Editor,
As a director for the Broadway Merchants Association, we appreciate the community’s passion for preserving our city’s civic spaces. However, the merchants recognize the city must make long-term decisions to balance financial responsibility with community needs.
Updating the existing City Hall property to address infrastructure issues, including asbestos and seismic vulnerabilities, would cost taxpayers an estimated $35 million over the next 10 years, not including the $300,000 per year it currently costs to maintain the site.
At some point it is just better to replace an asset instead of putting money into expensive upgrades and repairs. We support the city’s decision to enter into an agreement for 1440 Chapin Ave. as the new City Hall. This move will allow the city to serve residents more effectively.
While residents won’t vote directly on the future of the current City Hall site, the city values community input. Recently, 546 residents shared their views through a city administered survey, and the community is invited to upcoming community meetings to learn more.
We believe the property could best be used by selling its rear portion occupied by City Hall and its rear parking area to a developer for rental or condominium use. Most of the newer buildings in the neighborhood use underground parking which would allow the purchasing developer to build a multistory building. Ideally, that would mirror the architecture of our beautiful library across the street. The city could retain the front portion of the lot and trees for public open space as it is now to preserve the feel of the neighborhood.
So, everybody, stay engaged, attend the meetings and express your opinions. Together we can ensure our city remains vibrant, well managed and welcoming for generations to come.
Ross Bruce
Burlingame
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