Due to unexpected family issues I may not be able to attend tonight’s meeting regarding the redwood trees located over the parking garage at Cornerstone near Ravenswood Avenue.
I would like to submit the following comment:
*Those redwood trees add tremendous value to our cityscape and cannot be easily replaced.
*When Cornerstone was built, such large buildings were uncommon in Menlo Park and the installation of those redwood trees were intended to mask the mass of the new building. Placing redwoods on top of an underground parking structure was not wise to begin with, but here we are.
*There is an under used parking lot behind Cornerstone. I suggest the City look into negotiating with the owner of the parking lot and Cornerstone to evaluate whether that lot could be used instead of retrofitting/rebuilding the underground Cornerstone lot. The underground area beneath the redwoods could be backfilled, reducing the size of the garage, and the displaced parking could be moved to the underused back parking lot.
*Menlo Park has built, and is continuing to build many new office buildings and parking will increasingly be tight. A new parking structure built on the underused parking lot behind Cornerstone could be used by Cornerstone, CalTrain commuters and the public.
* Someone suggested that when the trees are removed, El Camino could be widened. I am very opposed to this; crossing El Camino is already challenging as a pedestrian. Widening El Camino will serve cars to the detriment of bicyclists and pedestrians, and having that much asphalt is just plain ugly.
I realize the removal of those trees is the simple, expedient option for Cornerstone, but there are other options that better serve the community which need to be considered first and foremost. The city claims to want to protect our heritage trees, here’s a good opportunity to do just that. Too often, we protect our trees until it’s inconvenient for developers, then the trees are removed- that’s what recently happened to the magnificent oak tree at Iberia restaurant when the new office building was built on that site.
Carole Grace
carolelfgrace@gmail.com
