Hi Mark,
Thank you for your reply. The neighbors appreciate your help and consideration on this matter. Unfortunately, BootUp had a private
party last night (Saturday 16th). It was almost midnight and I could hear people leaving the locale, their cars, and the music
coming out of the building whenever they opened the doors. BootUp's officials have been informed and made aware of their
violations and neighbor's complaints for 3 years now. They keep lying, conniving, and feinting ignorance with false pretenses to
neighbors and to the City of Menlo Park.
BootUp is not going to stop. Another warning letter to "inform" them about the rules will go into their trash can. The neighbors
around BootUp have been extremely patient with the City of Menlo Park trying to resolve this problem. Unfortunately, the results
have been underwhelming, and the neighbors keep suffering the consequences of BootUp's constant trespasses and violations. We know
from a BootUp employee that BootUp organizes private events for clients/investors and allows any of their "renters" to use the
venue as a private party locale. This has been BootUp's original plan. Instead of giving up on their agenda or move their business
to a more appropriate venue, they have decided to cover it up and lie about it. They are running an "underground" social club for
their clients/renters/investors/etc and they have become extremely comfortable with lying without any compunction to get their
way.
The City of Menlo Park really needs to step it up and put an end to this long standing problem. We await to hear the course of
action the City of Menlo Park decides to take.
Thank you again for your time,Andres Mediavilla
On Thu, Mar 14, 2019 at 12:49 PM Muenzer, Mark E
wrote:
> HI Andres – Thank you for your email and bringing the new event information to our attention. I apologize for the late response
but I have been working with City staff to reach out to BootUp to inform them again that these type of events are not permitted
under their present use permit and to reiterate they need to apply for a use permit revision. I will be back in touch once we have
communicated with them and have a timeline in place to review their application. Thank you.
MM
Mark E. Muenzer
Community Development Director
City Hall - 1st Floor
701 Laurel St.
tel 650-330-6709
menlopark.org [http://www.menlopark.org/]
From: Andres Mediavilla
Sent: Friday, March 8, 2019 11:05 AM
To: Chow, Deanna M
Cc: McClure, William ; Dixon, William A ; Muenzer,
Mark E ; Jerome-Robinson, Starla L [SLRobinson@menlopark.org]>
Subject: Re: BootUp's constant violations on zoning rules and noise disturbance
Hi Deanna,
BootUp is back organizing events without the proper permits. I think by now we can all agree that BootUp's officials do not give a
damn about zoning rules, warnings, cease and desist letters, or disrupting the neighborhood. The website below shows you how
BootUp is organizing events for Pitch Force and have 3 planned in the next month.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pitch-force-san-franciscobootup-menlo-park-tickets-57543625533
[https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pitch-force-san-franciscobootup-menlo-park-tickets-57543625533]
I would like to request that the City of Menlo Park writes BootUp in advance to tell them that they will be cited for violating
zoning rules and purposely ignoring all the previous warnings and letters. It is very unfortunate that BootUp does not want to
cooperate or follow the rules but I think citation is long overdue by now. We are also considering legal action against them at
this point.
Thank you again for your time and consideration.
Andres Mediavilla
On Thu, Dec 20, 2018 at 6:06 PM Chow, Deanna M wrote:
> Mr. Mediavilla,
Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We will be reaching out to BootUp regarding their activity on the patio and will be
internally discussing the next steps. If there is an issue that arises in the future regarding the use of the patio, please do
notify me. Please note that City Hall Administration Building will be closed from Friday, December 21, 2018 through Tuesday,
January 1, and I will return on Tuesday, January 8, 2019.
Regards,
Deanna
From:Andres Mediavilla [mailto:andres.mediavilla@gmail.com [andres.mediavilla@gmail.com]]
Sent: Saturday, December 15, 2018 7:11 PM
To: Chow, Deanna M
Cc: McClure, William ; Dixon, William A ; McIntyre,
Alex D ; Muenzer, Mark E
Subject: Re: BootUp's constant violations on zoning rules and noise disturbance
Dear Deanna and Bill,
BootUp is having a party tonight (Saturday December 15th, 2018). I've attached a picture of the event from my house, where you can
see people wearing masks and fire pits in the patio. This is a clear violation of the zoning rules and a defiance to the cease and
desist letter you sent them about 2 months ago. I called the Menlo Park Police but unfortunately they cannot cite BootUp for
violating zoning rules.
This is not a surprise to me. BootUp's officials have shown nothing by contempt for any City zoning rules and complete disregard
for any complaints or warnings. I already forewarned you back in October that BootUp would not follow your cease and desist
letter. I also asked you then what you and the City of Menlo Park intended to do when BootUp disregarded your cease and desist
letter and began violating zoning rules.
The City of Menlo Park has given BootUp too much leniency and the neighbors have suffered and put up with the consequences for too
long. Please, it's time the City of Menlo Park take strong measures and punish BootUp for continued and purposeful violations
Thank you,
Andres Mediavilla
City of Menlo Park intends to enforce its zoning rules with a business like BootUp that clearly doesn't care
On Sat, Oct 27, 2018 at 6:43 PM Andres Mediavilla wrote:
> Thank you Deanna for providing the letter and explanation. And thank you and the City of Menlo Park for taking action in order to
resolve this ongoing situation.
As I mentioned in my previous email, my 3 years of experience dealing with BootUp have taught me that BootUp will exploit any
loophole, ambiguity, or omission in what's communicated to them in order to keep organizing activities. In this case, I believe
the definition of permissible "use of the patio for passive uses such as individual work, small group meetings and eating lunch is
permitted" is missing specific and important details such a time frame or what a small group meeting really entails. I know these
may seem like obvious concepts to everyone, but I also know BootUp will twist these terms in their advantage. The City of Menlo
Park needs to be more concise in their description of such activities.
I would recommend you and the City of Menlo Park explain to BootUp that these "passive uses" of the patio are permissible during
standard business hours (9am-5pm). Anything happening outside that window is more probable to be an after-hours social party than
anything work-related. This nuance will definitely eliminate any possible misunderstandings or misconstructions by any party, and
it will clearly define to all parties when any social activity in the patio is permissible or not.
The social party with games that went on until 8pm last Thursday October 25th was clearly not a "small group meeting". BootUp has
shown that they will push the boundaries. Ms. Laleh Masnavi (BootUp's VP of Operations) stated to me in a meeting on August 23rd
that BootUp is open to their employees 24/7, and as such, BootUp thinks they can have "passive uses" of the patio at any time of
day and week. This will not be tolerable.
Please help us resolve this situation. I am thankful you sent that letter to BootUp, but I think they still need farther
clarific▒▒▒▒ns such patio uses during standard business hours (9am-5pm). We don't want to be caught in the same game we have been
in the last 3 years.
Sincerely,
Andres
On Sat, Oct 27, 2018 at 2:45 PM Chow, Deanna M wrote:
> Hi Mr. Mediavilla,
Attached is the letter that was provided to BootUP. Since we sent the letter, the Director, City Attorney and myself met with
BootUP representatives to discuss what is permitted at the site, and continuation of events on the patio requires a use permit.
Please note that use of the patio for passive uses such as individual work, small group meetings and eating lunch is permitted.
BootUP has indicated that they will be filing a use permit application in the coming weeks. This application will be reviewed by
staff and the Planning Commission will be the final decision-making body, unless appealed to the City Council. As part of the
process, there will be opportunity for public input. The Menlo Park PD may be contacted if use at the site is believed to exceed
the noise ordinance.
Regards,
Deanna
Deanna M. Chow
Assistant Community Development Director
City Hall - 1st Floor
701 Laurel St.
tel 650-330-6733
menlopark.org [http://www.menlopark.org/]