Mayor Combs and City Council Members,
I’ve lived in Menlo Park for 50 years (albeit a gap of 6 years in the 1980s). I moved here in my 20s because I absolutely love this community, and I rent an apartment in Sharon Heights. I do hope that someone connected with the Council actually reads and notes the points I’m about to make in this memo.
For almost 30 years I leased office space at 1220 University Drive, while working as a psychologist with disadvantaged families for much of my career. Since COVID, I continue to treat families from MP (and other Peninsula communities) so am aware how local children currently access clinical services of the many therapists whose offices cluster in the downtown area. I shop at many of the downtown stores, and am the Social Chair of the Newcomers Club, a local nonprofit organization of primarily highly educated senior women (100 in our group) who enjoy getting together frequently at downtown cafes and restaurants.
While I strongly support more affordable housing in Menlo Park, I must point out that our community is built around a shared downtown — and the downtown depends on the public parking plazas. As you surely know, our downtown is rapidly becoming a ghost town due to the high cost of renting business space. You likely also know that 14% of MP citizens are seniors. I urge you to survey who is shops and eats at downtown restaurants as you will discover that the vast majority are Seniors. Given our increasing health and mobility issues, we need convenient, safe parking very near the establishments where we spend our time and money. If you survey the current downtown parking plazas, you will register the reality that they are almost always FULL!
For these reasons, I urge you to adopt the Downtown Parking Plazas Ordinance, giving residents the right to vote on the future of their downtown.
Thank you for your service in representing the people of Menlo Park.
Respectfully,
Dr. Pamela Kaiser, PhD, CPNP, CNS
Former Associate Clinical Professor, UCSF Medical School, Behavioral & Developmental Pediatrics / Stress Researcher
Former Director: Anxiety, Stress, & Health Clinic—Children’s Health Council
Licensed Clinical Psychologist (Child, Teen, & Young Adult)
Licensed & Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
Parenting Consultant & Developmental Specialist
350 Sharon Park Drive, #T23
Menlo Park, CA 94025
www.pamelakaiserphd.com
