To: Members of the Menlo Park City Council
I first moved into an apartment between Middlefield and El Camino Real on Oak Grove Ave near SRI in 1988. Since then I have lived in MP, Palo Alto and finally MP -- buying progressively more expensive condominiums (5th floor of 20+ unit bldg) and homes in Allied Arts, Vintage Oaks, and West Menlo. With each MP neighborhood move, I noticed far fewer new residents -- the future of any town or city. For Menlo Park's future economic and social viability, I support Menlo Together and the Parkline proposal for SRI.
The 400 proposed mixed-income homes in the Parkline proposal are a great start, but we can do more. To ensure that we meet the needs of all our residents, including those with extremely low income and/or special needs, Menlo Together would like to see an acre of land within the development donated to a non-profit housing developer and developed to meet our most pressing needs - deeply affordable housing for families and people of all abilities.
We also support increasing our inclusionary BMR requirement from 15% to 20%. Deeply affordable housing should be flexible with the number of parking spots in the development. A study by Housing Leadership Council and Transform found that the lower the income of a household, the more likely they are to take public transit instead of driving.
These additional affordable units can be feasible if the project is allowed to increase the number of market rate units (by allowing greater height and density) and by reducing or eliminating minimum parking requirements. As you well know, the site is very close to both our downtown and our public transit hub. Many younger residents prefer not to drive everywhere -- and there are many more in both the Millennial and Generation Z cohorts who have yet to move to older Silent and Baby Boomer Menlo Park -- could be attracted by this new development. This would help reduce local traffic and our city’s climate impact.
Let’s take full advantage of the Parkline project to build a strong community of people and families of all incomes and abilities who thrive.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
-Paul Roberts
West Menlo Park
