Dear Mayor and City Council Members,
As a 22-year resident of The Willows, I am writing to express my opposition
to the proposed high-rise development at 80 Willow Road (Willow Road and
Middlefield Road). Placing 30-story towers directly adjacent to single- and
two-story homes threatens our neighborhoods character, safety, and
infrastructure.
While I support sensible housing growth, this project poses significant
risks. Thousands of new daily car trips will severely impact surrounding
roads, strain key intersections,endanger children biking to school, delay
emergency responders, create bottlenecks at the San Francisquito Creek
bridge, and encourage cut-through traffic on narrow streets like Woodland
Avenue—where residents already face severe peak-hour delays accessing their
driveways. Providing only 17% of code-required parking will drive overflow
from thousands of cars onto neighboring streets, exacerbating the
congestion.
Given these impacts and the projects reliance on the "Builders Remedy," I
request that the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) thoroughly examine the
following areas:
- *Neighborhood Traffic & Cut-Through Flow*: Analyze AM and PM trip
distribution models for Willow Road, Middlefield Road, and Woodland Avenue
(especially between Emma Ct and University Ave) to evaluate impacts on
driveway access, emergency response times, and pedestrian/cyclist safety.
- *Infrastructure & Emergency Response: *Assess potential strains on
municipal utilities and verify that response times for the Menlo Park Fire
Protection District will remain uncompromised.
- *Jobs-to-Housing & VMT Imbalance:* Evaluate how adding 3,100 jobs
alongside 665 housing units affects regional Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT)
and citywide housing balance versus localization in one area of MP.
- *Neighborhood Scale & Privacy: *Model shadow coverage, privacy
impacts, street parking overflow, and potential wind-tunnel effects.
State housing goals must be balanced with environmental protections, flood
safety, and public well-being. Our neighborhood holds a truly special place
in my heart and in the hearts of many others. The Willows is a quiet,
close-knit community where families care for one another and take pride in
where they live. As currently envisioned, this project would permanently
damage our areas special character with unprecedented density and
congestion.
I urge the City Council not to yield to external pressure, hasty deadlines,
or legal threats. Decisions should be grounded strictly in the projects
merits and public safety. Please continue to advocate for *housing
solutions scaled appropriately for our community.*
Thank you for your dedicated service to Menlo Park.
Sincerely,
Tamara Striffler
1485 Woodland Ave, Menlo Park, CA
tamarastriffler@gmail.com
