Mayor Combs and City Council,
As a local resident, I strongly support the Downtown Parking Plazas Citizens’ Initiative.
The vitality of Menlo Park’s downtown relies on the accessibility and convenience that the parking plazas provide. Any proposal to eliminate or repurpose these lots should be decided by the residents and businesses who depend on them every day—not by outside consultants operating at a distance.
My strong preference is for Council to adopt the initiative now so the city can stop wasting money and begin focusing immediately on identifying alternative sites. All available data points in one direction: the measure will pass. Early surveys showed nearly 90% support, and the overwhelming number of signatures collected to date makes the community’s position unmistakably clear.
Further delay only brings Menlo Park closer to triggering a Builders Remedy outcome—and that responsibility will rest with those who chose to stall. The MA Group report is yet another example of squandered funds: $160,000 was spent to reaffirm its own initial assumptions. No substantive analysis was conducted regarding infrastructure capacity, safety, egress, power, water, traffic impacts, business revenue loss or the legal exposure that will follow if downtown businesses are forced to close. We cannot continue down this path.
It is time to end the distractions and pursue sites that do not jeopardize the downtown business district. Postponing action into next year will waste more taxpayer dollars and heighten the city’s vulnerability to Builders Remedy—right as three councilmembers approach reelection.
In every presentation from staff, every recommendation from the City Attorney, and every scenario under consideration, the outcome is the same: the people of Menlo Park will support the ballot initiative. The only difference is the cost—and the harm caused by unnecessary delay.
Thank you,
Carmen Caricchio
Menlo Park resident
