Hi dedicated city council members,
I am writing in anticipation of the meeting tonight and to highlight some items in the staff report from the agenda re item H2 (report# 21-210-CC). I hope to be able to make the meeting tonight, if not i will attempt to send a separate public comment email. Either way I wanted to reach out. Thank you again for your hard work on what is undoubtedly a tough topic.
If my emails appears succinct it is not my intention to be terse. I simply know you all are busy so I thought I would just bullet point my feedback to make reading it easier and less time intensive for you all:
# Option B for land use puts a disproportionate amount of new housing in district 3. It seems short sighted to put > 63% of all new housing within one district. The school (Encinal) and infrastructure (roads/traffic) cannot handle it. Please do not choose B, and instead consider C or D and encourage building across West Menlo which has not had to share in the surge of construction like district 1 and now impending district 3
# I disagree with the staff report assertion that "Given its proximity to Middlefield Road, the SRI site could be geographically considered as part of the Middlefield Corridor" report H2, page 14, #5. That statement feels incredibly disingenuous. Although SRI site itself does abut Middlefield, the 10 acre area being proposed for housing is on Laurel St, a small neighborhood street, and not near the 4 lane Middlefield Rd. I encourage the city council to remove that assertion.
# I am dismayed to see that the SRI project is now slotted as a pipeline project with 400 units as published in the staff report. I know it has not been approved yet, but the more times that number is promoted the more it becomes a reality in people's minds. The developers simply chose a number and threw it at the wall to see if it would stick. Don't let it stick. We as a community can advocate for what we need (higher percentage below market with fewer overall total units, less densification in a suburban neighborhood, and more open space) and not simply what the developers want. They are here to make a profit on the backs of the Menlo Park community, please don't just hand it to them without in turn advocating for what makes sense for the community, now and in the future.
# Please demand usable open space with whatever proposals come your way. Learn from Redwood City - for those wondering what I mean I encourage you to go to Red Morton park in Redwood City any weekday at 5pm. It is shoulder to shoulder. We can learn from them and urban plan more thoughtfully.
Thank you again so much for your time. I hope everyone is well and please know you are appreciated!
Brooke Cotter
District 3
