To Members of the City Council.
I am writing to express my strong support for building affordable housing in downtown Menlo Park.
As a mother of 2 kids in MPCSD, I see first hand the issues of a lack of affordability in our community. For example, our public schools are getting many fewer applicants per job posting than in the past, an indication that teachers are choosing to look elsewhere because they struggle to afford living in our community. While I am proud to be a Laurel Squirrel and I know that my children are getting a high quality education, I fear what will happen to our public schools if this trend continues. It is essential to prioritize housing that teachers and other essential members of our community can afford.
Thank you for taking the steps you have already taken (issuing the RFQ and holding this study session to review the submissions). When deciding how to proceed, I want to stress the importance of 2 key things:
1. Please select a developer with a proven track record of building affordable housing, prioritizing the deepest affordability possible. Lets take full advantage of this once-in-a-generation to make a huge impact on housing affordability and downtown vibrancy.
2. Please select a developer with a proven track record or working with communities in a collaborative way while getting results. While there is a lot of information in these proposals, many more decisions will need to be made, and it is essential that the process be open to community input but also proceed without unnecessary delay.
Thank you,
Lesley Feldman
