Civic Engagement

Burlingame residents and business owners are passionate about their community, and the City has created an environment in which the public feels engaged and included. Residents have dubbed this “The Burlingame Way.” As needed to address pressing community issues, working groups are formed to map out solutions and plans. This approach has been used to design a new train station platform, create the Downtown Specific Plan, and most notably, craft this General Plan. Burlingame’s governance structure will continue to be open and participatory, promoting respectful public discourse and democratic processes. The following goal and policies bolster established public engagement mechanisms and ensure inclusive decision-making processes that bring diverse people together in meaningful ways.

Goal: EE-3

Maintain an environment that promotes and encourages productive public discourse.

Ensure that City decisions involve all interested community members by continuing to use commissions, committees, councils, and boards consisting of Burlingame residents, employees, and business owners. 

Services and Operations

Ensure committees and decision-making bodies include representatives that reflect the diversity of Burlingame’s population. 

Services and Operations Public Information and Education

Provide a range of opportunities for community participation in policies and decision-making, and ensure access for Burlingame community members of all ages, abilities, races, and socioeconomic statuses. 

Services and Operations Public Information and Education

Support and encourage neighborhood associations and other community-based civic groups, and include these groups in decision-making processes. 

Services and Operations Partnerships with the Private Sector

Conduct outreach to educate Burlingame community members about City issues and policies. 

Public Information and Education

Foster an environment of trust between Burlingame community members and City government, and support the voices of all participants. 

Services and Operations Public Information and Education

Promote tolerance of all legal forms of political action and protect the rights of individual political expression. 

Services and Operations

Continue to engage residents and the business community in task-focused working groups representing key stakeholder groups in the City to address pressing issues in the community. 

Services and Operations Public Information and Education

Conduct programs such as the Burlingame Citizens’ Academy to educate residents about how the City works and to train future community leaders. 

Services and Operations Public Information and Education