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The City of Burlingame has created a program for short-term rentals that balances allowing residents to host guests in their homes for short-term stays, with the desire to preserve the residential character of the city’s neighborhoods.

The term "short term rentals" (STRs) refers to the rental of existing residential units to occupants on a short-term basis, generally fewer than 30 days. Common examples

include renting a room, house, or an apartment for a week or weekend for a short stay, or for several weeks. Short-term rentals are most commonly offered and rented through online hosting platforms such as Airbnb, Vrbo, Hostmaker, Sonder, Vacasa, and HomeAway, though they can also be offered "offline".

The City’s short-term rental program allows residents to rent out their entire home or apartment (“unhosted” without the host present) for up to 120 days per year. There is no limit on "hosted" rentals where the host is onsite.

The City is putting together an online registration platform that will make it easy for hosts to register their short-term rentals. Starting in August, short-term rental operators will be contacted and provided instructions for how to register. Meanwhile, for information about the short-term rental program and the regulatory ordinance, click here.

Graywater, or water from household laundry machines, sinks, and showers used for outdoor irrigation, is an effective way to reuse and conserve water. Burlingame resident Brian Mascarenhas had a laundry to landscape system installed in his home to reuse the water from his laundry machine in his backyard. He used a contractor to install a simple valve on his washing machine, similar to this one and this one, that diverts the water to a pipe leading to the backyard rather than to the municipal system. The contractor also prepared the outdoor irrigation components. Brian said he was “surprised at how simple the laundry to landscape system was to install,” and that he could have completed it on his own.

His household runs about three loads a week, which are all diverted to the backyard. He only switches the valve when they use bleach. The rest of the time he uses plant-friendly detergent. In the backyard, he has six offshoots of irrigation piping to different trees. At each location, a 6 to 8 inch hole was dug and a plastic cylinder was placed inside where the irrigation could be adjusted as needed, like here and here. Brian’s lemon tree is thriving with the new irrigation system. Brian also uses rain barrels to capture rainwater for his fruit trees and vegetable garden.

A laundry to landscape system does not require any permits and can be done through a contractor. Or, you can DIY! See more resources here and here. Thank you Brian for sharing your experience!

If you have a graywater system to share or any questions, email smichael@burlingame.org. Diagram above taken from http://oasisdesign.net/greywater/laundry/.

The Burlingame Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) is seeking motivated and responsible 7th -12th graders to help coordinate activities for teens, assist with community events, take action on community issues, and help with fundraising. Applicants must live or go to school in Burlingame. YAC provides youth with a great opportunity to gain valuable leadership skills, make new friends, and have a lot of fun! This is a great opportunity to apply your creativity, experience, initiative, and community spirit to make a difference in Burlingame.

Members are required to attend official business meetings once a month from approximately 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. YAC hours count towards school community service requirements. All applicants will be interviewed in early September. Please note that the Committee is limited to 13 committee members and is a two-year term. Those who are not selected for YAC can still be added to the Youth Advisory Board mailing list to be kept in the loop on upcoming events and programs.

Click here to access the form and apply! The deadline to apply is Friday, August 27.

For more information, contact Claudia Vega at cvega@burlingame.org, or call 650-558-7315.

Parks and Rec is back! Come join the fun this fall by registering for fall session programs! Classes, after school sports programs, enrichment, and events are available for all ages, both in-person and virtual. Click here to view the Fall 2021 Activity Guide. Click here to register.

Construction of the South El Camino Real Water Main Improvements Project and Bayside Water Valve Replacement Project began on July 26. The City’s contractor, Cratus Inc., has started to replace the existing water main and service lines along El Camino Real from Sanchez Avenue to Burlingame Avenue and from Howard Avenue to Peninsula Avenue. Access to and from El Camino Real will be limited during construction operations. Traffic control measures will be in place to direct traffic flow. Please use alternate routes, if possible. Construction activities will also include the replacement of four water valves at two different site locations. The first site is near Gilbreth Road and Stanton Road, and the second site is near Adrian Road and David Road. The work is anticipated to continue through early 2022.

What to Expect During Construction:

We thank you in advance for your patience and cooperation. We will have a field inspector on site if you need any assistance due to project activities. If you have any questions, please contact the Project Inspector Jaime Hernandez at 707-494-9510.

The City of Burlingame wants to hear from members of the community about their interest in temporarily closing Burlingame Avenue and/or Broadway to vehicle traffic in the commercial areas. Some street closures may be related to specific events such as an “art walk”, a festival, a sidewalk sale, or dining event as examples. In addition, the City is considering whether to implement temporary street closures from time to time, not as part of an event, but rather as an opportunity to allow the community to enjoy our business districts without any car traffic.

Click here to take a brief survey and share your opinions.

The County requirement to wear face covering at County facilities took effect on July 26, 2021. This requirement applies to all employees and visitors at County facilities only. Click here to see a list of County facilities where masks are required.

This requirement from the County does not apply to businesses, other government agencies, or private employers of any type across San Mateo County. Businesses, other government agencies, and private employers of any type are encouraged to require face coverings, but are free to set their own requirements and to follow state, federal, and industry-specific guidelines.

Caltrans is constructing express lanes on U.S. 101 from the San Mateo County/Santa Clara County Line to I-380 in South San Francisco.

The Burlingame community should be prepared for traffic impacts related to shoulder work through August 8, which may include: installing permanent roadway signs on northbound U.S. 101 from SR-92 in San Mateo to approximately I-380 in South San Francisco and on southbound U.S. 101 from Broadway in Burlingame to approximately I-380 in South San Francisco. Also during this time, crews will close freeway lanes as needed to continue to repave the roadway surface from Broadway in Burlingame to approximately I-380 in South San Francisco. Repaving on southbound U.S. 101 in this section is complete, and construction crews have transitioned to repaving northbound U.S. 101. Caltrans anticipates this work will be completed by the end of August.

Lane closures are implemented for the safety of crews and nearby travelers during construction activities. Closures may occur on northbound and southbound U.S. 101 from 9:00 p.m. to 5:30 a.m., Sunday night to Friday morning.

Click here to sign up for updates related to this project.

The U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) new loan forgiveness portal will begin accepting applications from borrowers on August 4, 2021. Borrowers with Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans of $150,000 or less through participating lenders must apply for forgiveness directly through the SBA.

Lenders are required to opt-in to this program through https://directforgiveness.sba.gov.

In addition to the technology platform, the SBA is standing up a PPP customer service team to answer questions and directly assist borrowers with their forgiveness applications. Borrowers who need assistance or have questions should call 877-552-2692, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. EST.

To read more of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)'s press release, please click here.

Please continue to follow these important tips for shopping the Fresh Market:

For more information, visit burlingamechamber.org.

The City of Burlingame updates its Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) and Water Shortage Contingency Plan (WSCP) every five years as required by state law. The draft 2020 UWMP and WSCP are available for public review at www.burlingame.org/water.

The City Council will hold a public hearing at its regular meeting on August 16, 2021. For information on how you can watch or participate in the City Council meeting, please click here. To submit written comments, please email publiccomment@burlingame.org.

This past week's pledge to Choose Burlingame focused on pet supply and service businesses. Anne Scanlan-Rohrer won $50 in gifts from her local pet store of choice, Pet Food Express at 261 Park Road. Runners up Lana Kwong and Debra Rose also listed Pet Food Express as their preferred pet shop in Burlingame. Runners up will receive promotional tote bags and water bottles.

Thank you also to Burlingame business supporter Theresa Whisman, who listed local pet service provider Groomingdales Pet Salon at 1130 Chula Vista Avenue.

Are you ready to take the Week Seven pledge? This week's highlighted business sector is Novelty & Toy businesses! Novelties include knick-knacks, tchotchkes, collectibles, gadgets, and those types of toys you don't really need but absolutely want!

You are encouraged to take the challenge every week. Prize winners will be announced Wednesday at 1:00 p.m., via Facebook Live at @BurlingameCityHall.

Visit Que SeRaw SeRaw on Capuchino Avenue!

Local green business Que SeRaw SeRaw at 1160 Capuchino Avenue offers a raw, organic, vegan, and gluten free selection of salads, smoothies, wraps, treats, and more!

Click here to view their weekly featured menu. Pressed for time? You can always click here to pre-order for pick-up.

Chef and owner Kerry Bitner is also a Burlingame resident! She is passionate about preparing raw, organic, plant-based food that is delicious and convenient, and she is excited to offer her customers healthy choices that taste great and help them feel great. She is also an advocate for shifting to a more plant-based diet because it’s more sustainable for the planet. Que SeRaw SeRaw is also a Burlingame Green Business Award winner!

Check out this one-minute video to get a sneak peek inside Que SeRaw SeRaw.

Would you like to highlight your Burlingame business? Email iyee@burlingame.org.