ATTN: Menlo Park City Managers office
Wednesday March 8, 2023
Im John McMurtry, a Menlo Park resident since 1985 writing on behalf of myself and my wife Janet Moody to urge the City Council to move to continue existing Santa Cruz Avenue outdoor dining including the existing street closures. In addition, we also urge the Council to resist pressures to unnecessarily burden business owners with regulation in regards to the structures themselves.
Weve always supported downtown restaurants and businesses, but never more than we have since Covid struck. Weve loved how businesses have nimbly moved outdoors with success, and have respected the City for allowing it to happen in such creative ways. Specifically, the street closure between Curtis and Doyle has truly created a downtown hub that draws people to the spaces there for shopping, socializing, and dining. Especially of note is the daily throng of kids who gather after school in the spacious yard in front of Walgreens, Tilak, and Starbucks. Im a volunteer tutor at Menlo-Atherton High School and I love seeing all the kids (and other people) outside hanging out there after school as I ride past. I know their families like it too that they have a safe and social place to go downtown. Also, the fine old MP establishment Carpaccio should be allowed to remain in their alley as they see fit, and to decide for themselves how best to cooperate with the nearby remodeling of neighboring buildings.
Outdoor entertainment has also been great. Left Bank regularly hosts dinner jazz and Bistro Vida has hosted musicians including M-A students. Both of which we hope will continue as the owners see fit, without any need for permits. Such small afternoon and evening gigs should never require permits as they are definitely not disrupting anyone in other businesses or homes. If there are significant complaints, which seems unlikely, they can be dealt with by the owners and the City.
The outdoor bon Marche market has been great for downtown as well.
Janet and I were at the Council meeting last week on February 28 and were somewhat taken aback by talk of regulation, building codes, permit letting, administration costs, etc. We shouldnt be, because City Managers manage cities after all, but it seems to us that these operations are small enough to maybe continue as is with minimal oversight. That office has plenty of BIG stuff to do in regards to the huge projects near 101. We can only imagine!
The report written and presented by the hired consultants was very generic in nature and seemed as if it could have been used before by another small peninsula city. Maybe it actually was. It came off as maybe inappropriate for such a small city as ours. But we understand why it is something reasonable to do.
A rigid structural and administrated approach seems appropriate for San Carlos or maybe even Redwood City, but maybe not Menlo Park. It is our hope that our city can continue to have a very light touch on the few businesses that we still have so that they can do whatever they think they must to thrive and survive. That sentiment was definitely stated by some speakers on the 28th, and we hope it wins the day.
In our opinion, the only significant concern that needs to be addressed in the Curtis/Doyle closure is biking. Most riders (including me) just ride against traffic on that block which isnt safe in the long run. A bike lane just on the other side of the median and about 5 from the restaurant structure will fix that just fine. As was discussed in the meeting.
In summary, we hope that Menlo Park can keep things basically as they are on Santa Cruz Avenue, and that the City Managers office can keep things largely as they are and can apply the lightest of regulatory touches that might otherwise create friction with businesses that would worsen their customers experiences and thus the success of their businesses.
We look forward to remaining in the loop regarding this.
Best Regards,
John McMurtry
Janet Moody
650 Cotton St, MP
415 238 8130
