Dear Council,
I am a 27 year resident of The Willows neighborhood of Menlo Park.
I am writing in support of the issuing of a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the development of downtown parking lots into high density affordable housing.
I do not understand the vehement opposition to this plan from downtown business owners. More customers living within walking distance can only enhance our downtown vitality. The Menlo Park downtown area can only be fairly described as “sleepy” at this point in time and I don’t see what there is to “destroy.” I imagine Santa Cruz avenue and its cross streets with new retail and bustling cafes and no vacant storefronts.
The “alternative sites” proposed by opponents do not offer the same access to transportation and services as these downtown sites.
However, I noticed that the Staff Report has fundamentally altered the requirements for the RFP from those presented in the previous Request for Qualifications (RFQ).
Staff would now have developers make proposals without relying on the State Density Bonus Law or the Affordable Housing Overlay. These waivers presumably would make a truly affordable housing project economically feasible and I fear that without them there will be no developer willing to take on the project.
Can you please ask staff to explain why this aspect of the RFQ was removed? I find nothing in the record suggesting that Council requested this change.
Leah Elkins
leahelkins@gmail.com
