Dear Members of Menlo Park City Council,
As before, we are writing to express our strong, continued support for the affordable housing project in downtown Menlo Park’s parking lots.
We believe you shouldn’t have to make a six-figure salary to afford living in Menlo Park. We know so many family and friends who cannot afford the over $3,000 average monthly rent in Menlo Park—much less the $5,100 average rent for 3+ bedroom housing. Either these folks accept a longer daily commute to work and school, adding to local traffic congestion—or they throw up their hands and decide it’s time to leave.
We’ve said goodbye to a number of loved ones who chose the latter.
We and our four young children are lucky that we can afford to stay here as renters. Menlo Park has been a wonderful place to raise our children, and we hope to stay here in the long term. But who knows? One day we could be priced out ourselves—just one more family in the Bay Area exodus.
We believe the city has a chance to be a leader in helping solve this housing crisis. We’ve been encouraged by the increased communication about the project—especially as emphasized in the draft RFQ. With this kind of transparency, the city should feel confident in taking the next step of releasing the RFQ.
Let’s not wring our hands over ten-story-buildings that exist only in theory—and not in any official proposal. Let’s release the RFQ, so we can receive submissions and see concrete, realistic proposals.
We hope the city will also emphasize how releasing the RFQ will give residents much more influence over the project—in stark contrast to the proposed “builder’s remedy” project at the Sunset Magazine site.
The downtown parking lots are crumbling and badly in need of repair. Let’s not twiddle our thumbs and resign ourselves to the status quo. Let’s take this opportunity, and let’s revitalize our downtown with new housing in a walkable spot and creative solutions that will support our local businesses.
Sincerely,
Hannah and Connor Gilbert
Central Menlo
District 3
