Parkside neighborhood seeks city help after year‑long construction impacts at Parkside Montessori
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Summary
Parkside neighborhood representatives told the May 5 council they have endured early‑hour work, loud auger operations and property damage during Parkside Montessori’s construction and asked the city to convene a 2x2 meeting with school trustees to seek a resolution.
Neighbors near Parkside Montessori asked the San Mateo City Council on May 5 for help resolving ongoing construction impacts they say began in January 2024 and continue a year later. Presenters said construction activities have allegedly begun before the permitted hours, caused structural shaking, generated prolonged noise from an auger operation and resulted in property damage and sewage odor.
Farzini Yunchi and Melissa Tiboni spoke as part of an organized Parkside neighborhood presentation. They told council that a preconstruction meeting gave only three days’ notice and that work started regardless. The neighbors reported repeated early‑morning starts (one presenter recorded workers at 6 a.m.), continuous night noise from an unsecured auger that struck its frame, multiple periods of foundation vibration that residents compared to an earthquake, worsening cracks and shifted doors and windows in several houses, recurring raw‑sewage odors tied to work near the shared fence line, and a lack of clear responsibility among the district, general contractor and public agencies when residents sought enforcement. They also said they had videos and photos documenting the conditions.
The presenters requested the council schedule a 2x2 meeting with the San Mateo‑Foster City School District trustees to press for resolution and asked staff to investigate building damage, noise‑hours enforcement and public‑works coordination. Several neighborhood residents also testified in the public comment period, describing damaged walls, misaligned doors, pungent sewage odors, dust infiltration and interrupted sleep.
City staff responded that the mayor and two council members would attend a 2x2 with district leadership; staff also said they would investigate the noise‑hours issue and follow up with appropriate enforcement agencies. The council scheduled a May 29 2x2 meeting with the school district to discuss residents’ complaints and asked staff to coordinate logistics and participation. The city did not promise a specific remedy; neighbors asked for an accountable path to fix property damage and address noise‑hour violations.
Ending: Staff committed to additional outreach and to convene the 2x2 meeting with the school district on May 29 and to look into noise enforcement and coordination among agencies. No formal council action beyond the meeting request was taken.
