Council, As you head off to tonight’s joint study of AB50 with the cities of East Palo Alto and Palo Alto, it is essential that you keep in mind that between the three cities, Menlo Park has done the most damage in terms of office construction. While the purpose of the study session is to weigh the impacts of AB50’s heavy hand in overriding existing zoning in our cities, it cannot be analyzed without recognizing that housing the employees who already work in existing office buildings is nearly impossible. The deficit is too great to correct. All three cities are chasing their tails. Our city should not make the jobs/housing imbalance worse. Past Councils have created the imbalance and today’s Council must not add to the problem. Facebook Village includes nine office buildings that have to be stopped. 1.75M sq ft of office will add another 10,000 office workers. After these nine buildings are occupied Facebook Menlo Park will have 35,000 employees as the company predicted. The 1,500 apartment units that Facebook is now dangling before our eyes are the same 1,500 apartment units dangled by Facebook when it received approval for its last expansion. It’s a shell game! AB50 is not the answer to the jobs/housing imbalance, especially if cities continue to approve more office development. A moratorium on office construction is needed now, in order to take stock of our current housing needs. Before we address the housing needs of Facebook employees, we first must address the housing needs of current Menlo Park residents. Displacement due to gentrification is one of our City’s most important issues. We are losing families who are an important element in our city’s cultural diversity. Oppose AB50 and begin the real work of setting our house in order. Call a moratorium on office buildings and turn your attention to Menlo Park’s housing needs. Sincerely Brielle Johnck Received on Mon May 06 2019 - 12:33:14 PDT
