San Bruno CA: There is Still Time to VOTE YES on Measure N

Consider the following as YOU Vote YES on Measure N

WHO Supports San Bruno Measure N and WHY?

1. San Bruno Mayor Jim Ruane

“Measure N on the November ballot is the result of over two years of research, collaboration and foresight for the vision of San Bruno now and for the future. The collaboration included residents, business owners and city officials the result of which is a comprehensive blueprint for responsible development in selected areas within our Transit Corridors Plan area.

Measure N incrementally raises height limits and allows above ground multi-story parking garages which will encourage residential and commercial development while maintaining the small town flavor San Bruno is known for. To ensure we remain sensitive to surrounding neighborhoods definitive planning and public input will be required in all aspects of any proposed development.

Measure N is needed to replace a 1977 Ordinance that has stifled development. Our economy is turning around and now is the time to take advantage of the influx of business looking to San Bruno as a place to locate. Jobs, housing and commercial development will be the positive result for the city we all call home.”

/s/ Jim Ruane

2. Dennis Sammut

Statement by Dennis Sammut, owner of Artichoke Joe’s:

“As operator of a family business in San Bruno that dates back to 1916, I’ve been concerned about our decaying downtown and struggling local economy for a long time.

“In the past few years, businesses like Google, YouTube, and Walmart.com have opened offices in San Bruno. They employ thousands of well-paid staff and executives—people who could be local apartment dwellers, home buyers, customers, and consumers.

“But we need to provide them with good local options for places to live, dine, and shop. Otherwise, they’ll look elsewhere.

“The transit corridor plan, which will be on the ballot this fall, gives us a rare opportunity to help renew our downtown and boost the local economy. It may not be perfect—every plan has its critics—but it’s definitely a big step forward.

“If it fails, we’ll miss this chance to help create a prosperous future for our city.

“So I’m voting yes on November 4.”

/s/ Dennis Sammut

3. Bob George

The centerpiece of Measure N on the ballot San Bruno voters will soon see is a modification of an existing ordinance so that taller buildings can be built in a clearly designated portion of the city.

I was a member of the advisory committee organized by San Bruno City Council to gather information, hold public hearings and review the work of the planners who wrote the San Bruno Transit Corridors Plan on which Measure N is based. Before that, I was a member of the Citizens Advisory Committee for the new CalTrain Station and a member of the San Bruno Planning Commission for six years.

San Bruno voters can be assured that they are not being asked to approve a massive construction project when they vote on Measure N. Bulldozers will not start rattling around town and tower cranes will not sprout out of the ground soon after the votes are counted.

For decades, Ordinance 1284 has discouraged developers from providing appropriate space for new, modern businesses and for residents who wish to live close to their workplaces. The modifications written into Measure N encourage developers who wish to propose these projects to enhance San Bruno’s economic future.

As always, final approvals for height and volume of all proposed projects in this area will rest with the City staff, Planning Commission, City Council and interested members of the public working in conjunction with each other. The same clear process that all developers have been required to follow in San Bruno as well as the balance of the cities on the peninsula for decades will be employed for all future projects. Measure N does not grant prospective developers automatic permission to build to the heights shown on the zoning map now being circulated.

I fully support Measure N, and I will vote for it.

/s/ Bob George

4. San Bruno Councilwoman Irene O’Connell

Measure N is an important tool for San Bruno’s future. In order to attract private investment to our community, we need to provide incentives to local property owners to upgrade and modernize their buildings. Measure N does that but is also very limited in scope - it only targets our transit corridors of San Mateo Avenue (Downtown), San Bruno Avenue and El Camino Real. Residential areas and our neighborhoods are protected. Local businesses, labor organizations and civic leaders all support Measure N. I strongly urge San Bruno residents to vote Yes.

/s/ Irene O’Connell

5. Ben Cohn

“Measure N is smart public policy that will allow our community to develop, grow, and thrive through targeted development opportunities in our local downtown and transit corridors. Measure N strikes a balance between maintaining unique characteristics that San Bruno has cultivated over its first century of existence and allowing progressive development to occur that will take us through our next century.”

/s/ Ben Cohn

6. David M. Nigel

“I have been attending the numerous meetings explaining Measure N, the Economic Enhancement Initiative, which will be on the ballot and decided on the coming general election, Tuesday, November 4, 2014.

Passing Measure N will be a very important benefit to our City as it will implement the Transit Corridors Plan (TCP) and promote economic enhancement in San Bruno’s downtown area and along transit corridors in proximity to the new Caltrain Station.

As a citizen of San Bruno since 1959, I feel that Measure N will greatly improve and enhance our City in countless ways..

I encourage everyone to go to the website http://sanbruno.ca.gov/comdev_election.html

Read the entire Measure and the benefits are obvious and clearly stated..

Our City Council is in favor of the passage of Measure N and after reading the document, the reasons will become obvious. Many citizens and businesses are supporting Measure N.

/s/ David M. Nigel

7. Greg Pierce

“Why I support Measure N – The Economic Enhancement Initiative

Like most of you, I have visited neighboring peninsula cities and have seen what a difference a vibrant downtown offers its citizens - Millbrae, Burlingame, Palo Alto and other similar cities along the transit corridor. I am very excited that San Bruno may soon start the process of developing a modern and exciting downtown center.

Now is our opportunity to make a difference to downtown San Bruno by understanding the benefits that Measure N will bring. It will allow private investment to revitalize our downtown community while taking advantage of what mass transit offers us with the new Cal Train Station and BART. A revitalized downtown along the Transit Corridors Plan will attract new businesses, shoppers and young families. It is a breath of fresh air to our downtown!

Many years of planning and thought by our council members and City Hall leadership has gone into the decision to upgrade the building guidelines of San Bruno – lets support their hard work and reap the benefits – VOTE to pass Measure N on November 4, 2014.”

/s/ Greg Pierce

8. San Bruno Chamber of Commerce CEO Jamie Monozon

“The San Bruno Chamber of Commerce strongly urges a Yes vote on Measure N. Our Chamber represents big and small businesses throughout San Bruno. One of our top priorities is to revitalize our Downtown and major transit corridors with new shops, stores and restaurants. Measure N will also bring more customers to our existing businesses Downtown and throughout San Bruno. Measure N is a great step forward that will encourage private investment into our community. As the voice of business in San Bruno, we urge a Yes Vote on Measure N.”

/s/ Jamie Monozon

CEO – San Bruno Chamber of Commerce

9. Corin Trowbridge

“We are lucky to live and or work, in San Bruno for a lot of reasons, one of which is our promising location! Neighboring the main regional San Francisco Airport, on the BART commuter train route running up and down the peninsula, sandwiched between the 101 & 280 main highways and dissected buy the 380 connector highway, you can’t find a more promising epicenter for growth than our small city. But, despite this promising location, we have let current restrictions contain our city’s potential, and our main street (San Mateo Ave.) is more like a quiet county road with a number of vacant storefronts. What can we do if we want to take advantage of this promising geographical luck and help our city become all that it can be? We need to increase the opportunities and promise of our city by attracting new business and development, and passing Measure N would be a good start! Allowing greater height construction would attract builders with lower per sq. ft. costs without taking up more ground space, and allow for that many more types of commercial and residential construction. And, Measure N maintains the protections we want to keep in place. Please join many local political, business and prominent residents of San Bruno and vote for Measure N!”

/s/ Corrin S. Trowbridge

o.o.o.o.

Robert Riechel

http://patch.com/users/robert-riechel

Photo Credit: San Bruno Patch Archives

Source Credit: San Bruno Residents

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