Millbrae News

City looks at updates for General Plan including bike lanes, taller buildings Nicholas Mazzoni Daily Journal staff   Oct 17, 2022     0 A rendering of a new vision for South El Camino Real in Millbrae discussed by the city’s Planning Commission Oct. 6. Using Boulevard Saint-Germain in Paris as a model, Millbrae city planners envision a pedestrian-friendly downtown that provides safer roads for cyclists and connectivity to the neighborhoods. But it will mean El Camino Real through Millbrae will scale down its six lanes to four. The plans call for a “reimagining” of the street, including wider sidewalks, improved crosswalks, more trees and better lighting are some of the aspects that will have both commercial and residential developments. The concepts are part of the city’s General Plan, which sets the stage for future development and other changes in the city through 2040. The General Plan was discussed by the city’s Planning Commission Oct. 6. Part of the changes also mea...

  Daily Journal staff report   Aug 18, 2022 After nearly two years as Millbrae’s Community Development Director, Darcy Smith has rejoined San Bruno as the assistant city manager, San Bruno City Manager Jovan Grogan confirmed. Smith previously served as the Community and Economic Development director for San Bruno from 2018 to 2020. Prior to that she worked in the planning department for the city of San Mateo for 15 years. “We are excited to have her back on team San Bruno,” Grogan said in a text. Smith’s first day on the job will be Aug. 22, according to the city. She will oversee the city’s economic development program, including the Bayhill YouTube campus expansion and Tanforan redevelopment, a release states. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Earth Systems from Stanford University in 1998 and a master’s in Urban Planning from San Jose State University in 2003. Since 2004, she has been a certified member of the American Institute of Certified Planners. Tami Yuki was previo...

  General plan workshop aims for community insight on future development Nicholas Mazzoni Daily Journal staff   Sep 3, 2022 A series of public meetings are being held to get community input on Millbrae 2040’s plan to redevelop downtown and restructure El Camino Real, which capitalizes on the city’s multimodal transit station. The transit-oriented plan highlights mixed-use development for restaurants, housing, commercial, entertainment uses, hotels and offices. Over the next 20 years, the city intends on redesigning downtown to create a series of unique livable districts that promote active public life and community. The project aligns with Plan Bay Area’s vision, “To ensure by the year 2050 that the Bay Area is affordable, connected, diverse, healthy and vibrant for all.” The goal is to enhance the quality of life and community for the residents of Millbrae and visitors. The latest workshop was Aug. 25. “These plans were developed to accommodate and facilitate future growth. T...

  October 13, 2022 Editor, I strongly encourage Millbrae City Council District 2 voters to cast their vote for Angelina Cahalan. This fall’s election is a clear choice between political experience and a fresh perspective; but which trait is more important in choosing who to vote for? In my mind, a newcomer with novel ideas is preferable to a recycled politician; therefore, Angelina Cahalan is the superior candidate. First of all, she is uniquely in touch with the needs and concerns of her fellow residents east of El Camino Real, a neighborhood that has never had representation on the Millbrae City Council. Furthermore, as a longtime community leader and an empathetic listener, she has generated new and progressive ideas that will benefit the entire community. She also has a collaborative personal style that will enable her to work cooperatively with her fellow councilmembers to achieve positive change — a distinctive departure from the combative and fractured nature of recent Millb...

Commission seeking more community input for new 420-unit apartment building Nicholas Mazzoni Daily Journal staff   Oct 4, 2022 Rendering of the 420-unit apartment building at 1855 Rollins Road in Burlingame A five-story, 420-unit apartment building at 1855 to 1881 Rollins Road in Burlingame is in its design review as the developers work with the Planning Commission to encapsulate a more community feel for the area as it transforms into a new neighborhood just south of the Millbrae border. The developers presented an updated project review that included an updated building design, an additional parcel spur purchased from Pacific Union Railroad that allows for better fire road access, landscaping design and details including the community benefits. The units will be arranged around three courtyards, and a public plaza is shown at the corner of the lot bordered by Rollins Road and a drainage canal. Plans also indicate a 9,300-square-foot lobby and amenities building on the 4.7-acre pa...

Burlingame, Millbrae set for new transit option, with focus on established parking locations Nicholas Mazzoni Daily Journal staff   7 hrs ag A new electric bike sharing program is set to roll out in Burlingame, with Millbrae also looking to get in on the action. Emily Beach The program would have 200 electric bikes for transit commuters and in-city use and will be a joint collaboration with Millbrae, which will discuss the idea Oct. 11. Users will get discounts if they park the bikes in “preferred zones” that include existing bike racks, corrals and stencil-marked areas in locations around the cities. Locations can be adjusted if needed. Spin was chosen as the e-bike operator. The company proposed a hybrid system with preferred parking zones marked on the app. Spins’ bike racks will also support non-Spin users, according to a staff report. Burlingame Councilmember Emily Beach said she is excited to see the program come to fruition and that it will bring much-needed bike racks to ne...

  Belmont, Millbrae Voters to Decide on Hotel Tax Hikes to Fund Road Repairs, Local Services By  Bay City News   •   Published October 7, 2022   •   Updated on  October 8, 2022  at  12:46 am Residents in two cities along the Peninsula will vote this fall whether to increase hotel taxes to fund city services like road repairs. Belmont's Measure K and Millbrae's Measure N, which are both on the Nov. 8 general election ballot, would each raise the transient occupancy tax - which applies to guests at hotels, motels and short-term rental properties - from 12 percent to 14 percent of the cost for the lodging. According to Belmont city officials, Measure K would provide some $600,000 each year to support road and pothole repairs, consistent emergency response times, senior services and upkeep of the city's public spaces. Measure N would fund a similar set of priorities in Millbrae, but would provide an estimated $1.5 million annually. In addition to...

City seeking new businesses, say they will be safe in flight path Nicholas Mazzoni Daily Journal staff   Oct 8, 2022   In an effort to allow the construction of biotech businesses near Millbrae’s intermodal station and east of El Camino Real, the City Council decided to overrule the Airport Land Use Committee’s zoning that restricted biotechnology workspaces near the airport. City officials feel that the land use committee’s restrictions in the area that extends through the south of Millbrae Avenue near the intermodal station is outdated. “The Airport Land Use is out of date, it was fully discussed or I brought it up several times at C/CAG, it needs to be updated in several manners here, one of the updates we would also like to see is child care in this vicinity,” Vice Mayor Gina Papan said, referring to the City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County that oversees the committee. The restriction was based on Biosafety Level 2, specified as involving clinical, di...

By   INSIDER   |  East Bay Times PUBLISHED:  May 16, 2008 at 11:28 p.m.  | UPDATED:  August 15, 2016 at 6:33 p.m. The gloves came off early during the Times’ endorsement interview of the three Democrats vying for Gene Mullin’s soon-to-be vacated 19th District Assembly seat. Richard Holober, Gina Papan and Jerry Hill were asked to explain why they were best suited to represent San Mateo County residents in Sacramento. Hill seized the opportunity to speak first. “Should I talk about the sheriff?” he asked. That would be Greg Munks, the subject of a recent Times special report on his capture by Las Vegas police inside an illegal brothel a year ago as well as the subsequent lack of investigation or censure of Munks by the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. Hill declared that the “sheriff issue” has developed into part of the campaign and he needed to address three things.  First, he said the county charter doesn’t give the supervisors the right or lega...