Dear Honorable Mayor and Members of the Menlo Park City Council,
My name is Sara Winterstorm and I am a resident living in the Willows. I am
writing to express my strong opposition to the proposed "Willow Park"
high-rise development at 80 Willow Road.
While I support sensible, transit-oriented housing growth that fits the
character of Menlo Park, this specific proposal is drastically out of scale
for our community. A 39-story complex is entirely unprecedented for this
area and introduces severe negative impacts, including:
• Extreme Traffic & Gridlock: Willow Road and the surrounding arteries are
already severely congested. Adding thousands of daily vehicle trips to an
already failing corridor will paralyze local traffic and delay emergency
response times.
• Infrastructure Strain: Our local utility grids, water supply, sewage
systems, and local schools are not equipped to absorb a sudden, massive
influx of high-density infrastructure on this scale.
• Environmental & Aesthetic Harm: The historic nature of the former Sunset
Magazine campus and the surrounding suburban canopy will be permanently
altered by structures rising over 450 feet, creating significant shadow,
privacy, and environmental concerns for nearby single-family neighborhoods.
I urge the City Council and the Planning Commission to use all available
legal avenues to reject this current proposal and demand a scaled-down
development that respects the safety, infrastructure limits, and suburban
character of Menlo Park.
Thank you for your time, leadership, and consideration of the communitys
voice.
Sincerely,
Sara and Nic Winterstorm
121 Laurel Ave, Menlo Park, CA 94025
Phone: 408 482 3830
