I am writing to strongly support the proposal to utilize parking space in downtown Menlo Park for affordable housing. The proposed location is centrally located with easy access to shopping, public transportation, schools and offices. I find it hard to understand why local merchants are adamantly opposed to a plan that will undoubtedly bring more customers. Clearly, replacement parking is an important element, but parking space can be compressed or stacked— people cannot.
I wouldn’t benefit directly from this new housing, since I bought a home in the Willows twenty five years ago. Although my mortgage and taxes are high compared to other parts of the country, even taken together they are half what a comparable house would rent for. I love my neighborhood, but I do not love the fact that only extremely affluent people can afford to live there. The last fifty years make clear that any proposed housing plan will incite intense opposition- and that’s why we have a housing crisis on one hand and a law that throws common sense to the wind on the other.
Please move forward with this plan.
Best
Judith Wilson
