Editor,
Councilmember Donna Colson’s opinion piece, “Demolition meets democracy,” calls for preservation principles and public input regarding White House renovations. Yet here in Burlingame, those same principles seem null and void when they conflict with her agenda.
She insists that “the American people deserve an opportunity to weigh in” on changes to a historic building. Yet when it comes to demolishing Burlingame City Hall, including its iconic circular council chamber that merits historic consideration, the council has avoided asking the public whether the building should be preserved. The city’s carefully crafted survey conspicuously avoided that fundamental question, and when asked whether it could be added, the answer was no.
Community meetings under her tenure increasingly feel like formalities. She has openly stated their purpose is to prevent residents from later claiming they “did not know.” That mindset helps explain why the California Drive “road diet” moved forward despite broad opposition, even after the council acknowledged it was not primarily about bicycles.
Councilmember Colson claims to be a “preservation leader,” yet demands adherence to preservation principles when it suits her position and discards them when they conflict with her agenda. Now City Hall faces the same predetermined trajectory. Reasonable alternatives, including potential historic zoning solutions to preserve the round chamber, successfully achieved in other communities, were brushed aside when I presented them to the council.
That is not leadership. It is hypocrisy.
Grace Xuereb
Burlingame
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.