The Brisbane proposal is a great example of the need for public input. Instead of expanding the town the idea is to build high density development on swampland far from town and services in a location so clearly undesirable that it has escaped even proposals for development since the Gold Rush. Reasonable expansion of existing towns is a good answer to this crisis while building large apartment buildings in fetid swamps far from transit, towns, and services is responding to one set of errors with even worse errors.
The proposed development is literally next door to a freeway (101), a Caltrain stop - Bayshore Caltrain - and a Muni stop. SF has proposed extending Muni into the new development for free.
"The public" largely wants new housing in the Baylands, if the city meetings were any guide, where a large majority of the speakers wanted to approve the housing proposal. You may have seen the signed letter from 40 different tech CEO's asking for housing on the Baylands, as well. The people who oppose it are Brisbane homeowners, because they have no incentive to add new housing.
> so clearly undesirable that it has escaped even proposals for development since the Gold Rush.
The choices are to build an office park and new apartments, or an office park; something is going to get built there. As part of the plan, the developer is proposing to spend $200 million cleaning industrial waste in the area. The only reason that pencils out is because of the new development.
You got lost somewhere. The land near the Bayshore CalTrain station is the old factory, has already undergone extensive remediation and decontamination, and is having an entire new high density community build right there. The Brisbane proposal is for the ponds and swamp well down the line from there and several big blocks from town.
The core issue remains: Will we expand these towns as we should or will we in desperation put a lot of high density uses out on fringes that have far more value ecologically than economically? The real fight isn't for the fringes.
