Dear San Mateo City Council,
The purpose of
zoning is to direct local development such that it corresponds to the overall
vision of how we want our city to look, feel and function. This grand concept
is meant to transcend the needs and desires of individual businesses and residents
in order to achieve greater value for the city as a whole.
There seems to
be no doubts as to the fact Michael’s is a fine store which attracts a loyal
group of shoppers from the immediate area. Please let me stress my objection to
the planning application in question lies in the location of the proposed
store, not Michael’s itself. Wholeheartedly, we should work to ensure Michael’s
finds a compromise location in San Mateo. However, this end should not erode
the principles set forth by our zoning and TOD plans, including the Rail
Corridor and Hillsdale Station Plans.
Transit-oriented
development, or TOD, represents a concerted effort to consider transportation
efficiency as a foremost planning guideline.
In terms of TOD,
what is so special about 2925 El Camino?
Quite simply, it
is located within ¼ mile of Hillsdale Station, one of the most utilized stops
on the Caltrain line. In addition, in the next decade or so when that station
is moved north according to city plan, 2925 El Camino will be directly across from
the station’s projected location. All of this gives plans concerning the site’s
development regional importance, as well as making it deeply impactful on
numerous San Mateo residents, many whom I expect are currently unaware of the
long term ramifications of avoiding enforcement of the standards of TOD which
have been laid down for us thus far. 2925 El Camino represents a rare chance to
adopt TOD standards at a critical part of our transit corridor. We should not
squander the opportunity to demand innovation at this site.
What is so
important about TOD?
TOD is as
important as the air we breathe.
On November 9 of
last year, Congresswoman Jackie Speier hosted a presentation on the expected sea
level rise facing San Mateo County. The projections for water level rise in the
county are the most severe of any in the Bay Area. The projections presented at
this conference also showed significant parts of San Mateo underwater in the
next 50 years unless we alter our circumstances. The City of San Mateo needs to
recognize its vulnerability in terms of climate change and act accordingly. Because
it is devised to reduce toxic transportation emissions which are a prime
contributor to climate change locally, TOD planning is a key way we can
responsibly move forward.
What are the
fundamentals of a vital TOD program?
One core value
of TOD is mixing residential and commercial uses in high densities around
significant transit centers. The Michael’s development under consideration
contains neither a residential nor a commercial component. At one story and the
usable space occupying only a tiny footprint of the property and surrounded by
a vast parking lot, Michael’s also does not fit the definition of high density.
Another core
value of TOD, which is called for in Policy 5.1, San Mateo’s vision of
sustainable, economically vital development around Hillsdale station, is
projects enhancing or revitalizing of some other, less transit supportive uses.
For this reason, large, single use retail stores are not considered in alignment
with TOD zoning. The new Michael’s, while ever so marginally better than the
old Borders insomuch as it adds a small, freestanding café and bedroom sized
community center, is still not a substantial refashioning of the existing
property. Keeping the same floor plan but modifying the entrances hardly
fulfills the lofty goals set out in San Mateo’s planning literature over the
last decade. I implore the Council not to accept such paltry compliance to our
outlined values and principles.
Status quo,
which is what repurposing the existing Borders store essentially amounts to, is
the easiest path. However, it is my opinion it is certainly not the best choice
for the long term interest of the San Mateo residents, regional transit
solutions as a whole or the legacy of this City Council.
