Given the season, I thought this would be a good time to assemble a San Carlos Holiday Wish List. In assembling the list below, I spoke with current clients, associates and San Carlos homeowners. In no particular order here is a list of some of the items which they would put on their Holiday Wish List:
(1) A San Carlos High School. Yes…I realize this a pipe dream…however, there is nothing that would go further to alleviate the anxiety of parents with elementary age kids than a high school under the supervision of the San Carlos School District. Further, for those interested solely in improving their property values, nothing would be more of a silver bullet than a new San Carlos High School. It is the one glaring blemish on the San Carlos resume.
(2) Parks/Open Space. San Carlos is doing everything it can to maximize its current space for parks. The problem is that you cannot create more parks and open space if you do not have any more land. In the early 80’s, San Carlos slowly sold off land that was wonderful for parks. The La Mesa Field area was one of the most beautiful parks on the peninsula. You could walk, jog, play soccer and have a view of the entire Bay Area. It was stunning. The property was sold and developed. Unfortunately, San Carlos has a history of doing this….going as far back as the early 1900s. Another example was how Burton Park (formerly Recreation Park) almost did not exist. Luckily, Pop Burton convinced a man by the name of Old Bertini to sell his land for development. However, Burton would not allow the development without the concurrent development of a park in the middle of the development, which later became Burton Park. Some last minute, skillful negotiating saved this park from never existing. Finally, a little known fact is that the city does own some property west of Crestview which could be developed, at the very least, for trails and open space beyond its current use.
(3) Community Pool. This idea has been going back and forth in San Carlos for the last ten years. The original thought was to put it a Laureola Park, but a lack of funding canceled those plans. Palo Alto has a community pool located in the middle of the city which is extremely popular with the residents. This option makes sense for San Carlos when you consider that most of the lot sizes in San Carlos are simply too small to accommodate a pool.
(4) More Family-Friendly Restaurants. This was discussed in a blog article about six months ago. San Carlos has many fantastic restaurants, but many of those restaurants may be a bit too formal when you are trying to do something easy, especially with kids. Jack’s Prime, The Counter, Pasta Pomodoro….take your pick. The space is available on Laurel.
(5) Entertainment. I hear this request a lot. While the restaurants in downtown San Carlos are great, there is not much to do beyond that. I cannot tell you how many people have asked me about the San Carlos Bowl returning. For those that have been around San Carlos for a long time, you will remember the miniature golf course that used to be on Laurel. While the miniature golf course may not be the most exciting place in town, it would do well in a town filled with kids. Other, more adult ideas that pop up are proposals for an outdoor venue with live music….not necessarily the size of a Gordon Biersch, but something similar with music, outdoor fire pits, etc.
Care to add to this wish list? Please do so below.
16 Comments
bob bredel for mayor!!!!!!!
LOL…Thanks, Dennis….I appreciate the comment…Luckily, San Carlos has some very good people already lined up for that position : )
Bob – couldn’t agree with you more about the high school!! With all of the controversy surrounding the boundaries at the elementary schools I was shocked that no one brought up the high school issue! ALL of the elementary and middle schools are outstanding! I think we’ll solve the boundary issues fairly and to everyone’s satisfaction.
But what we REALLY need to be worrying about is what high schools we are going to send our children to. Many of us don’t have $20K a year to send our children to private school and I am not that impressed with the Sequoia Union High School District.
Since we have moved to San Carlos, I have heard nothing but excellent reviews about the elementary and middle schools and I’ve seen for myself why San Carlos schools deserve such high praise! But I have to tell you that we are very very concerned about where our children will be going to high school. I know that Carlmont seems to have improved and wonder why it doesn’t include the kids from both Belmont and San Carlos. After all, Carlmont stands for sanCARLos & belMONT. I know that people say that Sequoia is turning around but with the recent news of the student getting jumped by 15+ plus students due to gang issues, well, that makes me wonder how much (or little) progress Sequoia has made. Sure their IB program may be nice, but I still want my children to be safe!
I think that with the outstanding environment of our elementary and middle schools, San Carlos is poised to show the Peninsula how to create a top-tier high school. The parents, the school board and the city of San Carlos all place a high value on education and I KNOW that a San Carlos high school would immediately be one of the top schools in the Bay Area! This is our children’s education and lives we’re talking about…I wish that the community would place more importance on these very important four years of our children’s educational, social and emotional growth.
I heard San Carlos High closed back in 80’s when they did not have enough students. Perhaps that was not a smart move of the city now that we look back. This high school could have been a really good school, but no use of talking “COULD HAVE”.
This maybe an unrealistic dream considering the budget, but I am sure it is all young parents dream in San Carlos. We are not the exception, hopefully we can save enough to send my daughter to private.
Hi Hat22,
Thanks for your post. Just a quick point of clarification, it was the surprise decision of the Sequoia Union High School District to close San Carlos High School. It was the city’s decision to sell the land.
Thanks for the post.
Bob
Hi Bob,
I agree with San Carlos Mom, above. There is not a more frustrating issue in San Carlos for those of us with elementary age kids.
On a different subject, has there ever been talk of adding a skate park in San Carlos….I realize this will not appeal to the masses, but I have an 11 year old son who skates. It seems like there is nowhere for them to do this except school property.
Actually that’s not correct. The Sequoia High School District Board sold the land to Whitecliff Homes and received the proceeds of the land sale, not the City.
At the time, the Sequoia High School Board of Directors privately told folks that their decision to sell San Carlos High School rather than Carlmont was because they believed the San Carlos City Council would allow more housing units on the site than the Belmont City Council would. The City of San Carlos was unable to change the decision to close the High School.
However, the Sequoia H.S. District was in for a surprise when the proposed housing development adjacent to the site came to the City Council!
The City Council at the time, led by then Mayor Pat Bennie, insisted that the School District and the builder (Whitecliff Homes) dedicate additional land to the City to save more of the athletic playing fields on the site prior to building the homes at the site.
The City used $300,000 of Parks In Lieu funding at the time as part of the deal. The balance of the agreement involved the School District donating an additional $300,000 worth of land as did Paul Peterson, owner of Whitecliff Homes.
So, while the City was mad about the property sale, at least they obtained more land and a larger playing field complex, than would have occurred under the high school district’s initial proposal and sale.
Hi JJ,
Thanks for your post. Actually, in 2004 the issue of a skate park was discussed and put on a priority list with the Parks and Rec Commission. The location that was discussed was at Burton Park just south of the new play area where there is currently a ball wall. The project was cut for two reasons (1) budget concerns; and (2) it was thought that the slamming of skateboards would create a nuisance for those neighbors directly across the street.
Bob
Bob, You hit the nail on the head w/ the first 3 and if you ever run for political office in San Carlos you have my vote, as it shows from your postings that you really are in touch w/ San Carlos. I have mixed thoughts on the restaurants. It would be good to have more family restaurants but I am disappointed about the closing of many family run shops over the years that gave Laurel Street more of a true downtown feel (in terms of the diversity of retail uses), as opposed to the “restaurant row” which it seems destined to become.
That’s great knowledge. Thanks for the clarification!
Bob
Regarding the Sequoia gang fight, it’s important to note that 7 kids were expelled and another 21 were transfered to Redwood High. Most were freshmen. The administration has a zero tolerance policy for violence and backs it up with actions like this.
Hi J,
You have point. I don’t think anyone wants to see Laurel Street become restaurant row. I think the single biggest problem with the retail stores on Laurel, and what is prohibiting new retail stores, is that there is simply not a meeting of the minds between landlords and renters. From what I have seen, the price per square foot that is currently being sought on Laurel Street is too high given the current state of the economy.
Recently, I spoke with the owners of one of the largest, family owned retailers on Laurel. They decided to close their doors because the prospective increase in their rent made it impossible for them to turn a meaningful profit. I know other retailers have experienced a similar issue.
The restaurant business is a tough one, there is no doubt about it. However, they may be better able to survive the higher rents on Laurel. Those which serve alcohol seem to be in an even better position. There is a reason that, when A Tavola transformed into Town, its bar tripled in size. Further examples can be found by looking at Cask, Piacere and Mythos. All seem to do good business and all have a heavy emphasis in this area.
Sustaining retail businesses in a tough economy is extremely difficult…when combined with unrealistic rents, it’s impossible and is discouraging to those who have thoughts of starting their own.
I think the best thing we can do is try our best to support those retailers that are trying to make it work downtown. If you have a specific small business downtown that is deserving of some additional attention, please let me know. I am happy to highlight them in one of the upcoming San Carlos Business Spotlight posts.
Thanks for the post.
Bob
I’m really glad to see the high school conversation come up. With education being so important to most San Carlos families a good high school option is something we need to begin working on. It really comes down to two options. The first being our own high school (which I would love). This option however has so many challenges everything from a site that would support the traffic,converting open space, to creating a unified school district, and last but not least the enormous financial costs. The second, and in my option a very real option. Re-vist the boundary lines so that San Carlos kids can once again, attend Carlmont. With our current elemenatary population, Carlomont could in effect be a SC high school. Involvement is the key to a quality school and we certainly have that within all of our schools. With this option I bet Carlmont would continue to improve over the next decade or two. We simply don’t have anyone from San Carlos on the Sequoia school board. So when these decisions come up, we are left out. We need someone who has a strong educational background (and an interest in San Carlos) to run for the board.
I agree with Marty. Why don’t we revisit the boundary line for Carlmont? I really don’t understand why kids from East Palo Alto automatically get to go to Carlmont and they live 10 miles away and have to get on 101 to get there. Yet a large portion of San Carlos kids who are walking distance to Carlmont are put in the boundary for Sequioa high school (and will have to drive). This makes no sense! I agree, we need to get someone from San Carlos on the Sequioa District Board. The boundary lines make absolutly no sense!
I agree about the highschool! What about a charter school like San Carlos Charter Learning offering a high school for the city of San Carlos. They have a pretty solid program and it seems to make sense to offer a high school option for San Carlos kids. With some planning, there must be some location on the East Side to accommodate a high school program to support the already great education our San Carlos kids get.
While I would love to have San Carlos High School back, that is clearly not going to happen. I am thrilled, however, that San Carlos students have two excellent high schools to attend: Sequoia and Carlmont. As a parent that will have a high schooler in a couple of years, I am looking forward to sending my daughter to Sequoia. Not only does it have outstanding education and enrichment programs (IB and ICAP) to offer her, but I think that the diversity of the Sequoia campus has a lot to offer her in terms of life-lessons about the real world. San Carlos is a great place to live and raise children, but it doesn’t have much to offer by way of socio-economic and racial diversity, so Sequoia (and Carlmont) balances that nicely. I encourage anyone who has reservations about Sequoia to attend one of their parent information nights, and to talk with students (and parents) who are currently there – you will be pleasantly surprised by what you learn.