Burlingame This Month
A NEW YEAR
2007 has come and gone quickly. It was an exciting and productive year for the City of Burlingame. The city made many remarkable achievements. Please refer to the city’s website at www.burlingame.org to see our extensive list of achievements.
Some of the major milestones accomplished were:
1. The city issued a $25 million bond for water and sewer capital improvements
2. We amended our Bayfront Specific Area Plan in addition to adopting new zoning for the North End of Burlingame.
3. Virgin Airlines now has located in Burlingame and will generate increased spending to the local economy. The airline is expected to create approximately 1,600 jobs in the Bay Area.
4. The city negotiated $20.5 million in improvements with Caltrain for the Burlingame Avenue Train Station. This work is currently under construction. The city will now have a safer and more efficient train station.
5. In conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce, concierge tours have been held both on Broadway and Burlingame Ave business districts to help familiarize concierges with new businesses in our city. This also increases encouragement of hotel guest to visit our retail and restaurants in Burlingame.
6. The city added longer hours on Fridays from 5-7pm for our public library.
7. Our new Community Director who oversees our Planning and Building departments also act as our new Business Ambassador. He helps businesses navigate through the developmental approval process and encourages a business friendly environment.
8. We now have a maintenance worker dedicated to cleaning our Broadway and Burlingame Ave Business Districts.
9. The City of Burlingame now offers a Citizen’s Academy that invites residents to educate themselves on how the city functions and how departments inter relate with each other. In addition, we offer a Community Emergency Response Team training class to citizens who want to educate themselves and others in preparing for emergency situations.
10. The City of Burlingame performed a customer satisfaction survey of residents that resulted in Burlingame ranking 2nd out of 103 cities for its image and reputation.
2008 will also be a year of exciting events and important issues. Burlingame is turning 100 years old and we started conducting events in 2007 and will conclude in June 2208. We started off the celebration with a spectacular parade in June 2007 followed by a vintage base ball game at Washington Park. There was also a Community Picnic in October 20007 in addition to a Scavenger Hunt. In January 2008, there was a Variety Show held at Burlingame High School which illustrated talent from many of our local residents. It gave Burlingame’s talent of all ages an opportunity to show off their abilities in a historical setting. The following are events that will continue for the next few months:
1. Vintage Fashion Show and Luncheon: Sunday, February 24, 2008 from 11:30 to 3:00. This event will take place at the historical Kohl Mansion. The fashions exhibited will depict various clothing trends over the years. Lunch will be included.
2. Art, Photography and Video Contest: This will be on display at he Recreation department from April 25th to April 26th. Everyone is encouraged to submit videos, photos and/or artwork demonstration “Visions of Burlingame”
3. Wine and Hot Chocolate Walk/Historic Tour: May 2nd and 4th: This will consist of a wine and hot chocolate walking tour of the Downtown Burlingame area on the evening of May 2nd and a self guided tour of Burlingame’s historic buildings and various locations on Sunday, May 4th.
4. All City Dance: This will be held on May 16 at the Burlingame Recreation Center. This will be a 7th and 8th grade dance with a 100th Birthday theme.
5. Day on the Green: This will be at Burlingame High School on May 18th. This event will feature a “Battle of the Bands” . This will be a great event for our young teenagers ages 13 to 18.
6. Gala Centennial Dinner and Fireworks Display: This event will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Burlingame on June 6th. It will be a ball for the entire Burlingame Community and will include dinner, entertainment by Danny Marona, fireworks, and dancing. Make sure to get your tickets early.
Please refer to our website at www.burlingame.org for further information. Tickets for events can be purchased at the Recreation Center.
The City Council will be addressing may issues this year. The following are just a few:
Safeway: There is a Burlingame/Safeway working group that started meeting in May 2007. The Working group is a collaborative community effort and is comprised of stakeholders from various community groups. This includes: Chamber of Commerce, Citizens for Better Burlingame, Downtown Merchants, Downtown Property Owners, Petitioners for Safeway, Safeway, and Southwest/Southeast Homeowners.
The goal is to have a new store that both enhances Burlingame and is financially feasible for Safeway. The group has developed design criteria that address Traffic, Parking, Land Usage, Economic Impacts, Visual Impacts, Shopping Experience, Integration with our Downtown and Environmentally Responsible.
Currently, the group is discussing options for a one store option for Safeway, and in the future will discuss options for a store with retail and a store with mixed use. You are encouraged to attend their meetings and give public input. Please refer to the city website for more information at www.burlingame.org. You can submit comments via the Safeway Working Group Feedback form and you will see group notes under Meeting Notes page.
Aging Infrastructure: After the unsuccessful ballot initiative of November 2006, the City Council continues to review options to fund $44 million in deferred capital improvements of which mainly consist of storm drainage improvements. At the last council meeting held on January 4, 2008, the Council to look into a possible Community Facilities Tax or Storm Drain Property Fee. More information will be provided in the future.
Business License Fee: The Business License Ordinance requires businesses that operate within the city limits to apply for a business license and pay $100 per annum tax. The Council has been discussing the possibility of approving a three year agreement with Municipal Auditing Services to conduct a business license tax audit and enforcement program. In doing so, the City wants to gain greater compliance with the Business License Tax Ordinance, educate the business community of the license requirements, ensure a fair and equitable collection of business license tax and increase revenue for the General fund.
Council Goal Session: The City Council will hold its Goal Setting Session on Saturday January 26th at 9:00am at the Recreation Center. This gives the Council an opportunity to discuss priorities in the city and hear from the public on what they would like to see done.
As you can see, 2008 has begun to be a busy year. You will see updates to this page in the future. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at ann@annkeighran.com
