Honorable Councilmembers,
Please prioritize other alternatives before proceeding on this RFQ - once the parking lots are built upon with housing, it will irrevocably change the character and quality of life in Menlo Park. Reasons to delay building on the parking lots:
1. Small businesses on Santa Cruz have been struggling since the pandemic, as you can tell from the empty storefronts, and this project will only deter customers from shopping downtown.
2. At least 300k/year are moving out of California since the pandemic, as are major employers. Our biggest employer Meta is no longer expanding here, and we all know friends whove moved. There’s plenty of apartment vacancies.
3. The last parking study prior to the pandemic showed 85% utilization of all lots in the afternoons.
Other housing alternative sites (like Bohannon, USGS, SRI, etc) are under-utilized and can be developed faster without impacting our small businesses and traffic downtown. Why not prioritize other sites and see housing demand evolves and consider the parking lots as a last resort, rather than fast-tracking 6+story buildings downtown irrevocably changing our city?
Thank you for your consideration!
Peter Ohtaki
Former Councilmember and Mayor
