Thunderstorms during the morning will give way to mostly cloudy skies this afternoon. High around 65F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%..
Overcast with rain showers at times. Low 54F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Updated: April 10, 2026 @ 7:35 am
Reporter
The city of San Bruno and beleaguered private airport parking facility Skypark reached a settlement after the city sued over unpaid taxes last year.
According to Skypark’s attorney Donald Dowling, the city requested close to $1 million in airport parking facility taxes and fees. The settlement requires Skypark to pay the city $210,000.
“They wanted a boatload of money, but it just wasn’t there,” Dowling said. “You’re not going to get blood out of a rock.”
According to court documents, Skypark was accused of not paying the special tax — an 8% charge on gross receipts — in 2019 and the first quarter of 2020. The tax was passed by San Bruno voters in 1999 and applies to parking lots offering vehicle storage for San Francisco International Airport travelers.
Dowling said his client could not pay the tax after SFO undercut Skypark’s rates by lowering its own parking prices, causing the business to eventually fail. SFO opened a 3,600-space lot in mid-2019, doubling its parking capacity and dropping its rates from $25 daily to $18.
Skypark opened in 1987 and closed in January of last year, at the time citing the high cost to lease the 11-acre property on which it operated.
“Did they get screwed over by SFO, absolutely, and SFO screwed over a lot of outside parking facilities,” Dowling said. “They had all these employees, and they were trying to keep them employed, and ultimately they just had to shut down.”
Due to San Bruno’s municipal code prohibiting the disclosure of a businesses income, the exact amount owed was not made public. The sum included tax as well as fees and interest and, according to the city’s complaint, “the maximum penalty of 100% of the amount of tax due” had been reached.
Skypark did not dispute the amount of gross receipts and taxes owed to the city, according to the complaint, which also alleged that the business' part owners, Joe and Helen Crain Galligan, in June 2019 had purchased a “Tesla luxury automobile for personal use.”
San Bruno City Attorney Marc Zafferano said he was “pleased that we were able to resolve the matter.”
The case is not Skypark’s first legal tangle with the city. In 1999, Skypark sued the city regarding the parking tax, alleging it was unconstitutional as it penalized the exercise of the right to travel. An appeal court disagreed and the tax remained.
In October last year Amazon purchased the property Skypark operated on at 1000 San Mateo Ave. for $96 million.
“It’s not like the owners of Skypark walked away with a bunch of money in their pocket,” Dowling said of the recent litigation. “As a matter of fact they walked away with nothing, period.”
The settlement, signed by both parties Nov. 18, indicates payment was due within 10 days of the agreement being executed. The settlement dismisses the complaint and its allegations. Joe Galligan is the former mayor of Burlingame and Helen Galligan holds a seat on the Peninsula Health Care District Board of Directors.
(650) 344-5200, ext. 105
Note to readers: This story has been changed to reflect the liable party was Sky Park, and not any of its owners.
(650) 344-5200, ext. 105
Reporter
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Thomas Morgan said:
CA Is Burning said:
Makes sense, 500 union jobs, millions in donations from unions to democrats.
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