Progress has been made on major Burlingame initiatives this year, including planning and study for a new City Hall, construction plans for a Burlingame section of El Camino Real and successful application for various grants, city management said at a Dec. 18 City Council meeting.
A space analysis of the current City Hall building found that existing space for city employees is smaller than industry standard, Jeremy Kirshner, assistant to the city manager, said during a presentation of the major initiatives, all of which are spearheaded by various City Council sub-committees.
Burlingame has hired an architect firm, Group 4, to perform a space needs analysis, accounting for potential City Hall staff growth in the new building. It also hired a real estate advisor, Keyser Marston, to provide a financial analysis of both existing city-owned property and private property in Burlingame that could suit the needs of an upcoming construction project, Kirshner said.
Group 4 has also analyzed city-owned parking lots to see what could suit the needs of the conceptualized new building and will continue to report to city staff and the City Council subcommittee, which is headed by Mayor Donna Colson and Councilmember Ricardo Ortiz.
A revitalization effort for a large swath of El Camino Real from East Santa Inez Avenue in San Mateo to Millbrae Avenue is well into its planning process, as project collaborator Caltrans completed a draft environmental impact report earlier in 2023 and aims to have the design completed by the middle of 2024, Burlingame Public Works Director Syed Murtuza said.
“The city will have opportunities to influence the final design of the project so that the impacts are minimized as a result,” Murtuza said.
Burlingame is continuing to work closely with PG&E and Caltrains to move overhead utilities underground and to determine powerline sequencing. Involved parties are taking preservation of the historic eucalyptus grove and design elements like traffic control into account as they complete project design, which is at around 65%, Murtuza said.
Caltrans will continue to hold public meetings on the project and has selected Teichert Construction as its general manager.
The city has also made progress on its water conservation and recycled water programs, receiving a $1 million grant from the California Department of Water Resources. Burlingame is looking for a consulting firm to spearhead the project and is beginning a feasibility study for the initial provision of recycled water to the Bayfront area, with hopeful expansion to the rest of the city over time, Murtuza said.
The city has recently received a $400,000 federal grant for another initiative, Vision Zero, a traffic safety philosophy that is “based on the principle that loss of life is not an acceptable price to pay for mobility,” Murtuza said.
Burlingame’s Vision Zero subcommittee will aim to eliminate all traffic-related deaths in the city through a preventative approach that designs streets to anticipate drive behavior, Murtuza said.
He also touched on two other initiatives, a proposed expansion to the Burlingame shuttle program — which will attempt to expand shuttle services past commuter hours and to all areas of the city — and Burlingame’s response to sea level rise, which is currently being addressed by OneShoreline’s proposed offshore sea barrier. Both initiatives are still in the planning phase.
“This gives you a snapshot of what we’ve been working on, and appreciate very much the update,” Councilmember Michael Brownrigg said.
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