Dear City Council - I have now attended multiple city council meetings in January and March on the issue of the conversion of these parking lots. I attended the meetings with an open mind in the hopes that I would garner some sense of rationality in the city councils thought process and due diligence.
It does not appear that any of the development proposals provide for the required ~$85M replacement parking garage. Furthermore, even if there is replacement parking at the conclusion of construction, how are businesses going to survive the 2-3 years of construction? These lots are absolutely not surplus parking. My office is at 1155 Crane Street and I overlook one of the parking lots (the Crane-Chestnut lot) all day long and that parking lot is full from 8am until 7pm. If you want to test the impact of what you are proposing, I would suggest that you block off the driveways to each of the three proposed lots for 2 weeks and see what happens to downtown Menlo Park. Its an easy and cost-free test using the existing orange barricades you already have throughout downtown.
You are on the precipice of cratering the fabric of downtown Menlo Park just as it is about to surge with new businesses like Loretta and Clarks. There are alternatives. I support low income housing and the civic center site works. I understand it is a different district but it is literally the exact same distance, if not closer, to the Caltrain station (without having to cross a busy thoroughfare like El Camino) and transportation as the sites being proposed. If you are going to let an arbitrary 1-block boundary transform the future of Menlo Park, that seems like an extremely poor decision.
I have contributed both my time and financial resources to the opposition of this project because it is that important and we will continue to fight for what is right for our community.
Sincerely,
Billy McNair
Menlo Park Business Owner & Menlo Park Property Owner
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