Dear Mayor Taylor, City Manager Murphy, & City Council:
I am a downtown Menlo Park property owner. Please enter this email in the public record regarding the above captioned matter.
The City has failed to provide adequate notice of this meeting to the community.
It is an abuse of the Citys authority to declare downtown public parking lots 1, 2, & 3 as "Surplus Land"
Pursuant to the Staff report and study entitled "Affordable Housing on City-Owned Downtown Parking Lots Feasibility Study dated August 2024" ( the "Study"), the City Council is being asked to make a finding that the parking lots are no longer "necessary" and declare them to be "Surplus Land".
As stated in the Study, the downtown property owners paid for these parking lots through forty (40) years of assessments. The downtown properties continue to have a direct beneficial and equitable interest in these parking lots.
The beneficial right to use these lots continue so long as the downtown property owners and their tenants continue to invest and operate their businesses and use these parking lots. Convenient parking is essential to the operation of the downtown businesses and continued tax revenues to the city.
A finding that these lots are no longer "necessary" is not supported by the law or facts. Thousands of people who work, visit, and live downtown use them every day. By definition, these three (3) downtown public lots are not "Surplus Land".
A declaration that the parking lots are "Surplus Land" ignoring the above is an act of inverse condemnation of the direct beneficial and equitable interests held by the downtown properties and businesses.
Unless an agreement is reached, judicial action by the parties may be necessary to request a court to determine the extent and nature of the beneficial and equitable interests and rights of the assessed properties in and to the parking lots.
Affordable housing should only be planned and implemented after thorough legal review, relevant impact studies, adequate community input, and consideration of all project ramifications to ensure that this project would have a positive impact for the downtown.
Kevin Cunningham
(Cell) 650-283-9546
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