Dear Mayor Combs and City Council Members,
As a homeowner and 30-year resident of Menlo Park, I look forward to tonights review and discussion of the responses to your request for qualifications for development on the downtown parking plazas. In particular, I look forward to your consideration of the responders abilities to maximize the number of affordable homes that will be built at these locations.
I also urge you not to impose unreasonable and expensive requirements on the developers that will in any way limit the total number of units they are able to build. For example, we all know that there is no such thing as "free" parking. Developers of affordable housing should not be expected to provide this expensive commodity on behalf of the citys wealthy residents, especially if it limits the number housing units they can build. Instead, we should require that parking in downtown Menlo Park be priced appropriately, and we should let market forces dictate the amount of parking that is ultimately necessary.
We all know that there is a desperate need for housing in the Bay Area, in particular for our teachers, our service workers, our health care workers, and our first responders. I look forward to seeing actual projects being proposed for these locations and ultimately to welcoming these new neighbors to our community.
Sincerely,
David Roise
