Dear Menlo Park city council,
I’m writing to share my opposition to N17s proposal for a multi-tower mini-city planned for 80 Willow Road. With three towers measuring a staggering 39, 33, and 18 stories tall, the proposed development is wildly out of scale for Menlo Park, and is grossly misaligned with our state-approved housing plan that City leaders worked diligently to pass. It is totally inappropriate for our communities and would have significant, detrimental impacts on Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Atherton, and East Palo Alto.
As a longtime resident at 220 Arlington Way, just several blocks from the proposed location, I am intimately familiar with the neighborhood. It is inconceivable that there is any way this development could be built without effectively destroying the neighborhood and it’s surroundings. There is no way the Middlefield – Willow road infrastructure could handle the traffic impact. While it is true that we do need growth and that we do need to add housing, this growth needs to be spread out across our town and region. To concentrate development in this way and build a “mini-Manhattan” in Menlo Park is lunacy.
Additionally, and notwithstanding the importance of these prior points, it should also be noted that the Sunset Magazine campus really should be designated an historic property on the National Register of Historic places. Just like the Gatehouse and the Train Station, this property is a milestone that needs to be preserved for the following reasons:
Architecture: The 1951 campus is a commercial masterpiece designed by Cliff May, the "father of the California Ranch house." It represents a rare, large-scale application of his iconic, low-slung aesthetic, featuring traditional adobe bricks and exposed wood beams.
Landscape Architecture: Crafted by legendary landscape architect Thomas Church, the grounds blended indoor offices with outdoor nature. Its biomorphic lawns and regional climate test gardens served as a living blueprint for modern 20th-century landscape design.
Commerce & Cultural Impact: As the longtime home of Sunset Magazine, this site was the epicenter of post-war suburban design. The ideas, test kitchens, and books created on this campus directly shaped the architecture, gardening, and lifestyle of the entire Western United States.
I hope you will take all of these factors into consideration, and continue to vote against the N17 project.
Thank you,
Nicholas Halsey
