Dear Mayor Combs and City Council,
Dropping huge apartment complexes on the City’s downtown parking lots creates more and worse problems than it solves. Downtown will lose important parking spaces that folks use to support downtown businesses. The housing complexes themselves will cause massive traffic nightmares. And there are multiple, better locations for these housing projects that do not destroy our downtown.
This whole process also feels rushed to me. The City has until 2031 just to have entitlements and permits in place. I realize such things don’t happen overnight, but certainly 5+ years should be enough time to come up with a better solution.
I’m also concerned that relying on the same folks who came up with the plan to “study” the issue is fraught with a potential conflict of interest. Maybe not in the technical sense, but you’re basically asking them to examine whether their original plan was flawed. Who is going to admit that?
If the Council does not adopt the ordinance, then you should put the question to the most important stakeholders, Menlo Park residents. Whether by placing it on the November ballot or calling a special election, this decision should be made by the People, not outside consultants.
Thank you for your consideration.
Respectfully,
Stephen Ellingson
941 Continental Drive
Menlo Park, CA 94025
650.804.5049 (mobile)
