Mayor and Council members -
The attached article, which has been circulating among Realtors and others in our fair citygives a vivid picture of what happens when a City is disrupted by construction. Possibly youve already seen the article and maybe youve reached out to the author.
I think it translates to what will happen with our downtown. As a resident of Menlo Parksince the early 1970s, (with breaks to live in Palo Alto, San Francisco and Atherton --purchasing our current Menlo Park residence mid 1990s - walking distance to downtown Menlo Park) , and as a professional Realtor in this area since 1985, I feel the path to replacing the parking lots with low income housing will destroy the downtown,leaving no path for renewal.
I am totally in favor of housing and am acutely aware of the need for low and moderateincome housing -- an issue Ive been aware of since I entered the housing business.(I recall special "teacher loans" to purchase homes in the 80s).
Please open your minds to other locations. Youve been presented with alternate ideasagain and again.
Consider the location of the Police Department/Building department....what a great locationfor housing. Put the Police and Building Departments off the beaten path...possibly bythe Fire Department on Middlefield Road. Or, relocate these facilities to the properties being developed at the USGS or SRI locations. Possibly near the former Sunset location on Willow Road / Middlefield. Just even consider the logistics - the new facilities can be builtwith minimal disruption to the community. When ready for housing construction, the new construction at the Burgess area Police department will be far less disruptive to downtown- especially if allowed to use the nearby semi-vacant land on Laurel for construction equipment, etc.
Respectfully,
Nancy Goldcamp
Nancy GoldcampColdwell Banker Realty650-400-5800 Cell CalBRE#00787851
