SIGN UP FOR THE FEB. 15 BNA ANNUAL MEETING
Please join your friends and neighbors on Thursday, Feb. 15, for our 2024 Baywood Neighborhood Association (BNA) Annual Meeting. Please RSVP now at https://www.baywoodneighborhood.org/annualmeeting.
The wine social will begin at 5:30 pm with snacks and wine and a chance to catch up with neighbors and friends in the Oak Room of the Main San Mateo Library Branch on 3rd Avenue.
The meeting begins at 6pm. President Michael Nash will share a 2023 overview of BNA activities and how your dues are being used to better our community. San Mateo’s new City Manager, Alex Khojikian, will share the City’s priorities (including an update on the City’s plans related to Historic Resources). Mayor Lisa Diaz Nash will share highlights from her 2024 State of the City and a San Mateo Police Department officer will give a public safety update. There will be Q and A on all topics at the end.
Please RSVP now at https://www.baywoodneighborhood.org/annualmeeting so we have enough chairs and refreshments. Baywood residents will receive priority seating.
Thank you, and we look forward to another great Annual Meeting with our Baywood neighbors!
P.S. As with last year, all attendees will be eligible to win a case of Rutherford Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon, so make sure to be there!
CONGRATS TO OUR 2024 BAYWOOD HOLIDAY LIGHTS WINNER!
We have such a beautiful display of holiday lights throughout Baywood in December each year. This year, the Ostrowski family at 514 Fairfax Avenue received their award for the house with the most flair. Thank you to Papa Chris and son, Ronan, for their creative teamwork! Instead of a $100 gift certificate to a San Mateo merchant, the Ostrowskis chose to make a donation to Samaritan House to help families in need. Many thanks.
The holidays may be over, but we hope the holiday spirit of hope and good cheer continues all year long!
CELEBRATE LUNAR NEW YEAR JANUARY 27TH ON B STREET
The Downtown San Mateo Association (DSMA) is organizing a Lunar New Year celebration on the B Street Pedestrian Mall on Saturday, January 27, Noon-2pm. There will be lots of fun activities for the kids, including "Red Envelope" prizes for those who try to learn how to say "Happy New Year!" in Chinese. What a great way to usher in the Year of the Dragon beginning on February 10th!
As a special treat, there will be a Lion Dance at noon put on by professional dancers from Self-Help for the Elderly, a parade down B Street and the chance for everyone to take pictures with the magnificent Lion Dancers.
So mark your calendars for fun and excitment for everyone in the family!
HISTORIC RESOURCE BACKGROUNDER #4:
HISTORIC DISTRICTS: WHO PLAYS A ROLE?
Your Baywood Neighborhood Association is providing a series of educational articles on historic resources that we hope are helpful. The BNA Board is not taking a position on the issue at this time. We want to be sure our neighbors have factual information about historic districts in order to enable a more accurate understanding of the topic and facilitate community discussion.
If you have a topic you would like to learn more about, please email us at baywoodneighborhood@gmail.com
Historic Districts—Who Plays a Role?
It is surprising to many people that listing on the National or State Register of Historic Places as a historic district does not impose any obligations on the property or owner (REF). So, who is involved and what are their respective roles and responsibilities?
City of San Mateo
Land use decisions about historic resources are strictly up to the local city. In San Mateo, the decisions on applications for building and development permits are made by the Community Development Department based on the City’s historic preservation ordinance (https://law.cityofsanmateo.org/us/ca/cities/san-mateo/code/27.66) and General Plan Policies C/OS 8.1, 8.2, and 8.3 (https://www.cityofsanmateo.org/DocumentCenter/View/7165/COS-PR-Element-?bidId=p. VI-28 to VI-30). In addition, the City Council voted unanimously at the 2023-2024 Blue Sky Meeting to prioritize historic preservation.
The City’s historic ordinance currently only applies to the Downtown Historic District and the Glazenwood Historic District (in Hayward Park). The City will begin a public process in February 2024 to update the Historic Preservation Ordinance to apply Citywide and refine the process for treatment of historic districts and properties.
The City process for evaluating building permit applications in a historic district depends on a number of factors...Read more
Important Upcoming City Educational Webinar – February 1, 6pm
Please see the announcement below of a February 1 City Educational Webinar on Historic Resources. Please sign up for this webinar if you are interested in becoming educated on what Historic Resources are, how the City currently deals with them, and how the City is planning to develop a uniform, Citywide Historic Resource Program.
BNA will publish all our educational pieces on the BNA website, at https://www.baywoodneighborhood.org/baywoodhistoricdistrict. We will spotlight them in our Baywood Bulletin email (sign up here) and on our Facebook and Nextdoor pages. We welcome your feedback.
SAN MATEO CITY UPDATES
SAVE THE DATE: CITY WEBINAR ON HISTORIC RESOURCES THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 6PM-8PM
Meeting Date and Time: Thursday, February 1, 2024 at 6pm
Meeting Type: Virtual (Zoom Webinar)
Description: The City's Community Development Department will be holding a virtual community meeting focused on historic resources. This meeting is designed for people who may have heard about historic resources, but want to learn the basic facts about this issue and how it may impact them.
This webinar is an opportunity to clarify how a building or district is designated, what protections are afforded to historic resources, and how the community can become involved in determining the details of a San Mateo Historic Resources Program.
The meeting will include a presentation by the City’s historic resources consultant, Architectural Resources Group, followed by a question-and-answer period. Presenters will address questions submitted by participants in writing. Additional meeting and registration information will be listed the week of January 15 on the City’s historic resource webpage: https://www.cityofsanmateo.org/4735/Historic-Resources.
BNA also will publish any new information and encourages everyone to sign up for this informational webinar.