Reprint: Independent Newspaper Group: Article written by Carolyn Abate

By Jerry L Deal

This is a piece written for the "Newsmaker" column of the Independent Newspaper Group; reprinted with permission.

In November, Planning Commissioner Jerry Deal may be able to add council member to his list of city positions. With two city council seats up for election this November, Deal, who has been on the commission for more than nine years, has decided to throw his hat into the ring.

"When you sit on the planning commission, you have a pulse of what's going on, but you can only recommend to the council," he said. "Sometimes they take it, sometimes they don't. I've come to a point where I'd like to be helping (make) the decisions."

Mayor Mary Janney has announced she will seek re-election in November, but Councilmember Marti Knight will retire from the council when her term expires.

Candidates can file for the race beginning July 12.

Deal, who was born and raised in Redwood City, has lived in Burlingame for nearly 20 years. He operates his own company, J.D. and Associates, a Burlingame-based residential design firm.

Deal said the focus of his campaign will be "responsible growth" for Burlingame. "There are important things that have to be addressed, specifically with development," he said.

He says construction of new single family homes is a major concern for Burlingame.

"Often new families moving into Burlingame try to build large homes that don't complement the existing neighborhoods," Deal said. "You have (people) trying to create a mini-mansion, and when you do that, there is no room outside for landscaping," he said.

During his time with the planning commission, Deal helped established a design review board for construction permits for single-family homes. "Prior to the design review board, applicants only had the zoning code to work with when they wanted to build or add an extension onto a house. The design review board works with the permit holder to help them create a building that fits with the neighborhood design," Deal explained.

Another concern for him is parking in the city.

Deal is pleased to see the council has agreed to conduct a parking study for downtown. He believes the study and subsequent policy is needed to avoid another Saks Fifth Avenue situation.

"When somebody wants to come in like Saks, they know what the system is to mitigate the problem," he said.

The high-end woman's clothing store, which hoped to move into downtown, eventually pulled out when the council asked the retailer to pay for some of the parking.