Menlo Park City Council:
Correct your mistakes.
You are WRONG on the Law.
You are Wrong on the history.
You are Wrong on your Fiduciary duties.
You will lose in court.
You will lose at the ballot.
Read this and Abandon your plan to destroy Downtown Menlo Park.
Why you are WRONG, Briefly summarized:
Program H4.G. The City Attorney’s impartial analysis states that the Housing Element “includes Program H4.G, which plans for the development of at least 345 affordable housing units” on some combination of the plazas, and that voter approval would be required before the City could implement that program “if it would diminish access to or convenience of public parking.” Nira F. Doherty, City Attorney, impartial analysis under Elections Code § 9280, Aug. 17, 2026.
Resident
JUST POSTED
EDITORIAL · OPINION · MENLO PARK
People will park.
In 1955, Menlo Park’s parking promise could be enforced in court. Today, it has been reduced to a “priority.”
Field of Dreams is a story about falling short and selling out. Menlo Park, afraid of falling short on housing quotas, now risks selling out its downtown.
That leaves a hard question: will the open spaces still be there through 2031, when the current Housing Element cycle ends and city leaders hope to have housing standing where people park today?
And can the stores that draw those drivers survive years of torn-up streets and construction, while costly garages replace surface lots — assuming the city can find the money to build them?
Read the editorial → (https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fmonitormenlo.news%2fpeople-will-park&c=E,1,oByCJ5mTW8pST-ekEWHUFymIxGwpfBinfja612pUiz9QgOy9yrifSKcBwJIT_ytXKI0NnCrxGS26osrFKD_69AgsdmEsmE_DvHYC7CbIsOwmy9Nys93K36LTXrQ,&typo=1)
monitormenlo.news/people-will-park (https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fmonitormenlo.news%2fpeople-will-park&c=E,1,HyraZFG0ei4RNV4sg19IM4wHhGrjfj606A7wvE7XDtdOulw6E-1Xzwvf0Z6LQZXM1RYJeQyycm5zYU6Nn_giEHLazDPiMN9eOjM4WxPbgdM,&typo=1)
MONITORMENLO.NEWS · WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2026 (https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fmonitormenlo.news%2f&c=E,1,3GOCjvoMNcYKszNFgaYZrWHxDxd83SjdF0ady2sswlyiaEewN3842i8OTVWj_ZKYF2_hEYsDjqy9fKey14Ur3IwjgWajPvDhM93cuU7sXN5hNITuASTnvqwb&typo=1)
INDEPENDENT COMMENTARY ON THE MENLO PARK DOWNTOWN PARKING PLAZAS · MEASURE P, NOV. 3, 2026
Michael DeMoss
Attorney
Former Finance and Audit Commission member.
