June 19, 2025
Dear Council Members,
Our city is struggling with the prospect of a large housing development in
the heart of downtown that has the potential to dramatically change the
character of the city and reduce its parking.
I urge you to take a pragmatic approach: in addition to pursuing your
current plan of leveraging the downtown lots, please advance a parallel
“Plan B” to explore housing at the Civic Center. This dual-track strategy
will ensure that Menlo Park has one or more viable options in the event
that either the community doesn’t support the parking lot option, which
appears to be the case, or that the Council comes to the conclusion that
the parking lot solution is in fact not viable. The lack of alternative
options puts the City at greater risk of another significant builder’s
remedy issue, similar to what has transpired at the former Sunset Property.
You’ve heard arguments on both sides of the downtown project. However, it
is clear that a significant majority of residents favor exploring
alternative sites. Many have suggested the Civic Center, which is adjacent
to downtown, well-served by public transit, near schools, with space for a
library, sports, and recreation facilities. It is also a more attractive
residential environment in an established neighborhood. The Civic Center
property is also highly underutilized and out of date. Its buildings, now
a half century old, are due for redevelopment.
In March, the Council considered the Civic Center as a potential site, but
chose to focus on issuing an RFQ for the downtown lots, *with the
implication that we would circle back and revisit the Civic Center* after
getting developer feedback. Now that the RFQ responses are in, there are
real concerns about the affordability and community support for the
downtown proposal. Notably, one developer has indicated that parking cannot
be funded as part of the project, and a community-led ballot initiative to
block the downtown project is gaining momentum.
As a city of 30,000 residents with decades of future growth at stake, we
should be aggressively comparing and contrasting multiple options. This is
how we can achieve the best outcome and also gain the trust of our
residents as we do it. If we continue to pursue only a single option, we
risk ending up with no viable path forward, and potentially facing months
of additional uncertainty and delay as the ballot measure is resolved. This
scenario leaves Menlo Park vulnerable to the very “builder’s remedy” we
seek to avoid.
I urge you to initiate a parallel process to evaluate the Civic Center as
an alternative site for housing. Let’s ensure our city has the flexibility
and foresight to meet its needs—now and in the future.
Thank you for your consideration and for all you do for the City!
Ben Eiref
Menlo Park Resident
Former Planning Commissioner
