To Menlo Park Planning Commission, Council and Planners, I recently became a aware from a friend that Menlo Church needs to apply for a permit for operations at "the bank" on Santa Cruz Ave and that a neighbor has complained about the activity claiming that the activity has devalued his property. I am not a member of Menlo Church (or any other for that matter) but I have lived her for just coming up on 15 years next week. The reason that I paid over a million dollars for 2400 square feet of tear down property was the community. I now have teens and the things that I value in Menlo Park are even more important to me having been here for a while and knowing the impact on my kids (all of the kids in Menlo Park). Menlo Park is an amazing place for kids and families - we have the freedom to safely ride bikes, walk, enjoy outdoor concerts, and shop locally BECAUSE of the people, the schools, the other parents (my village), the business that care about and take time to get to know the kids. Menlo Church has gone way above and beyond by providing caring adults, safe places and fun activities for ALL of Menlo Park's kids without a religious context. They know that kids need other adults to model responsible behavior, to care and to be a resource. "The Bank" affords them the opportunity to be a safe community gathering place this side of El Camino. When I have friends in town and they see/experience or hear about "the Bank" it is a selling point of Menlo Park. I would argue to that neighbor that his property wouldn't be nearly as valuable without "the Bank" and everything that it represents and builds for Menlo Park. In the same way that strong schools and a vibrant downtown increase property values, so does "the bank." The kids aren't going away... without "the bank" they would be hanging out Fremont park, on the sidewalks, roaming around and generally bored. Having a place for kids to be is a much better option. I think that the bank should be allowed to, encouraged in fact, to operate and not just on Thursdays. Sincerely, Neela B. Gentile 40 Barbara Lane Menlo Park, CA 94025 Neela Benjamin Gentile Partners In Progress neela_at_(domainremoved) Mobile 415.279.6864 Received on Mon Jul 16 2018 - 14:58:49 PDT
