> Begin forwarded message: > > From: Glenna Patton > Subject: FYI My letter to the commission > Date: June 24, 2019 at 5:33:01 AM PDT > > Dear Planning Commissioners, > > I am a resident of the Park Forest II neighborhood and live at 190 Forest Lane, which is immediately adjacent to the proposed Hampton Inn Development at 1704 ECR. Based on the proposed plans, multiple rooms will have a direct line of sight into the balcony and kitchen of my home. Others in the neighborhood are similarly or more severely impacted. For those of you who are new to the Commission, I believe you have an obligation to visit the neighborhood and see it for yourself before you cast a vote. > > From the time our neighborhood first voiced concerns about this project in December 2016 via letters and emails to the Commission, to a letter sent to the Commission in March 2018 after a study session on the project, to a Feb 2019 petition signed by 77 Menlo Park residents, we have consistently communicated this underlying POV : > > 1) The FAR increase from .29 to 1.10, if the Public Benefit Bonus is approved, is excessive and conflicts with the Low Density designation. The proposed project would be literally embedded in our Park Forest residential neighborhood on three sides. > > 2) The exclusive focus on TOT in the Public Benefit Bonus analysis is flawed in that it fails to account for the negative impact on the privacy and serenity of the neighborhood – which in turn will adversely affect our home values. > > The above issues should be reviewed independently of the developer's designs. I am part of the neighborhood group that has actively worked with Sagar Patel over the past 2+ years to develop a mutually satisfactory compromise on the designs should the project move forward. I have appreciated Sagar's openness and willingness to address our concerns. While additional issues raised by neighbors remain and have been shared with you, I believe the project has moved in a positive direction from a design perspective. > > Despite being encouraged by our progress with Mr. Patel, I urge you to seriously revisit the rationale for the Public Benefit Bonus that is the critical, underlying planning issue at stake. The enormous and inappropriate scale of the hotel that will be imposed on our neighborhood will have an irreversible impact on our quality of life and property values. > > Thank you for your consideration, > Glenna Patton > > 190 Forest Lane > Menlo Park Received on Mon Jun 24 2019 - 07:02:34 PDT
