Economic Development Vision - Address Today's Needs and Plan for the Future in a Fiscally Responsible Way

By Donna Colson

My economic development vision has the following three elements:

• Focus on our existing business community to help them grow and create new jobs while attracting new and diverse businesses that bring employment and commerce to Burlingame.
• Manage incremental, well planned growth that fits the character of Burlingame.
• Provide excellent city services today and plan for the future needs in a fiscally responsible way.

The City is presently updating its General Plan and its Housing Element. Burlingame does need more workforce housing, senior housing, and first-time homebuyer options that meld with our City character. We also need additional parking and open-space. We may need to explore other residential development areas such as Rollins Road where we could feature live/work space. Our infrastructure also has significant deferred maintenance and in some cases may need to be redeveloped or replaced + this includes our Park and Recreation Community Center, City Hall, some of our police and fire stations, our sports fields, and other various infrastructure projects.

I see the economic development of Burlingame as a challenge to support the diverse socioeconomic population of our city while building new housing and commercial developments that maintain our vibrant small town character. This will not be easy, but with a high level of community participation and creative, thoughtful public policy can achieve this goal.

Our city has a median household income of about $80,000, which is significantly above the state average, but we do have about 18% of our population earning under $35,000 per year. Many minimum wage jobs in our City are filled by young high school and college students, as well as part-time employees. These jobs are an important workforce entry point for our young citizens and are needed. However, households with low wage jobs do require additional services such as daycare assistance, hot lunch at the local schools, and can pressure our emergency room healthcare service providers if they do not have insurance. I would continue to support these social services for working class families.

2. Is the quality of the workforce a priority for your city? How do you asses and respond to business workforce needs in your city?

Yes, a quality workforce is a priority for our city. Our voters have approved over $100 million in local school facilities development bonds, school parcel taxes and we raise an additional $2 million in private funding to invest in our public schools. These numbers are staggering and show that Burlingame is interested in providing an excellent education for our future workforce. At Burlingame High School we have developed a series of popular Career and Technical Education classes that prepare our students not only for college, but for immediate careers in the performance and visual arts, fabrication technology, computer science, food and nutrition, and the culinary arts. We fund programs to help students investigate career options and volunteer/intern in a variety of occupational fields. Many of these programs are being developed in conjunction with local business owners who mentor our students and provide insight into our workforce needs. I feel this is a unique view that I would bring to City Council.

3. In partnership with your city, what role do you see Council in leading, supporting, promoting and/or advancing regional economic development and strategic workforce planning?

Council can play a very important role in promoting and advancing regional economic development and strategic workforce planning. Our education leaders are on the cutting edge of workforce training and have significant input into the types of classes and skills training offered at both the high school and city college levels. In addition, we can work with other business, labor, and advocacy leaders who can provide input into housing issues, traffic and safety concerns and general planning ideas as they pertain to their constituents and membership. Collaboration, transparency and incremental planning are critical to the success of meeting these objectives. Any major city initiative to finance the development of housing, parking, and redevelopment of city buildings (city hall and/or the community center) will require input from and support of the local labor unions to succeed.

4. Is there an imbalance between jobs and housing in your city? How would you address this issue as a councilmember taking into account traffic, parks, housing needs and types, and the city's economic vitality?

I think Burlingame is a very diverse community with significant and varied commerce coupled with a wide-range of housing options. Right now our strong public and private schools, proximity to transportation (including the airport), hospitals and medical services are all factors increasing housing demand for Burlingame. I would say that regionally there is a housing imbalance and we are just a smaller element of the larger picture.

Burlingame does need additional market rate and affordable housing units both for rent and for sale. Our housing element allows for denser multi-family residential options. The key is going to be to appointment strong, experienced, action-oriented City Planning Commissioners who can work with local developers to create projects that are near commercial and transportation corridors. This will help to mitigate traffic while maintaining the city's economic vitality.

Additionally, we can require open-space offsets (not necessarily on-site), that will support efforts to restore or create more bike paths, repair hiking trails in Mills Canyon and creatively retain open space. Of greater concern is the impact this housing has on our schools + even with the recent addition of classrooms from recent facilities bonds, our growing student population is filling up classrooms fast. Keeping a very open line of communication with the school boards is also going to be important.

5. How should new or increased fees and taxes be used to address city needs? What type of funding mechanisms would you find most favorable? Least favorable?

Burlingame has successfully used voter approved bonding and parcel taxes to upgrade our local schools and these improvements are one factor driving the interest in our community which in turn is keeping our apartment buildings in demand housing prices stable in the long-run. I would consider a variety of funding sources for completing necessary infrastructure needs. These would include revenue bonds or special assessment bonds. I am less interested in utility taxes or measures that may disproportionately impact lower income or fixed income families.

I would use this type of voter or user approved taxing/ bonding to upgrade infrastructure such as streets and sidewalks, renovate facilities, and to help build affordable housing. For example, I worked on several projects in southern California that used tax-increment bond financing to subsidize down payments for first time homebuyers. The most important element of this discussion is that I have significant professional and academic finance experience that I make me a uniquely qualified City Council candidate.