High Speed Rail to Run Above Ground in San Carlos

Plan Released

According to the detailed plan that was released by the California High Speed Rail Authority on Thursday, most of the high-speed rail section that will someday traverse the Peninsula and the South Bay will do so above ground, and not in an underground trench as many communities had hoped for.   According to this article in the Daily News, the Rail Authority assigned most Peninsula cities above-ground implementations since they are the least expensive, but that decision was not well received by many community leaders on the Peninsula who were lobbying very hard to minimize the intrusion of the new rail system.

Elevated? Been There, Done That…

While many communities on the Peninsula now face the first prospect of an elevated train track splitting their city, San Carlos is one of the only cities that has at least some experience in this area.   Years ago, amidst a sea of contention, San Carlos opted to elevate the Caltrain tracks through its city limits as a way to alleviate the chronic traffic tie-ups at the railroad crossings.   Opponents to the plan believed that an elevated berm would isolate the east side of the city from the west — a fear many community leaders on the Peninsula are now expressing for their own constituents.

Whether or not this was the net effect on San Carlos is a subjective matter, but what one cannot argue is the fact that traffic flow at the Howard Avenue, Brittan Avenue, and Holly Street intersections is immeasurably better since the tracks were elevated.  They’re still far from perfect, but much better than before.

A Little More Noise?

Aside from the isolation concerns, one of the biggest objections to an elevated track will be the noise impact.   It’s not a stretch to see how the wind noise and rail noise that’s generated by a train that is capable of 200 mph will be far different (and quite possibly louder) than what we’re accustomed to with CalTrain today.   Granted, the train will likely not be hitting those speeds on the Peninsula, but the noise element will be a big concern for many.

In reality, with all of the objections already being voiced by community leaders, it’s easy to see how the whole California High Speed Rail idea could spend the next decade or so in the court system…instead of fulfilling the dream of a high-speed rail backbone in California.

What are your thoughts on the High Speed Rail Initiative?

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Development: It May Be a Necessity for San Carlos

Small Town Feel vs Big Time Deficit

It’s ironic…the very thing that many San Carlos residents have steadfastly resisted over the years — large scale development — may turn out to be the bootstrap that pulls this town out of its financial woes.   For many years, San Carlos has resisted any type of large residential or retail developments for fear that it would erode the “small-town feel” that makes San Carlos a unique place to live.  Certainly, it has only been in the last decade or so that big-box retailers like Best Buy and Home Depot have made any headway into San Carlos, and that’s only on the east side of El Camino.  The west side still remains largely devoid of any retail chain outlets (excluding Starbucks, of course.)

But the current financial crisis in San Carlos may force us to re-think that position.

Cut Costs, or Raise Revenue

At the risk of over-simplification, those are the only two ways to erase a budget deficit.   Let’s take a look at the former — cutting costs.  The City of San Carlos has cut its budget each of the past 11 years, and is now at a point where it has chosen to disband its own police department to save money.   A similar disintegration of our fire department is certainly right around the corner too, as soon the Belmont-San Carlos Fire JPA concludes its divorce proceeding in 2011.

But even after cannibalizing itself, the City will be lucky if it can stay in the black for any significant period of time.  Note to the City Council:  Despite your pipe dream that outsourcing public safety will be provide endless years of savings, the cost of these contracts will go up.  Count on it.  The cost of living always goes up — it never goes down.  So we may very likely be right back at the same table in a few years wondering where that $2M in police savings went.

Raise revenue?   If you’re talking about taxes, there are only two ways to raise revenue — increase the rate that you tax, or increase the gross tax dollars that you take in.   San Carlos residents have made no mystery about their opinion of higher sales tax with the defeat of Measure U, and the Fire Parcel Tax a few years back.  So if a higher tax rate isn’t the solution, the City needs to bring in more raw tax dollars.

And that’s where development comes in, whether we like it or not.

Times Have Changed

The quaint, small town model that has supported San Carlos over the past 85-ish years may not apply any longer.  And San Carlos is not alone in this quandary.  Virtually every other city on the Peninsula is facing the same reality.  Only Colma seems to enjoy a sizable budget surplus, largely because they have lots of dead people and lots of shopping malls .    San Carlos won’t need to take that extreme of a measure, but look for development projects such as Wheeler Plaza, and the Transit Village to take on renewed interest with City Hall and residents alike, as the Town of San Carlos grapples to stay financially afloat in the new economy.

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Legacy Partners Updates San Carlos on Transit Village Plans.

Informational Meeting.

Last week, in a meeting hosted by the San Carlos Chamber of Commerce, representatives from Legacy Partners presented an update to their vision of the San Carlos Transit Village.   For those of you not familiar with the Transit Village, it’s a concept being considered by the City of San Carlos to significantly modify the land on both sides of the historic train depot in San Carlos by adding retail space, high-end residential rental units, and additional parking.  Legacy Partners was chosen by the City of San Carlos as the lead developer for this concept.

For more information, visit the City of San Carlos page for this:   San Carlos Transit Village.

Updated Presentation.

In last week’s meeting, which was attended by about 30-40 people (including 4 of the 5 City Council members, the City Manager and the Asst. City Manager), Legacy Partners gave a fairly detailed presentation on their vision of the Transit Village, as well as any changes from previous specifications.  For example, the number of luxury rental units in the concept dropped to 280 units.    There was consternation expressed by representatives of the Greater East Side San Carlos group for lack of any mention of the impact to the residents in Clearfield Park in their presentation.

Timing for this project (if it even moves forward) is still pretty far out on the horizon.  The Environmental Impact Report (EIR) still needs to be completed, discussed, and approved before much else can happen.   Consequently, it’s going to be a few years before the first shovel of dirt is turned….if it happens at all.

Legacy Partners was nice enough to provide me with a copy of their presentation to post on the site.   Click here to download it:  Legacy Partners; San Carlos Transit Village 3-16

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Important Meetings This Week in San Carlos.

Mark your calendars! If you’re interested in the future direction of San Carlos schools or the downtown development, or if you just need a reason to procrastinate your holiday shopping even more, there are a couple of important meetings that are happening this week. I’ve already highlighted them in their respective posts, but it’s worth reminding you of them again:

Town Hall: San Carlos Schools.

Tonight – November 30. This meeting is being hosted by San Carlos School District Superintendent Dr. Craig Baker to discuss the District’s proposal to re-draw the school boundaries in order to alleviate the chronic over-enrollment problems. All of the elementary school principals will be in attendance at this meeting as well. Here are meeting details:

Monday, November 30
7:30 PM
San Carlos Library: 610 Elm Street
Conf Room A, Second Floor

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Wheeler Plaza Community Forum.

The City of San Carlos would love to hear your input on what should be done (if anything) with their Wheeler Plaza parcel, which we know better as the parking lot behind Wells Fargo Bank and Le Boulanger.   This meeting is an integral part of the “listening phase” of the Wheeler Plaza concept, so if you have any ideas about what should be done, including leaving it as-is, be sure to attend this meeting.  Here are the meeting details:

Wednesday, December 2
7:00 PM
San Carlos Library: 610 Elm Street
Conf Rooms A&B, Second Floor

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Community Meeting on Wheeler Plaza: December 2nd…

The City of San Carlos announced that it will be holding its first community-wide forum to get feedback from residents on its Wheeler Plaza development concept.  For those of you not familiar with Wheeler Plaza, it’s the city-owned parcel that’s right behind the Wells Fargo and Le Boulanger on Laurel Street — see the map above.   The idea being kicked around is to develop the existing parcel into a retail/residential complex that will There’s an entire category on this site that’s dedicated to the Wheeler Plaza concept — click here to read those posts and corresponding comments.

Like every development idea that has been proposed recently in San Carlos, Wheeler Plaza has evoked some pretty strong opinions both for and against the idea.   But it’s important to remember that this is just a concept right now — there are no plans in place, nor is it even an approved project.  But if you have an opinion about the City’s ideas on Wheeler Plaza, or you’d like to find out more about the idea,  be sure to attend this meeting.  Here are the details:

Wednesday, December 2, 2009, 7:00 p.m.
Conference Rooms A&B, 2nd Floor
San Carlos Library, 610 Elm Street

For additional information on the meeting, visit this page on the City of San Carlos website.
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San Carlos Holly Street/101 Workshop: October 28

Lately there have been a whole bunch of things happening on Holly Street. First, it was the on-again off-again Palo Alto Medical Foundation complex, and most recently the announcement that In-N-Out Burger is going to open a restaurant there. Even in absence of both of these developments, the trek on Holly Street between 101 and El Camino is a daunting task on most days — after all, it’s the only access to northbound 101 in the entire city.   And this problem will only get worse when these new businesses get ramped up.

The City of San Carlos has long recognized this problem, and has hosted a number of hearings and workshops to discuss ideas with the public on the best way to alleviate this chronic problem. The next workshop is coming up next week — here’s the scoop:

October 28, 2009
San Carlos Library Community Rooms
Plan Viewing: Begins at 6:30 pm
Presentation and Discussion: Starts at 7:30 pm

Whether you live on Holly Street, or rely on it every day to get to where you need to go, this would be a great opportunity to weigh in on potential plans for this critical artery to San Carlos.   For more information on the workshop, click this link:  Holly Street/101 Workshop.

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