To the honorable City Council of Menlo Park,
I am writing in support of the planned development of affordable housing units in downtown Menlo Park. This issue is deeply important to me as a current tenant of a BMR unit in the area, as it allows me to live close to Stanford, where I work, and take advantage of all the local businesses and amenities that the downtown has to offer. Navigating the rental market, particularly in this part of the bay area, has been a massive stressor, for myself and my friends and colleagues, many of whom pay in excess of 50% of their paycheck for rent, due to the high prices and low availability of housing. Living paycheck to paycheck like this means saving to own a home one day is nigh impossible.
It has been a little over a year since I have been in my current residence and it has been transformational to my life. I no longer have anxiety about exorbitant rent increases forcing me to relocate every year, I can finally save for major necessities, and living in a walkable bike-friendly neighborhood offers a high degree of freedom.
I would love for more people to have access to such a life changing housing opportunity and this project seems like the ideal way to provide it.
Thank you for your time,
Tristan McLaren
550 Oak Grove Ave #362
Menlo Park CA 94025
