The San Carlos Station Project

Downtown San Carlos and its centrally located train depot have both seen many improvements in recent years. In fact, this study-one of the first to be completed for the Peninsula Corridor Plan, was ideal to illustrate how Placemaking strategies can help pull together the many positive, but somewhat unconnected projects of the city, transportation agencies, merchants, and private developers. Moreover, this study is creating the opportunity for the city to work collaboratively with Caltrans and SamTrans to ensure that the redevelopment of vacant sites adjacent to the train station, created during the recently completed grade separation project, would help the city to achieve many of its goals such as tying together the east and west sides of the city, improving pedestrian access, and taming El Camino Real, creating a "sense of place" at the train station, facilitating transit-oriented development all the while maintaining the feeling of a village.

Much has already been accomplished in recent years-and is happening now-to redevelop San Carlos's business district and transform it into a vibrant community center. These enhancements include SamTran's leasing of the station building to a dedicated restaurant owner; improvements to Laurel Street and San Carlos Avenue (between El Camino and Walnut) which involves almost complete reconstruction of streets, sidewalks, and amenities; and the new center landscaped and cobble median along El Camino Real between Arroyo to north of Holly - to create a more pleasant and pedestrian-friendly environment downtown. In addition, The Pacific Hacienda project will creatively preserve and restore a series of historic buildings with mixed use retail, office and 90 residential units. SamTrans plans to build a replacement administrative office building on agency owned property proximate to the train station. Part of this planning effort is focused upon identifying the most advantageous location and orientation of this building for both the agency and the city.

The City's draft "Downtown Urban Design Guidelines," developed between July 2000 and February 2001, takes the goals and policies articulated in the 1994 West Side Specific Plan (which also identified key development sites) one step further. The report concludes that, "the community is unanimous in its desire for a "village" or "small town" atmosphere. The challenge, and most of the debate, centers on how to achieve it."

The draft urban design guidelines that emerged from the planning process clearly articulate the community's interest in and desirability of providing more housing, retail, as well as business services in the downtown; encourages the addition of landscaping to all new or remodeled land uses; encourages creating new and enhancing existing pedestrian linkages; exploring opportunities for shared and permitted residential parking; and the need for sensitively achieved increases in density and possibly in building heights, as well. Further, the guidelines, which apply to sections of El Camino Real, San Carlos Avenue, Walnut and Laurel Streets, also include many specific strategies so that new development is pedestrian friendly and contributes to the character of the downtown. The East Side Specific Plan which also is underway, seeks to strengthen the physical, visual, economic, and social linkages between the east side of town and the west.

In short, the train station represents a tremendous amount of untapped potential and a very effective means of continuing the revitalization of the downtown as a whole. As noted, housing is an important component throughout the County, which is suffering from a shortage that is pricing the middle class out of the market, thereby increasing congestion and other problems already plaguing the region. In San Carlos, as in several other cities along the corridor, tremendous opportunity lies dormant in the several sites in the area immediately surrounding the Caltrain station. This area, with the right kind of mixed-use development, could create a stable, ready-made audience for its businesses, services and others throughout the rest of downtown.

This report describes the PPS-facilitated planning process, presents findings from the Placemaking workshop and three additional workshops that now sets the stage for "Phase B" of the project, during which more specific strategies and recommendations will be developed in partnership with the City, SamTrans-Caltrain, and Caltrans.

The Planning Process

The planning process directed by Project for Public Spaces began with a kick-off meeting to the Railroad Land Use Citizens Advisory Committee (RRLUCAC), a group of stakeholders rep-resenting a broad spectrum of the community who formally applied and were appointed by the City Council. The RRLUCAC committed themselves to participation the project, set goals for the project, identified key issues and participated in planning workshops and design charrettes, in meetings with representatives from other key agencies, and will act in a key decision making capacity. The planning process also involved these key steps:

Literature Review: San Carlos provided PPS the existing Downtown Urban Design Guidelines and Economic Research Associates' "Market Analysis and Economic Development Strategy Study," aerial photographs of the area, as well as transportation, traffic, and accident data. PPS also reviewed the Caltrain "San Carlos Railroad Corridor Property Development Footprint' Study."

Placemaking Workshops: On May 14, 2002, PPS facilitated a public brainstorming workshop at San Carlos City Hall with members of San Carlos' Railroad Land Use Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC), residents, city staff, and representatives from SamTrans and Caltrans. The purpose of this workshop, which was sponsored by SamTrans and the City of San Carlos, was to identify issues of concern with regard to seven target areas around the Caltrain station with an eye to integrating it into the downtown area and to recommending short- and long-term changes to local roads to facilitate pedestrian circulation, to identify opportunities for new housing in the downtown, and to create new public gathering spaces. Approximately 25 people contributed to the recommendations presented in this Placemaking Workshop report. In mid-October, PPS conducted a survey of a small sample of El Camino merchants (16 responses) to begin to get an understanding of the issues of concern to local businesspeople with regard to El Camino Real and the Caltrain station. A summary of survey results is included as an Appendix to this report. A meeting with a group of approximately 30 El Camino merchants was held, as a follow up to the survey, on November 12, 2002 to discuss issues and opportunities related to making changes to the El Camino, the station area, and location of new development that also would positively impact their businesses.

Study Area Plan Technical Workshops: Based upon the results of the Place Game, PPS summarized the specific key issues for more study and convened three more sessions with the CAC to explore these areas in more depth and develop more specific recommendations. The first of these workshops focused on identifying potential locations for new public spaces and new mixed use development (including housing), the second was held with Caltrans representatives to discuss possible changes to El Camino Real that would facilitate better bicycle and pedestrian circulation through the downtown and to and from the train station. At the third workshop, conceptual plans developed by PPS were presented and discussed. Presentation of Phase A Recommendations: PPS presented the results of the "Phase A" workshops in August, and had further discussion about the what the Citizens Advisory Council will need to more develop more specific recommendations for the project area this fall, which will shape the scope of work for "Phase B" and the development of the Plan of Development.