly a vehicular picnic. “Easy” is not a word that immediately comes to mind.

That particular route (one lane each way for much of its mileage west of Interstate 280) has become regularly problematic, especially during the winter months. Major traffic issues have been all too frequent.

Let’s substitute “iffy” for “easy.” Truth in advertising.

You can get in touch with John Horgan by email at johnhorganmedia@gmail.com.