Story Pole Unveiling in Burlingame

City of Burlingame

Posted Date: 10/6/2010 11:50:39 AM

On Thursday, October 14th, at 2 p.m., the Burlingame City Council will review an approximate representation of a high speed rail aerial structure, as shown by story poles.

The location will be public parking lot V at the Burlingame Avenue Train Station at 290 California Drive.

The Burlingame City Council has approved the erection of “story poles” to show the approximate height of a proposed high speed rail aerial structure at the Burlingame Avenue Train Station. The story poles are designed to educate and inform the community about one of the alternatives being proposed by the California High Speed Rail Authority for high speed rail through the City of Burlingame. The poles will show the approximate height of the aerial viaduct and electric cables that will power the train. It will be displayed in public parking Lot V next to the Burlingame Avenue Train Station. The public is invited to attend the event and review the aerial structure and catenary cable heights.

Erecting story poles to represent the aerial structure is part of an ongoing effort by the City of Burlingame to educate the public about the high speed rail project which is proposed along the Caltrain corridor.

Presentation details are:

DATE: Thursday, October 14, 2010 
TIME: 2-3 p.m.PLACE: Burlingame Avenue Train Station, 290 California Drive, Burlingame, CA

Photo from the Burlingame Voice



Bill Silverfarb: Daily Journal
Burlingame erected ‘story poles’ to show the potential impacts of an aerial viaduct considered to be constructed for high-speed trains.

Big Wave Development Final EIR: UPDATE

BACKGROUND:

Due to the volume and depth of the 245 public comments, the EIR consultants did not have adequate funds in their original contract with the County to cover the costs of preparing the Responses to Comments. The Applicant refused to pay anything more, so the County Planning Department decided to take an unprecedented step - and let the Applicant's representative, Scott Holmes, draft the responses, and then County Planning, Environmental Health, Public Works, and County Counsel would do a "peer review" of the responses, and revise if necessary.

UNETHICAL DECISION:

This is not technically "illegal", but is certainly bad judgment, considering that Mr. Holmes has a huge vested interest - both financial and due to being a parent - in the outcome of this project. The FEIR is supposed to be the independent judgment of San Mateo County.

At a county Planning Commission hearing on March 24, 2010 Jim Eggemeyer advocated that his office "collaberate" with an unnamed third party--identified elsewhere in the hearing as Scott Holmes, a member of the leadership team of Big Wave--in order to respond to the many public comments received concerning the Big Wave development proposal.

It will be interesting to read an FEIR crafted as a Developer/County "collaberation".

FINAL EIR UPDATE:

After many delays, the County Planning Staff has anounced they will be posting the Final EIR for Big Wave on the County website this Friday. 

The FEIR will contain all the 245 comments by agencies and the public, and responses to those comments. CGF has asked the Planning Commission to allow a full 60 days for the public to review the FEIR. The Planning Commission will consider this request at their Public Meeting on October 27. The Midcoast Community Council has also asked for time to digest the FEIR, and has requested that the Story Poles, now being erected, be left up during the public review period.

The Planning Commission has scheduled a Public Meeting at the El Granada School on Wednesday, October 27 at 6:00 pm. Very recently, new and serious questions/issues have been raised as to the housing project's incompatibility with the Half Moon Bay Airport.

There have been changes to the project, but until the FEIR is published, the public will not know exactly what they are.