SAN BRUNO CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING
November 19, 2024
Public Comment
1 Lupita Huerta
From: Linda Mason >
Sent: Tuesday, November 19, 2024 8:58 AM
To: Lupita Huerta
Subject: Public Comment for Tonight's Special Meeting 111924 Attachments: Joint Session Public Comment November 19 2024.docx Hi Lupita,
Unfortunately I am unable to attend tonight's meeting. Please see attached public comment intended for tonight's meeting. Thank you.
Best regards,
Linda Mason
Thank you to staff for organizing this joint session of the San Bruno City Council and Planning Commission. It is exciting to see so many areas of our City move forward on items that have recently been reignited, including the Climate Action Plan among others.
As the City of San Bruno (City) looks towards the future it is imperative to the City’s success and reputation that it not forget its public schools. Because developers and development’s generally go through the City’s process including the Planning Commission and the City Council, you are where advocacy and direction are needed and where work with education foundations arises. We all know that great cities have great schools but that those cities with impactful reputations have education foundations that are highly supported by their City Councils, highly supported by their community and, consequently, highly funded. All our council members have stated that they support our public schools but your vote, your direction, and how $$$ is spent is where support matters.
This is a pivotal time for our City where your vision for San Bruno’s future must include our public schools. The future is here as our demographics change and the demand of having high performing public schools increases. Your intentional, clear, and forward-thinking guidance today is requested to direct staff and developers to work with our local education foundation around a community benefits package that benefits our schools as is done in San Carlos, Belmont, and so many cities across the state. You have the opportunity to make it clear that our public schools matter in the same way your direction today will determine your support for our public schools.
As Tanforan moves forward with its exciting next phase in our history, please do work with current vendors at Tanforan to find locations in and around our transit corridor/downtown sectors. If the City does not have the staffing for this, please ask the developer for assistance with this work as it will ensure our small business community remains relevant and active while also filling vacancies within the transit corridor plan. The artist community has also thrived in Tanforan bringing an art presence that did not previously exist. What is the plan for our artists? Lastly, now is a good time to continue the conversation around a free shuttle between downtown, Tanforan, and Bayhill. I raised this in my initial visit with Alexandria years ago and hope that this is still a possibility to be discussed as the development gets closer to fruition.
We get few opportunities to truly impact the future of our kids and this is a moment in time that allows you the opportunity to do that. Agendizing what the expectation is of developers and our public schools for this and future developments is pivotal to the City’s long-term vision for its schools and their growing performance along with increased enrollment due to developments and performance improvements. Please ensure our public schools are supported and included in the City’s future…we can’t accept our public schools being left behind any longer.
1 Lupita Huerta
From: Cannizzaro Roland < >
Sent: Tuesday, November 19, 2024 4:21 PM
To: Rico Medina; Michael Salazar; Sandy Alvarez; Tom Hamilton; Marty Medina; City Manager
Cc: Lupita Huerta; Vicky Hasha
Subject: Public Comment Submission for 11/19/24 City Council Meeting Hello San Bruno City Manager and City Council members,
Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend tonight's council meeting, but I did want to make a public comment via email.
It has recently come to my awareness that the city of San Bruno does not usually advocate for or include the school district or San Bruno Education Foundation as beneficiaries of community benefits packages during negotiations with property developers. Thi
s is an unfortunate oversight, particularly because other neighboring cities on the peninsula have paved the way for including education foundations and other non-profits in negotiations, which broadens the scope and distribution of the benefits to the community.
This past election, despite a failing history when it came to pursuing a parcel tax, San Bruno's voters overwhelmingly showed that they have a desire to support their school district and their students. I believe that the city leaders should take note, and follow the trend of updating old practices in favor of helping our school district succeed. We have quite a few new developments on the horizon, and with so many updated neighborhoods, we should have schools that can keep pace.
Please consider agendizing a discussion on how the city can include benefits to the local public schools as part of its negotiations with developers, including those regarding the upcoming Tanforan redevelopment.
Thank you so much for your time and service!
-Caroline Cannizzaro