Dear Menlo Park Planning Commission and City Council,
Thank you for your service to our community. I’m writing to encourage you to grant a permit for youth to continue to gather at “The Bank” building on Santa Cruz Avenue. This isn’t actually a personal issue for me because my kids aren’t among the hundreds who have frequently gathered there over the past few years. Instead, I’m writing as a person who is deeply concerned about the emotional health of all the children in our community. As we all know, teenagers are under a huge amount of stress today, and they really need welcoming and safe places where they can gather, make friends, and just hang out. In fact, I believe that Menlo Park actually needs MORE of these spaces not fewer, so it makes no sense that our community would take away a vital resource serving so many teenagers.
Furthermore, as you know, this building is located on Santa Cruz Avenue which is one of the main business arteries of Menlo Park - not on a residential street - so its use as a gathering space seems perfectly appropriate.
Please let common sense and care for our community’s teenagers prevail in this situation.
Best regards,
Amy Arnold
312 Sherwood Way, Menlo Park
