Debris pile replaces historic Bay Meadows racetrack
By: Katie Worth
Examiner Staff Writer
March 5, 2009
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| No control: A San Mateo planner says having a pile of debris in the middle of town is not ideal, but the city has no power to influence what the developer does with the site. (Juan Carlos Pometta Betancourt/Special to The Examiner) |
SAN MATEO —
A pile of rubble where the Bay Meadows racetrack once stood will remain a fixture of San Mateo’s landscape — for now — as the massive 82-acre development planned for the site has been postponed indefinitely.
Developers will wait until the market "has firmed up" to erect more than 1,000 homes and hundreds of thousands of square feet of office and retail space on the vast lot formerly occupied by the historic racetrack, said project manager Janice Thacher of development firm Wilson Meany Sullivan.
In the meantime, the city will not receive more than a quarter-million dollars per year in revenue from taxes on the racetrack, said Finance Director Hossein Golestan. San Mateo will only see an increase in tax revenue after the development goes up, he said.
Late last year, demolition crews razed the 74-year-old track, which was where Seabiscuit made himself famous and the first photo-finish was taken. The destruction was the culmination of years of debate, hundreds of hours of planning meetings and multiple lawsuits, during which supporters of the racetrack fought the development.
The track’s last races were in August, and demolition began just a few weeks later.
The rubble is now likely to sit there for a while. Thacher said the company is still very committed to the project, but "because of the condition of the market" it’s trying to "time the construction so we’ll be delivering homes when the market has firmed up."
As for the rubble, she’s not aware of any complaints about it, and that it’s behind fences and protected by a full-time security guard. She said it will be recycled when the project moves forward.
Senior City Planner Darcy Forsell said that from the city’s perspective,
having a pile of debris where it’s visible from the train station and other nearby buildings is not ideal, but San Mateo doesn’t have any real control over what the developer does
with it.
And as for lost revenue while the project is stalled, Forsell said, the developer may be required to pay the city $300,000 if it hasn’t made any moves toward a development by 2012, but is otherwise under no pressure from the city to meet a timeline.
Among those who vocally opposed the development was San Mateo resident Linda Lara, a volunteer with Save Bay Meadows and Friends of Bay Meadows, groups organized to oppose the development. She said one frequent argument made by the development’s proponents was that the racetrack was an "eyesore" and a "black hole," and that the development would be an aesthetic improvement.
"I’d like to know what those people think now, now that there’s seriously a black hole and a very ugly, destructive eyesore in the heart of San Mateo," she said. "It’s a heartbreaking shame that they were in such a hot hurry to tear it down."
Giddy up no more
A contentious battle led to Bay Meadows shutting down last year.
82 acres: The site of former Bay Meadows racetrack to be developed
1,037: Planned housing units in development
850,000: Square feet of commercial and retail space in planned development
$250,000: San Mateo’s annual loss of horse-racing tax revenue since track shut down
Source: City of San Mateo
