Public pushes San Bruno to include school funding as council sets guiding principles for Tanfran negotiations

City staff presented guiding principles for negotiating a development agreement (DA) for the Tanfran redevelopment site and faced repeated public pleas to dedicate part of the community‑benefits package to San Bruno schools.

Peter Gilly, the city’s community development director, described the site as a planned mixed‑use redevelopment of roughly 44 acres transitioning from a retail shopping center to housing, retail, employment and entertainment. Gilly told council members that, because the mall will be demolished and rebuilt in phases, the city and developer face a multiyear site‑preparation period and a short‑term dip in sales‑tax revenue. He said staff intends to seek terms that provide fiscal certainty for the city, ensure public‑safety costs are compensated over time, incentivize faster construction phasing and prioritize economic outcomes such as a hotel near BART.

"The intent of the guiding principles is to establish clarity for staff as the negotiation of the terms begins," Gilly said.

During public comment, parents and education advocates pressed council to require or pre‑commit a portion of the negotiated benefits for local schools. Melissa Burroughs (PTA and union background) and Heather La (San Bruno Education Foundation) argued that statutory school impact fees do not cover operating costs such as teachers and programs and pointed to precedents where developers provided direct school support. Jared Kasner (Portola Elementary PTA) told the council that a development this size will add hundreds of students and that community‑benefit funds should address that operational shortfall, not just capital needs.

Council members agreed broadly that the city should seek the largest possible community‑benefit package. Some members, including Council Member Tom Hamilton and Council Member Alvarez, urged adding language to the guiding principles signaling the council’s intent to allocate an "appropriate portion" of discretionary funds to schools. Others, including Council Member Salazar, cautioned against pre‑committing a specific share before the overall magnitude of negotiated benefits is known, warning that carving out dedicated amounts could weaken the city's negotiating position.

Council ultimately directed staff to use the guiding principles to negotiate with Alexandria Real Estate and to return with a development agreement and community‑benefits package for council review; council members said allocations to schools would be decided at that later stage.

What’s next: staff will negotiate per the adopted principles and return to council for public hearings and final action on any development agreement and distribution of community benefits. Parents’ groups are expected to continue advocacy during those forthcoming hearings.