San Bruno makes progress on illegal dumping

The city is already seeing success in some dumping hotspots, including along Seventh Avenue, with the installation of signs and lighting, Vice Mayor Marty Medina said. 

“[I] just wanted to give some thanks to everyone involved in that,” he said. “The dumping there … has drastically reduced. Residents there are very happy.” 

Several projects designed to beautify the city and improve its aesthetics are also underway. New banners have been installed downtown on San Mateo Avenue and new landscaping will be completed by February 2026, said Brian Adam, assistant to the city manager. 

A lighting project in the downtown parking lot has also been completed, with all existing lights repaired and new streetlight poles ordered. Similarly, lighting in the overflow parking lots for the RAC is being updated, Adam said. New lights have been ordered and installation and path improvement should be completed by May 2026. 

It’s important that paths in that area, including those that connect to the main lot, also see updated lighting, Councilmember Tom Hamilton said. 

“The pathway between where the Rotary Pavilion is and that lot is also pretty treacherous,” he said. “Folks leaving here tonight who parked in that lot are going to walk in utter darkness to get through there.” 

Dumping, safety, lighting and beautification are part of the city’s ongoing strategic initiatives. Staff told councilmembers during an update presentation on the city’s goals Nov. 12, that many of the City Council’s goals for the 2025-26 fiscal year, as well as carried-over initiatives from prior years, are underway or completed. 

That includes the opening of the long-awaited Florida Park project in August and finalizing the transition of former city-run cable service CityNet customers to Comcast. San Bruno sold its failing cable and internet service to the internet conglomerate in March and the transition should be fully complete by the end of this year. 

The city has also finished on an employee compensation study — an initiative from the prior fiscal year — and will use the collected data in upcoming labor negotiations. 

Although the city completed a fiscal feasibility study for its transit corridor plan — designed to give the city options in updating its zoning and incentivizing development along main roadways like El Camino Real — the work of making those improvements remains. 

Per City Manager Alex McIntrye, that conversation is separate from existing strategic initiatives and the City Council will have it at a later date.