To the Menlo Park City Council and Assemblyman Marc Berman,
The proposed development at 80 Willow Road is very concerning, and I realize you all are under a lot of pressure from the developer "N17" and the State Attorney Generals office to give it the go ahead ... Right Now! Please step back for a moment and acknowledge that we dont have to try to solve the entire citys housing requirements with ONE development, in ONE year! A project with this scope, this degree of misalignment with its surrounding environs, and this amount of detrimental effect upon residents, commuters, and quality of life, should be vetted very carefully.
1) A full Environmental Impact report needs to be done. Building a set of three buildings of this height on the banks of a narrow creek with almost vertical sides is a very tenuous concept. And, where will parking garages or spaces be built for all the tenants? Underground by this creek? That does not sound very seismically safe or realistic to me! And all the traffic that will be added to the already backed up traffic at commute hours... has that been fully studied?
2) A project of this size and impact needs to be opened up to public input at City Council and Planning meetings for full transparency. The development as proposed will affect so many lives for such a long period of time (even before its finished!) that the citizens of the surrounding area should have a say on what will transpire. After all, they voted for you and trust you to have THEIR best interests at heart, not a developers interest who doesnt even live in the United States, no less California or Menlo Park!
3) Speaking of your being our elected representatives in government, if there is a time limitation, it would be the upcoming November elections. We would like to see what you all really think about this project, and how you are facing the challenge. Putting time pressure on you to OK the project completely by October 27, aside from being an unrealistic time frame for all the work that needs to be done vetting this project, is an established tactic for sloppy work and sloppy decision-making, and I trust that is NOT what you want your legacy or track record to be. This tactic is also a bullying tactic from individuals and organizations that have no personal familiarity with and investment in the locale, and I would hope that your responses will not be fear-based. We have enough of that already in the current political climate, and do not need more elected officials making decisions based on fear and ignorance.
With hope and appreciation of your best efforts in bringing a development that contributes to housing in Menlo Park as required by the state mandate AND fits into the area more appropriately; a solution that is a win-win for all involved!
Thank you,
Anita Lusebrink
426-428 Ruthven Avenue
North Palo Alto
