So far, the villagers haven’t brandished their pitchforks
Will there be a tipping point? That question, as it relates to the stunning development boom in San Mateo County — 58 million square feet either under construction or in the local pipeline — has been much on the mind of your devoted Mercury News correspondent.
As announcements of new — and massive — projects proliferate, you have to wonder when (if) residents and others will organize to object in any concerted way. So far, the available evidence of any such uprising by the rankand-file is scant or utterly nonexistent.
Certainly, there have been some scattered complaints, the occasional outburst at a Planning Commission or City Council gathering, an angry letter or two to the editor, but nothing of real consequence.
The villagers brandishing pitchforks have yet to make an aggressive, concerted appearance on the Peninsula’s policymaking stage, although the first glimmering of such displeasure may be brewing in San Mateo as interest in maintaining strict building height limits in certain areas gains some steam.
As a result, government officials with authority in these weighty matters, along with real estate interests, labor representatives, money lenders and their allies, have been able to operate in rather unobstructed fashion, for the most part.
Some projects have been modified, others have been delayed, but, in the end, the agents of suburban change have been getting their way without significant resistance.
There has been a strong feeling that residents who oppose at least some aspects of this avalanche of construction have lost their collective voice.
The push for more and more office buildings and apartments and condominiums seems to have overwhelmed the citizenry.
Then again, perhaps we are in a new environment in which voters actually approve of what’s occurring. If that’s the case, more power to them.
They will get what they desire, no matter how much those changes alter the character of their hometowns.
The urbanization of the Peninsula may be preferred today. But that seems counterintuitive. This area was created as an antidote to city life. The single-family home remains a cherished goal — if a very expensive one indeed — for an awful lot of people.
Current construction, though, does not address that need. Instead, the aim is multiple living units on the same footprint. Witness what’s happening along, or near, El Camino Real and the Caltrain route for examples of the “new” San Mateo County.
These rows of monoliths are designed to address our housing crunch, spurred by new office buildings and the obvious need to find places for those workers to live. It’s a nonstop carousel.
In the process, the Peninsula’s onetime charm, at least in the flatlands, is slowly being lost. I have a hunch that, once that tipping point is reached, it will be much too late.
We will miss what we had when it’s gone. But does anyone really care? It’s not a matter of NIMBYism so much as it is preserving what’s important and unique.
StellarMills High art
You sometimes find outstanding artwork in the most unexpected places.
Who knew a sweaty, though expanded and modernized, high school gymnasium could be such a venue?
The Mills High School athletic facility is just such a place. The temporary posters, and a particular large such effort, adorning the south wall are not only eye- catching but intricate and beautiful to behold.
The colors, the detail work, the designs all combine to make them showstoppers of the first order. Very nice work — and it’s all been created by talented Mills students. Major kudos all around.