Mayor and Members of the City Council It is so exciting to see that the much anticipated Middle Plaza project at 500 El Camino Real is coming to the City Council for review and action! When the Downtown/El Camino Real Specific Plan was being prepared one of the key areas we all wanted to see redeveloped was the site located between Big 5 and the Stanford Park Hotel. There has been much public input during the Specific Plan process and again after the plan was approved additional public input and debate took place. This now brings us to the final stage of the process, City Council approval. The Middle Plaza project provides a vibrant mix of housing, office and retail on the 8.4 acre site that is currently vacant and in much need of redevelopment. On August 28th the Planning Commission unanimously approved the project and is recommending that the City Council provide the final approval in order for this project to move to the construction phase. There has been much debate regarding how much Stanford should provide in terms of public benefit and after many discussions and debates they have agreed to provide significant benefits to the community in terms of east/west connections (much needed) and more importantly contributing to the education of our youth. When completed the Middle Plaza project will be a community gathering place as well as providing needed housing units. As the former City Manager I had the privilege of being part of the Downtown/El Camino Real Specific Plan planning process and saw first hand the community providing significant input on what they wanted to see in their downtown and El Camino Real corridor area. I believe that the Stanford Middle Plaza project meets those expectations by creating a project that will enhance the vibrancy of the area while hopefully motivating the continued redevelopment of the downtown area. I urge the City Council to carefully review and approve the Middle Plaza project as recommended in the staff report at your September 26th Council meeting. Glen Rojas Chamber of Commerce Board Member Received on Mon Sep 25 2017 - 10:45:17 PDT
