Residents Address Charter Square Issue with the City Council

Several residents addressed the ongoing Charter Square issue with the City Council during last night's meeting.

"We're not in support of an elementary school coming into Charter Square," said Betty Tillman, longtime director of Foster City Preschool and Daycare Center located in Charter Square.

The San Mateo-Foster City School District has its eye on a building inside Charter Square at 1050-1064 Shell Blvd., which would give the school restaurants, dry cleaners, a hair salon, insurance agency, mini-mart, bank and martial arts studio as immediate neighbors.

But that would mean displacing more than a dozen businesses, whose owners and employees are waiting to learn their fate as the district takes its next step. Due to overcrowding in Foster City's three elementary schools, San Mateo-Foster City School District officials want to change the retail plaza into Foster City's fourth K-5 school --- and they have the power of eminent domain on their side.

The Charter Square issue was not on the council agenda, but several residents choose to address the council during the public comment section of the meeting.

The property is managed by Westlake Realty Group. Asset manager Sunny Tong spoke the council Tuesday night.

"We are aware of the situation and we are having a meeting with our merchants," said Tong.

Tong said that he plans to meet with merchants soon to advocate a collective decision before the school board's upcoming meeting.

Some argued that history should be a factor in the final decision. According to Tillman, Foster City Preschool and Daycare is the first and oldest preschool in the city.

"We have been serving this community preparing them for school for 39 years," Tillman said. "Closing one school to make another school does not make sense to me. We are Foster City's history."

The district had previously narrowed down the possible location of the new school to four, including properties at 1164 Triton Dr., 551 Foster City Blvd. and 400 Mariners Island Blvd. in San Mateo, before deciding on the Charter Square location.

However, city officials admitted that they may have no power to stop the school district from the seizing the property under eminent domain.

"The city has no fight if they choose to use eminent domain," said Councilmember Pam Frisella.

"We don't have the legal power to prevent them if they choose to go down that route," City Manager James Hardy said.

The school board is slated to vote March 1 on whether to ask voters for approval on a $130 million bond measure in the June election.

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