Dear Honorable Mayor Combs and Members of the City Council,
My name is Zachary Meyer, and I have lived in Menlo Park my entire life. Growing up in this community, I’ve seen how downtown has struggled at times to remain vibrant. This proposal represents a transformative opportunity to revitalize the area while addressing critical housing needs.
Radical planning theory challenges the traditional urban planning model, prioritizing cars over people. Instead, it advocates for human-centered design that promotes inclusivity, equity, and livability. For decades, parking-first policies in Menlo Park have consumed valuable land and constrained opportunities for meaningful community development.
Henry Grabar’s Paved Paradise highlights how cities nationwide have over-prioritized parking at the expense of urban vitality. He explains that the perceived “parking problem” often arises not from a lack of parking spaces but from inefficiencies in how they are used. Menlo Park’s downtown parking plazas are a prime example, with much of this valuable land serving single-occupancy vehicles rather than the community.
The preliminary parking utilization analysis conducted by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and AECOM demonstrates this inefficiency. Parking Plazas 1, 2, and 3 at peak hours see a combined utilization of approximately 506 spaces, even though the lots collectively provide 556 spaces. This proposal would maintain those 506 spaces while repurposing underutilized areas for housing. With a minimum of 345 new units planned, this development could house roughly 1,000 people—far outpacing the benefit of parking for single-occupancy vehicles.
This is a win for both sustainability and equity. By replacing car-focused infrastructure with housing, Menlo Park can attract more residents to downtown, support local businesses, reduce long commutes, and build a more vibrant community. The data should alleviate concerns about losing parking: the city plans to maintain enough spaces to meet peak-hour demand.
It is essential to address the opposition to affordable housing that often emerges in these discussions. These arguments are rooted in racist and classist biases that have long perpetuated inequity in communities like Menlo Park. Claims that affordable housing will bring “undesirable” people into the area reflect harmful stereotypes that marginalize low-income individuals and people of color. These views have no place in shaping the future of our city.
In Menlo Park, “low-income” often describes people like me—recent graduates who want to return to the city we grew up in but find the housing market unaffordable. My childhood neighbor, a recent graduate and current city employee, moved into affordable housing at Middle Plaza, demonstrating how this type of housing supports dedicated, hardworking members of our community.
Furthermore, arguments that affordable housing residents won’t contribute to the local economy are unfounded. Affordable housing reduces the financial burden of housing costs, allowing residents to spend more on local goods and services, directly benefiting downtown businesses. Menlo Park also has a history of placing low-income housing primarily in the bayside, historically underserved parts of the city. This inequitable pattern needs to change. Developing affordable housing in the heart of downtown is a step toward reversing that trend and ensuring all residents share in the benefits of a thriving community.
This resolution aligns with Menlo Park’s values and goals for equity, sustainability, and economic vitality. I urge the Council to adopt it and proceed with the RFQ to reimagine these parking plazas as spaces prioritizing people over cars and creating opportunities for future generations.
Thank you for your leadership on this critical issue.
Sincerely,
Zachary Meyer
