HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Packet - BC - 2009.05.07AGENDA
BURLINGAME BEAUTIFICATION COMMISSION
MAY 7, 2009 - 6: 00 PM
CITYHALL
501 PRIMROSE ROAD — Con erence Room A
Burlingame, CA
I. ROLL CALL
H. MINUTES
III. CORRESPONDENCE
IV. FROM THE FLOOR (At this time, persons in the audience may speak on any item on the
agenda or any other matter. The Ralph M. Brown Act prohibits the Commission from acting on a
matter which is not on the agenda. Comments are limited to three minutes)
V. OLD BUSINESS
1. Broadway Planters
2. 2009 Business Landscape Award/Committee Recommendation for Review
3. Street Tree Fundraising — Art in the Park Booth (June 13 or June 14)
VI. NEW BUSINESS
1. Urban Forest Management Plan Update
VH. REPORTS
1. Staff
2. Chairperson
3. Commissioners
Next Regular Meeting:
Thursday, June 4, 2009— City Hall
NOTICE: Any attendees wishing accommodations for disabilities should contact the Parks & Recreation
Dept. at (650) 558-7323 at least 24 hours before the meeting. A copy of the agenda packet is available for
review at the Recreation Center, 850 Burlingame Avenue, during normal office hours. The agendas and
minutes are also available on the City's website: www.burlingame.ore
Any writings or documents provided to a majority of the Beautification Commission regarding any item on
�. this agenda will be made available for public inspection at 850 Burlingame Ave during normal business
hours.
MAINTENANCE OF THE BROADWAY AVE. STREETSCAPE, BURLINGAME
1) Litter comes from cigarette butts, food and drinks consumed on the street, napkins
from outside tables, bags from purchases, giveaway mint wrappers, newspapers and
advertising. It accumulates in the gutters, underneath the trash cans, in the sidewalk
cutouts, in the corner bulbouts, in the large and small planters, in the permanent and
movable flower boxes, in the Broadway Alley, and in the tree wells. Sometimes
remnants of balloons and flyers are found attached to meters and streetlamps.
2) Trees need regular pruning, thinning, and limbing up so that street signs, shop signs,
and night lighting are not obscured and so that they don't interfere with people's ability
to walk by or sit under them comfortably. Interfering limbs are often broken off by the
public, thus necessitating corrective cuts. Suckers coming from the trunks must be
eliminated so as not to interfere with landscape and lighting in the tree wells. Plantings
in the tree wells (Jasmine) need trimming so that curbs and perimeters are evident to
pedestrians.
3) Corner bulbouts were originally planted with yellow Lantana and blue Lavender, both
of which need full sun in order to thrive. However, as the trees matured above them, they
have shaded out and weakened this landscaping, allowing for weeds to take hold. These
bulbouts need constant attention with weeding and mulch and timely replacements for
those plants that become damaged beyond repair. Some of these plantings have been
supplemented with others (roses, ferns, Agapanthus, Callas, annuals), and in some cases
native bloomers have sprouted and thrived (wild Geranium, Erigeron, red Valerian).
4) Sidewalk cutouts were originally planted with Jasmine, a white -blooming vine that
quickly and constantly sprawls outside its limited space and must be cut back several
times a year so as not to impede pedestrians on the sidewalks. An easier choice of plant
material for these cutouts might be an evergreen, softer -looking grassy plant (e.g.,
Liriope, Fescue) that does not need trimming.
5) Permanent flower boxes attached to the buildings (e.g., Big Joe's, Behan's,
Matsusono/Shabu) need long -blooming year round flowers (Nemesia, Osteospermum,
Argyranthemum) or replacement twice a year with seasonal annuals --as well as soil to
maintain the optimum level for show --and require manual watering.
6) The Broadway Alley extends from the south side of Broadway Ave. near El Camino
Real to a parking lot behind the shops. The plantings in this Alley require weeding and
deadheading at least twice a year.
7) Large planters. At this time there are 7 left in the Broadway commercial district
(others were vandalized and removed). None have watering devices. Two are opposite
each other on N and S Broadway at El Camino Real; 1 NE Capuchino, I SW Capuchino,
2 NW Paloma, and 1 SW Chula Vista. N at El Camino (although cracked) has been
planted spring 2009 (Argyranthemum), with the promise of watering by a nearby
merchant. Each planter requires about 6 gallons of water once a week. A 5-gallon
evergreen, blooming shrub (Lantana, Perovskia/Russian Sage, Nandina, Escallonia, -�
ConvolvulusBush Morning Glory, Abelia, Cistus, Salvia leucantha/Mexican Sage,
Polygala/Sweetpea Bush) was planted in each large container in 2005, with the promise
of watering by various parties, none of whom maintained the watering schedule for an
entire year, and the plants died.
8) Small round planters. There are approximately 40 located on the N and S sidewalks
of Broadway near the curbs, with watering devices in them, which are timed and
maintained by the city. The round form is deceiving, as the available soil area is actually
cylindrical within, thus limiting the types and number of plantings to usually 4 annuals or
perennials with smaller root structures. Long-lasting year round color is the key to these
plantings (Argyranthemum, Alyssum, Nemesia, Osteospermum, Erigeron), with attention
to supplemental watering necessary for best show. Smaller flowers show up in more
profusion so that people are not tempted to pull them off as they do the Agapanthus and
Daylily stalks in the district. Some merchants have also planted Lavender, Geranium,
Ivy, Cyclamen, and Tradescantia in the planters, which are left intact. At winter holiday
time, color in these as well as the large planters is added through the use of bunches of
red silk Poinsettias, which are then removed for annual spring planting.
NOTE:
There is one faucet on Broadway, at Earthbeam. Another faucet is in the alley at AVR
Realty. Both require T-handles to use. One -gallon plastic milk jugs with screw -on tops -�
are recommended for manual watering —they can be brought already filled in a car.
Costs to the Broadway Business Improvement District have stayed under $900 per year
for the spring, fall, and holiday plantings the last 5 years. Because the costs have risen,
there is now a source that has offered to purchase at wholesale prices.
Bobbi Benson, 2009