Dear Menlo Park City Council and Planning Commission,I am writing in reference to the proposed Hampton Inn Project at 1704 El
Camino Real (current sight of Red Cottage Inn). I have been a homeowner in the Park Forest community for over ten years. I am a
physician at Stanford Hospital and a very involved parent in the MPCSD. I am very concerned about the current proposal.The
astronomical growth in Silicon Valley has left many communities playing catch up for basic needs; from over-enrolled schools, to
dealing with traffic congestion, to housing challenges.Menlo Park has not been spared these headachesI chose to buy in Menlo Park
because this was a city that I had been excited to raise my child in.Excited for the excellent schools, libraries and parks. We
could walk to local restaurants, shop at neighborhood stores and enjoy walking our dog around town. I have been especially
grateful for our Park Forest neighborhood; a Menlo Park community of just under 100 homes. We know our neighbors. We have
community parties.Many families have children who walk/bike to school together to Encinal Elementary or Hillview Middle School.The
current proposal for The Hamptons Inn build, taking the current 28 guest room two story hotel to a 60 guest room three story hotel
will have a significant negative impact on the Park Forest Community, the adjoining Menlo Park and Atherton neighborhoods and
anyone who transverses the El Camino Real corridor between Watkins and Encinal Ave. I am writing to say I am adamantly opposed to
the Hampton Inn project in its current rendering. Development and changes are inevitable. I am not asking to deny the project in
total but I am asking the planning commission to please consider the impact this current proposal will have on the residents in
the immediate area and Menlo Park as a whole.Regarding the structure itself, the current proposal is for above ground parking,
with two floors of guest rooms above for a total of three stories. In order to understand the scale of this project, I walked over
to the current townhome construction on Encinal Ave at the old Roger Reynolds nursery site. That project involves three story
townhomes. Three stories high makes for a significant structure. This height casts a very long shadow on its surroundings. If the
current Hampton Inn proposal is approved, the three-story structure will effectively put many of our homes/gardens/outdoor space
directly in its shadow. The height of the proposed hotel also allows the guest rooms in the back of the hotel to see directly in
to our homes, eliminating privacy for many families in their own homes and, for many families, in their own backyards. In addition
to the negative impact mentioned, there is the predictable noise that goes with a 60-room hotel (guests, employees, cars, garbage
trucks etc.). This will further negatively impact the entire Park Forest Community. Our quality of life and property values will
plummet.Taking a hotel from a 28 to 60 guest room hotel, will also increase car activity and make an already busy, sometimes
dangerous corridor of El Camino Real, even more challenging to navigate. This section already is significantly congested and not
well managed. There are weekly fender-benders and injury accidents between Watkins and Encinal Ave. Despite the addition of the
much appreciated signal-crosswalk in our neighborhood, cars blow through the red-light with pedestrians in the crosswalk., on a
daily basis. Having even more cars pulling out on to El Camino, across a heavily used sidewalk, will undoubtedly lead to more
accidents. In the morning many children from Park Forest, Holbrook-Park area walk/bike to school along this stretch. They will be
walking/biking in front of exit from the hotel. I hope the planning commission is looking at impact of all of this on our
community.As the planning commission reviews the current proposal, I ask each of you to weigh the benefit of this project against
the impact of this project on the surrounding community. I implore you to consider ways to find a compromise. Returning to the
original proposal for Hampton Inn which included a two story hotel and underground parking would be a start and would address many
of the concerns of this project. This may be a matter of business for the Red Cottage/Hampton Inn owners but for the Park Forest
and surrounding community this is our home. The place we are raising children, living our lives and for many are retiring; my
neighbor three doors down has been here since the homes were built. Neighbors around the corner moved here for their retirement
because of our community.I invite you to come to our neighborhood, join us for “coffee in the cul de sac” and look around.
Thank you for your time
Melissa Berhow150 Buckthorn Way
