HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - CC - 1973.05.23+)+
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Burtingame, calj-fornia
tlay 23, L973
A special meetj-ng of the Burlingame City Council, continued from j-ts meeting of
M,ay 2, L973, was ca11ed to order on the above date at 8:15 p.n., by Mayor
R. D. Martin.
ROLL CAI,L
Present - Councihen: Anstrup-crosby (8:30 p.n. ) -Cusick-l'langini-Martin
Absent - Councihen: None
This was the fourth in a series of meetings hetd for the Pu:rPose of gathering
pubtic reaction to the recommendations contained in the "Burlingame Avenue
Parking Study" prepared by Deleuw, Cather & Company.
Before sta-rting the discussj-on on the Parking District, the Council
Agreed to bypass the June study meeting because of an unusually heavy
calendar during the month of June;
Directed the city Manager to arrange for a special meeting to consider
avrard of bids for resurfacing of Burlingame Avenuei
To meet on Tuesday, May 29, 1973, at 7:0O p.m., to hear a proposal from
representatives of San Mateo County Transit Develolxnent Project.
PARKTNG DISTRICI
Mayor l,lartin announced the purpose of this meet.ing was to explore the issue
of expansion of parking facilities, the consultants recommended altercnatives---
horizontal, through acquisition of additional property, or construction of
parking levels, ej-ther over or under existing lots. The cost of going under-
ground will be double that of raised itructures.
Mayor Martin stated that testimony heaxd at prior meetings indicates a consensus
that "pay" long-term lots are needed. IIe suggesteC consideration to an experi-
ment whereby pa-rking meters rarould be installed on Lot A, exclusive of a certain
number of spaces behind the librar!,, and ticket dispensing machines on Lot F.
If the test proves unsuccessful, and it becomes necessary to renove the meters,
the investnent will not be lost because meters can be used in some other area
in the city; on the machines, perhaps the city can arrange to lease these in
lieu of outright purchase.
Councihan Amstrup advised he h,as at Uetcalf-Reis plant recently and observed
a new installation there wl.ere 22 c€lxs can be parcked on 11 spaces. This is
a mechanical operation whereby two vehicles are parked in one space, one above
the other i the cityrs chief building inspector advised that the cost of the
installatj-on was probably about $15,OO0.O0. Councihan Amstxup suggested this
might merit investigation. He explained that the car at ground leveI must be
moved first to free the ca.r above but if both stalls were rented to people
from the sane office or business establistment, it would appear the instalLation
could work for the city.
Frank IngersolL, 2L6 Park Road, suggested it ra'ould be necessary to have an
attendant on duty to operate the apparatus.
John Cockcroft, 1345 Howard Avenue, stated if there were to be meters on one
lot and ticket machines on another, it would be i:nportant that rates be equal
to assure a fair test.
Douglas Beetlestone, 1375 Burlingame Avenue, presented a recommendation adopted
by the Chanber of Cormnerce some time ago for ticket machines to be instalLed on
Iots F, GrN, the machines to dispense separate tickets for morning and afternoon parking
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3
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distinguished. by different colors, and dated. I,lri. Beetlestone stated there
would be tlro machines, a colored ticket to indicate morning or aft€Enoon
park.ing.
willian orr, Chairman, Parking comnission, stated that the Consnission in its
deliberations heard advice from police personnel, with the result that the
comnission reconmends there be a single pa!.ment for all-day parking in an
amount deemed appropriate by the Council, whether 259 or 50f. It appears that
the burden of enforcement with multi-color ti-ckets would be considerable. He
mentioned that a type of machine was suggested where there would be num.bers
corresponding with nurnbers on spaces in the lot; enforcement here would require
silnply to check to determine ttrat car.s were parked only in the spaces that haal
been paid fori there would be no tickets dispensed by this type of machine.
The City Manager was dinected to investigate kinds of machines available, whether
Iease purchase is feasible, and also meter costs. He was asked to have the
data available for consideration at the regular Council meeting on June 4, L973.
The City Engineer pointed out that the Bellevue AveDue portion of Lot A is
4-hour parking, Donnelly Avenue, 16-hour.
EXPANS]ON OF EXISTING LCIS
The Chair asked for comments on the consuLtantsr proposals for horizontal
expansion: I. Acquisition of a property at I4I2 Chapin Avenue, 2- If
there are to be additional parking levels on Lot E, the post office employee
parking lot and the Jenkel-Davidson propelty should be considered for acquisition,
3. Adalitj-ona1 levels on Lot A would involve acquisition of a single fanily
residence on Bellevue Avenue and cononerc ial buildings on Donnelly Avenuei
4. Connect Lot B and B-1 (Chapin Avenue) by land acquisition.
Frank rngersoll, Chairman, Citizens Parking Committee, Lawrence E'utman,
President, Chamber of Ccfirmerce, and Theodore Blunlcerg, property owner:., within
the District, agreed that the best interests of the city will be served by
the least amount of acquisition. Land costs coupled with construction costs
will make the resultant parking very costly, land taken for par.king will
create a ]-oss of tax revenue to the city. Adnittedly, if aII of the properties
were acquired, thene could be ample 1and to meet parking needs, but this would
be falc more expens.ive than multi-level construction on existing lots. Considera-
tion should be given to expanding lots on the periphery to provide convenient,
long-term parking; this should have the effect of moving "sleepers" out of the
core lots, thereby increasing the amount of shopper parking.
Carroll Schmj,tz, 1237 BeUevue Avenue, protested acquisition of propercties on
Bellevue and Donnelly for the purpose of double-decking Lot A, especially behind
the new library addition. lie spoke of personal hardship that will be created if
a structure is built adjacent to his property. or if his property is taken by
the District. He recommended multi-level construction on Lot C on the south
side of Donnelly, imediately behinal the stores on Burlingame Averue. The
people want convenient parking and this r,rould appear to be the ideal location
for both shopper and snployee parking. He also suggested consideration to
acquisition of the privately-owned parcels east of Lot C, extension of 'rC"
to the curb area on DonnelLy, and removal of planted areas for maximum utiliza-
tion of the land.
councilran Mangini askecl if Mr. schmitz envisioned a stxucture across Donnelly
connecting Lots C and A. Mr. Sctmitz stated that it would behoove the city
to build the structure high in the first place.
Frank Ingersoll advised that the Chauber of Cornrnerce and the Citizens Parking
Commj-ttee agree the solution lies in decking existing lots north of Donnelly
and south of Howard, this reverts to Lots A & F. furthermore, with respect to
Lot H, west of El Cam.ino, thene a-re indications that this is being used by
apartnent dwellers; perhaps meters should be considered for this Iot.
The chair referred to the d.eficiensy chart on page 20 of the report and to
the text comrnencing on page 30 where the consultants reconrnend multi-Ievel
J{.1.'}lts
structures on specific lots. The chair noted that the greatest deficiency
bu1k in long-term parklng lies north of Burrlingane Avenue. Expansion of Lot A
coulal help to cure this. Next greatest deficiency is between Prirrose and Park,
Bur.lingame Avenue to Howard. The question arises whether "F" is the most
suitable lot south of the Avenue for multi-Ievel construction.
14r.. Ingersoll pointed out there is considerable opposition on the part of
the merchants to a parking deck on Lot C. Some of the Council mernbers and
many citizens rebelled at the idea of disturbing Lot J when the proposal was
made at a prior meeting. with respect to Lot E, expansion here would bring a
heavy concentration of traffic into the alowntovrn area and, as mentioned earlier,
costs of reconstruction would be excessive, because of land acquisition required.
It woutd appear, then, that Lots A & F are the solution.
councilman Mangini recalled that his earliest recollection of the Parking
District philosophy envisioned a series of lots from Prilnrose through to
Lorton connected by overhead structures.
Councilman crosby stated that the idea was to acquire successive properties on
a straight line, with eventual double-decking of aII.
M.r. Ingersolt advised that the citizens' committee studied this but came to
the conclusj-on it was not a solution to the problem; furthermore, the old
city haLl site would be involved, contrary to the expressed desires of many
that this lot not be changed.
Frieda Freund, 1230 Donnelly Avenue, maj-ntained that Lot A is one of the most
attractive lots with the liJ]rary and acacia trees in the backgroundi conversely,
r,ot C is probabLy the most unattractivei amrlti-Ieve1 structure here would at
least hide the unattractive rear entrances of the shops fronting the Avenue.
John cockcroft stated that if "c" were double-decked, provision must be
made for continued access to the rear of the stores with adequate loading
and unloading areas for service and delivery vehj,cles. This would necessitate
a reduction in area of the second deck. He advised that, in prior studies
undertaken by the Chamber of Comnerce, r,ot F lras considered the most suitable
for alecking from an economic standpoint. He expressed a personal feeling that
the library portion of Lot A not be ta.ken, but reserved for library parking,
for which it was originally purchased. He suggested consj-deration to depressing
the Donnelly Avenue portion of the 1ot four feet, thus providing a lower level
of parking four feet below curb lj-ne. Ttris could reduce the overall profile
of a second and third deck. Possibly the same procedure could be applied to
Lot F. He urged inunealiate consideration to irprovements to alleviate long-
term deficiencies.
Councilran Mangini noted that the new construction wilt result in two of
the largest lots being unusable whj-1e construction is in progress. He asked
if restriping, done effj-ciently, might not accomplish the alesired result.
Councilman Cusick cormented that perhaps some of the deficiencies in the
area of Lot A will be eu:ninated by increased use of free parking adjacent
to the Southern Pacific property. She objected to parking structures alongside
the library and on the former city hat]. lot and also noted that on l,ot E there
is an area that must be kept free of obstruction for city crews to have access
to the drainage channel.
Councj-lman Crosby considered the consultants I report uEealistic. He recalled
that years ago the city jinproved the strip adjacent to Southern pacificrs right
of way for enployee parking but it has never been used for this purpose to
capacity. There are problems in the core area resulting from Long-term parkers
using ttte strort-term lots and this situation needs to be resolvedi the answer
appears to be multi-1eve]- structures, whether north or south of the Avenue is a
moot poj.nt. He stated that when the distxict rr,as Started 10 years ago Lot F
was considered the nucleus and, in his opiiricn is probabty the prime lot for
dlouble-decking, regardless of rdhat the report might state.
Councilnan Arlstrup reported a recent experience where he hail the opportunity to
observe, over a period of approximately a week, daily activity in the area of
the city and Southern Pacific Cornpany parking lots. At any tilne of ttre day,
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there were spaces available. The idea that long-term park.ing is aleficient
appears to be a fallacy. There is parking but perhaps the problem is that
the parking is not where the people want it to be. Councilman Amstrup
suggested that consideration be given to acquiring the properties betr{reen
Lots C and D to create a single large tot. There need not be multi-Ievel
construction imealiately, perhaps, in time, it could be partly tiered for
both long-tem and short-term use.
Mayor Martin stated he was informed recently by the bond counsel, Kenneth
Jones, of a system that could be used s/hereby the council can obta.in approxi-
mate costs of construct.ion without 9oin9 through the procedure of havj.ng specific
plans prepared and putting these out to bidl. l,lr. Jones stated there are fj-rms
who examine a sj,te and prepare a bid. He suggested that the City Manager contact
l,tr. Jones for further information and, if possible, arrangre for a presentation.
Perhaps Lot F could be used.
Councihan Mangini expressed preference for consideration to C and E, but haal
no strong objection to F. He, too, was reluctant to see structures on either
the library lot or Lot J.
John Cockcroft asked if the engineerring department could survey the records
that were j-n existence in 1962 with respect to approxirate caLculations of
square footage in buildings.
The Chair explained that Mr. Cockcroft was referring to the consultants'
proposal exempting from code parking requirenents develolnnents two stories
or under, or with less than I5,0o0 gross square feet in floor area. If
the average in 1962 was 12,0oo square feet, that could provide the basis for
using 12,000 squa-re feet ln considering new requirenents.
The City Engineer reported there were approxilnately 15 properties granted credits
and, to hj-s knowledge, the records are availa-b1e in his department.
ADJOURNMEMI
The meeting adjouxned at 11:OO p.m., the next meeting to be held on June 20,
1973, at 8rO0 p.m., where the Safeway Stores matter will be explored, as well
as financing and building ljri-tations.
Respectfully suhnitted,/M
- Herbert K. White, city clerk
APPRO\IED
.D. MARTIN, MAYOR