Greetings to our Mayor and City Council members,
In reference to yesterdays decision to formulate a list of concerns and opportunities to be included, among other criteria and factors, in the upcoming 9212 report I heard one or more of you, perhaps along with the City Manager, suggest that the projected increase in the number of public school students be projected for the Downtown Parking Lot housing.
This makes sense as far as it goes. I am fairly sure there is an unrecognized consequence of the incremental school attendance to take into consideration.
What seems to be missing in this limited study criteria is any accounting of the fact that students residing in new housing located on what will still be City-owned property, will be living in housing that is therefore exempt from SM County Property Tax. It is likely that this housing will thus contribute no incremental funding to any public schools at any level in Menlo Park. If true then that particular set of residential housing units would create an unfunded incremental cost burden of some magnitude upon public schools the new students are entitled to attend.
In this case it would be important to know what that new and ongoing unfunded cost burden would be to the elementary and high school districts and to the Menlo Park community at large. There may be ways to offset or reasonably accept this burden but only if we know its likely magnitude and duration soon.
The housing within the new Middle Plaza development at Middle Ave and El Camino would be a case in point. This issue does not pertain to new housing sites built on private property, of course.
Thank you all for your continued openness and forthrightness in getting Menlo Park through to the other side of our state-mandated housing challenge with the best set of solutions for all stakeholders.
Sincerely,
Rich Wipfler
1045 Valparaiso Ave
MP
