Per the *California State Constitution,* the City of Menlo Park’s only
recourse to fund any financial housing development gap is through state
funding for any state mandated housing development and its resulting
infrastructure needs.
With regards to the “funding gap” associated with the three proposals for
affordable housing on city owned parking lots in downtown Menlo Park, the
only constitutionally correct and legal avenue is for the state to
reimburse the city. The housing initiative and its related costs are a
result of the state mandated housing initiative.
*Article XIII B, Section 6* of the *California Constitution
*states
that the state must provide funds to reimburse local governments, including
cities, for the costs of any new program or increased level of service
required by the Legislature or a state agency.
These requirements are commonly referred to as state-mandated local
programs; Under this section, when a mandate is passed, the state is
required to provide a "subvention of funds" to cover the financial burden
shifted to the city. This includes instances where the state transfers
financial responsibility for a program from itself to local entities.
