The California State Lands Commission has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create an all-natural shoreline park on Burlingame’s bayfront, just south of San Francisco International Airport.
The nine-acre site was illegally filled in the 1960s along with 150 acres of adjacent submerged lands by the Anza Pacific Corp. Now the land is held in “the public trust” and managed by the State Lands Commission. On Thursday, commission members will vote on whether to turn the land into a nature park for the community. They should vote yes.
A nature park at this location would help redress the loss of precious bay habitats 50 years ago. This park would include native bayfront habitats, educational exhibits showing how natural landscapes can reduce the impacts of sea level rise, and new shoreline access for kayaking, windsurfing, fishing and other recreation. It would also create a much-needed natural space for local residents.
This area has the lowest percentage of open space and parks and the highest percentage of commercial and industrial land uses along the entire San Francisco Bay shoreline. Access to nature has been documented as essential to our health and well-being. Currently, underserved communities near the Burlingame shoreline have no opportunity to access the bay in a natural setting.
The proposed Shoreline Park would best provide maximum public access to the bay for all people through rebuilding a deteriorated section of the Bay Trail and creating new direct access to the Bay Water Trail.
This project is uniquely qualified for available local and state grant funding approved by the voters. A nonprofit organization, SPHERE Institute, has committed to paying all maintenance costs for the life of the 49-year lease. A nature park on this parcel would therefore be cost neutral for taxpayers.
Additionally, outdoor recreation can bring significant benefits to the local economy. Local businesses would see an increase in economic activity from visitors coming to kayak, kite surf, fish, hike, bike, birdwatch, walk their dogs and enjoy nature here. There will also be spacious turf areas for children to play and families to picnic and relax.
The proposed Shoreline Park is in line with the commission’s approved uses for this type of parcel, as well as the city of Burlingame’s General Plan, Climate Action Program and Bayfront Specific Plan, and is also in line with state and local voters’ support of open space and parks.
In the commission’s own Public Trust Needs Assessment, 97 percent of respondents indicated they favor a nature park on this land over commercial development. Creating tidal marsh and transition zone habitat at the bay’s edge is also consistent with state goals for resilience to climate change and protecting biodiversity.
Burlingame Shoreline Park would become a regional destination like other bayfront parks. Point Isabel Regional Shoreline in the East Bay, with a Bay Water Trail access point and a section of the Bay Trail adjacent to it, has over 1 million visitors annually. Crissy Field, with its restored tidal marshes, sand dunes and trails, is popular with families, hikers, dogwalkers and birdwatchers. These beloved parks enrich our entire region, but they are few and far between.
The State Lands Commission strives to be “a recognized leader that champions environmentally sustainable public land management and balanced resource protection for the benefit and enjoyment of all current and future generations of Californians.” Preserving this parcel of shoreline as a nature park would do just that.
Lennie Roberts is legislative advocate for Committee for Green Foothills, which works to protect open space, farmland and natural resources in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. Kari Mueller is vice chairwoman of San Mateo Surfrider, dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s oceans, waves and beaches.
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