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"Millbrae Ballot Measure G
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This information is provided by the candidate | ||
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"Millbrae Ballot Measure G
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This information is provided by the candidate | ||
The proponents of Measure G, which will appear on the November 4, 1997 Millbrae ballot, are to be commended for their successful efforts to place the matter of the west side BART parking facility before the voters. We are all enriched by the exchange of ideas between active and interested citizens.
While it may be well-intentioned, I do not believe that Measure G is in Millbrae's best interest. I think that passage of Measure G would serve to limit the size of the proposed El Camino Real parking structure which will in turn damage Millbrae's ability to maximize the economic opportunities presented by the arrival of BART in our city.
The Environmental Impact Report (EIR) mandated by state law requires that BART's Millbrae station have 3,000 parking spaces available for commuters. There have been legal challenges to BART's EIR, but BART has prevailed in these battles. Like it or not, Millbrae will be the site of 3,000 new parking spaces adjacent to its BART station.
PLACING ALL 3,000 BART PARKING SPACES EAST OF THE BART STATION, AS MEASURE G WOULD REQUIRE AND BART WOULD PREFER, WILL PREVENT MILLBRAE FROM REALIZING THE FULL ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF THE MILLBRAE BART STATION. The City of Millbrae has negotiated with BART for the placement of 800 of those 3,000 parking spaces in a parking structure to be erected on El Camino Real, west of the BART station.
If they are built, the 3,000 east side parking spaces will consist of 2,200 spaces in a four-story parking structure and 800 ground level spaces fronting Millbrae Avenue. Not only will the ground level spaces be visually unappealing, but they will occupy valuable Millbrae Avenue frontage property, thus preventing the development of that land for commerical purposes.
On the other hand, under the city's plan to move the 800 spaces to the west side of the BART station tracks, not only will Millbrae Avenue frontage property be available for economic development, but those west side spaces will be hidden from view. That is because the west side garage Millbrae wants BART to build will be on a site that slopes down from El Camino Real to California Drive.
The placement of the 800 space garage on the east side of El Camino Real should also serve to spur the development of the area directly west of the BART station. El Camino Real, north of Millbrae Avenue, with an 800 space parking structure in place, will be particularly attractive for developers. For instance, cinema operators and hotels, both of which require large parking lots, particularly on weekends and in the evenings when BART commuters will be vacating the spaces, would be ideal additions to our city's economic mix.
I believe that we can enhance our quality of life by expanding our economic base in order to provide for vital city services without the need to raise taxes and fees. The best way to do this is to carefully and intelligently plan the development of the properties adjacent to the BART station. Passage of Measure G will severely hamper our ability to take full advantage of the opportunities presented by the arrival of BART in Millbrae. Please join me in voting NO on Measure G on November 4.
