Dear Menlo Park city councilmembers:
I’m writing to support building homes on Menlo Park’s downtown parking lots. Please proceed with the process (as outlined in your housing element) without further delay.
I also ask that you dedicate as much land as possible to these new homes. The city owns acres of land downtown, and this public good should be used to support our service workers and downtown employees in the form of affordable homes.
We all benefit when local employees, young families, & teachers can afford to live here. Affordable homes help our community stay housed, reduce local homelessness and allow more of our children, working families, and seniors to stay here. Local businesses thrive when they have customers and employees living nearby. Older “empty nesters” living in large homes can downsize, opening new housing options for larger families and allowing the elderly to live in a walkable, disability-accessible location.
Traffic is always a concern when adding housing, but in this case the central location — within easy walking and biking distance to Caltrain, transit, and all the downtown businesses — will minimize added traffic and represent a unique opportunity that we cannot afford to waste.
Menlo Park can be part of a bigger solution to ensure everyone has a safe, stable place to call home by promoting housing on our downtown parking lots.
Sincerely,
Jeff Gibboney
538 9th Ave, Menlo Park
