Dear City Council Members,
I am opposed to the proposal to replace 3 downtown parking lots with high-density, low-income housing.
I fail to understand the justification for declaring these parking lots as "surplus" land, when they are heavily used, and usually filled close to capacity on most business days. Parking in close proximity to shopping is especially important and critical for residents who are elderly or unable to walk long distances. The impact of losing these parking lots on our downtown businesses and shoppers will be negative. And the "village" atmosphere of shopping in downtown Menlo Park will be destroyed.
There has not been a plan put forward to replace these downtown parking lots, if the proposal to build housing is approved. One estimate in our local newspaper to replace the 3 parking lots could cost the city $30,000 to over $50,000 PER PARKING SPACE! This would probably lead to excessive parking fees just to pay for these expenses. Our downtown does not currently have parking fees or meters, which enables residents to park regardless of ability to pay. This creates an incentive for more people to patronize our downtown area. In addition, parking structures are considered by some people as unsafe or claustrophobic as opposed to parking on an open street or parking lot.
In addition, there are no any plans to address the increase in traffic that the proposed apartments will generate. This can create further congestion in an already congested area creating risks for children going to and from school as well as for pedestrians just trying to cross the street especially at El Camino. Surely there must be places to build affordable housing in Menlo Park that would not create so many problems or cost as much as this proposal.
A number of more suitable alternatives to create affordable housing projects, that are closer to META (Facebook) and other Bayfront office projects whose job expansion has caused a huge increase in the States housing mandate for Menlo Park include:
* The Flood Park area
* Menlo Park Veterans Administration (currently under-utilized)
* The Bayfront area
* Vacant lots owned by the city, such as 1283 Willow Rd. at Ivy Dr
Why has the council not seriously considered the above alternatives?
I urge city council members to table this proposal to build housing on parking lots in our busy downtown area that could have negative, even disastrous consequences for Menlo Park residents. Please take the time to investigate and give thoughtful consideration to some of the viable alternatives.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.
Sincerely,
Margaret A. Spak
381 Santa Margarita Avenue
Menlo Park CA 94025
