BayAreaKiteboarding.com

Hi Everyone,

Happy 2012! I hope everyone is ready for the best wind season ever. It’s going to happen in 2012....or at least we are all ready for it!!!!

I know that all of you are busy, but I need to PERSONALLY ask you to help our wind community – this includes non-coyote point sailors and kiters too. I’ll explain below

I’ll be succinct as possible:

We as a wind community need as many members as possible to show up to a Burlingame Planning Commission on Monday night at 7pm.

What’s happening:
*There is an 18 acre lot just northwest of the Coyote Point Launch that is going to developed into an office Park.
*When the proposal was originally presented to the Burlingame Planning commission, the Planning commission’s staff recommended: 1) a limit of 471,000 square feet of building space, 2) That the buildings be developed diagonally to minimize the impact on the wind, 3) that the developers to include wind impact studies with their proposed design.

On Monday night, the Planning commission will be looking at the developers proposal, including their study of the impact on the wind.

The developers are proposing:
*A 777,000 square foot project = 64% increase in the City Council’s own staff recommendation!
*A flawed wind study comparing their current design of 770k square feet to a 471 square foot design that was never suggested. Instead of comparing their current design 771sq ft design to a 471k sq ft design where the buildings were build diagonally, they compared their design to a building layout that had zero consideration for wind impact. The result is that they are looking to say that their increased design will not have significantly more impact on the wind. IT WILL!

How can you help?

Show up to show your support – the more people from the wind community, the better. You can bet the construction union will have their out of work employees there by the dozons.
Ask the City Council to support it’s staff own recommendations for a 471k square foot usage. If the developers hold to the same design, but with the original proposed square foot usage, then there would an approximate 64% decrease in the wind impact.
Remind the city council that if it goes against it’s own recommendations, that will be a precedent to allow all of the other, current bay-side buildings to expand. There is one remaining site just northwest of this development site that will have an even greater impact on the wind one it is developed. Thus, the owners of this last site as well as current building owners adjacent to this site can use this new building exemption as a reason to build even higher buildings!

Why should you care? I don’t even kite/sail there (or not a lot).

All of our launch sites are under risk. And coyote point IS a launch site that can be used by both windsurfers and kiteboarding (we are now launching both kites and windsurfers down by the shop and way from the wind shadow – ready, set, go!) At 3rd Avenue and Alameda, the beach/launching areas are naturally eroding at alarming rates. Candlestick’s wind will be almost non-existent if/when the gigantic proposed developments go through the 101 freeway. The access to Crissy Field is being more and more constrained by sailing and other events (in 2013 America’s Cup events will make it extremely difficult to park and launch. Silt is building up more and more at Berkeley.

Coyote Point is, and can remain, a KITEBOARDING and WINDSURFING site for all of us to us. We are now launching and landing both kites (experienced kiters only) and windsurfers by the shop without problem – close to the wind line.... On extreme low tide days at 3rd or on too crowded days at 3rd, or on no wind days in Alameda or on days when Crissy and Berkeley are fogged in, COYOTE POINT IS THE PLACE TO GO. (Reminder: outdoor showers, indoor HOT showers, snack bar, grass rigging and parking passes that are only $40 for the season).

Come help us preserve this spot for all of our sakes!!!

Planning Commission
Date: 1/9/2012 7:00 PM
Location: Burlingame City Hall, Council Chambers
501 Primrose Road
Burlingame, California 94010


See you there!
-Rebecca
--
Boardsports School & Shop
Alameda - San Mateo - San Francisco
Voted "Best of the Bay"
http://www.BoardsportsSchool.com
415.385.1224

Everyone reading this, please at least do the minimum and send an email before 5PM on Monday January 16 to:
mbrooks@burlingame.org

...with a short statement such as THIS BELOW (copy and paste this one if you have very little time; though sending your own unique statement would be more powerful):

Please do not allow the proposed approximately 770,000 sq ft building project northwest of Coyote Point to go forward. The impacts to wind quality would be so significant that this building project would substantially impair windsurfing and kiteboarding access to and from San Francisco Bay at existing, long-established launch sites. It would also prohibit effective windsurfing and kiteboarding instruction due to the severe degradation of wind conditions in the area. Local businesses would therefore be harmed.

The strong and relatively steady wind conditions in this area are of an extremely rare and unique nature -- making nearby recreation areas absolutely vital to the community -- and thus this largely unobstructed natural windflow pattern must be protected. Therefore, the building project, as proposed, must be denied.

YOUR NAME
YOUR ADDRESS

Email sent.

Was the meeting really last night?

What happened here and why wasn't there more notice? I'm sure more of us would have shown up had there been a bit more lead-time.

Email sent...

Kirk out

i think the meeting is next monday?

email sent.

The meeting was last night and was to review an environmental report submitted by the developer that said putting in 770,000 sq ft of buildings just upwind of Coyote would not impact the site in terms of wind. We disagree strongly with the EIR (environmental impact report), and need support from the community to let the planning commission know how important this site is for wind sports access. If this developer would get approval of this tall building plan right at water's edge, it would help to set a precedent for all development around the bay near water's edge. We want to fight this type of development as it severely effects wind turbulence and would likely kill windsurfing and kitesurfing access at Coyote where we teach a lot of beginners on the inside where maximum effects would occur (think Aruba and what the high rise hotels did to that site).

Letters are best way for you to show your support to help protect access at this site. Letters/comments are due in by next monday, 1/16/12. See the first reply above for form content and whom to send it to via email.

thank you again for any support you can provide!

The Environmental Impact Report seems pretty irrelevant. It's from 1989. Based on a different design. Doesn't discuss turbulence. Doesn't address any changes to windsports=KITING.

This sentence is a joke "There are no specific criteria for minimum wind speeds to support “good” sailing."

I bet if they did a CFD model the results would not be favorable, but then they would have to make changes.

I cannot go the to meeting, but if someone does,read that report and try to make points invalidating it. That's should be pretty easy.

Written comments addressing the draft EIR are strongly encouraged. Although Rebecca summed up the issues well, you can download the draft EIR at www.burlingame.org;

To find the EIR, click on "Document Library" in the upper right; then expand "Planning Department"; and go all the way down to "Burlingame Point Project (former Drive-In Theater).

email sent