California Race Track News Source: http://www.smdailyjournal.com
By Dana Yates
There are not enough valid signatures to qualify a Bay Meadows referendum petition for a citywide ballot, San Mateo County Judge Mark Forcum ruled yesterday.
Friends of Bay Meadows, a grassroots organization trying to block the demolition of the 72-year-old race track, needed Forcum to approve at least 89 signatures to validate the petition. He only ruled three were valid, said Friends of Bay Meadows attorney Stuart Flashman.
The pending petition was the only thing standing in the way of the Bay Meadows Land Company development plans. The company wants to replace the 83.5-acre race track on Delaware Street near Hillsdale Boulevard with 1,250 residential units, 1.25 million square feet of office space and 150,000 square feet of retail space.
The San Mateo City Council unanimously approved the plan in November after five years of public hearings. Friends of Bay Meadows quickly began collecting signatures to send the council’s decision to the ballot and ultimately put the future of the race track in the hands of voters.
Yesterday’s decision means development can continue as planned, pending any further legal action, said San Mateo City Attorney Shawn Mason.
Friends of Bay Meadows has 60 days to appeal the decision to the state Court of Appeals, but said it will decide by the end of this week whether to continue its legal fight. The group is vowing to continue to fight the development any way it can, regardless of the lawsuit.
“We believe Bay Meadows is a valuable asset to this community and has been for nearly the last 72 years,” said Friends of Bay Meadows founder Linda Schinkel. “If we do not pursue an appeal, we’ll pursue every other option.”
Schinkel is not ruling out supporting new forms of gambling at the financially strapped race track, including “historical betting” recently proposed by state Assembly Speaker Pro Tem Leland Yee, D-San Francisco.
Schinkel said she does not want Bay Meadows to turn into a large casino, but sees Yee’s proposal as an expansion of gaming that already exists. It wouldn’t turn Bay Meadows into something it is not already, Schinkel said.
Bay Meadows has been a key development issue in San Mateo for more than a decade, when its property owners made clear their intention to redevelop. In 2001, Bay Meadows Phase I was completed on the site of the race track’s old practice track and stables. The development is home to Franklin Templeton Investments, Whole Foods grocery store, residential and office space.
For more than five years ago, Bay Meadows Land Company announced its intention to redevelop the race track. Since then, the city formed two citizens’ advisory committees and held dozens of public meetings to create a Transit Corridor Plan that controls development in the area between the railroad tracks and Highway 101, including the Bay Meadows property. |
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