Honorable Mayor and Council Members:
Does the City of Menlo Park have a Historical Preservation Ordinance, much like many of its neighbors?
If not, it may be beneficial to have a community conversation on this topic. At present, there are only 17 residential properties
left from the late 1800's. All others have been torn down. Properties built during the first 50 years of the 1900's are being
demolished and hauled away in record numbers.
As we all know, various iconic spots are now long gone, such as the beloved Park Theatre, the wonderful Roger Reynolds Nursery and
more recently on the chopping block is the Oasis Restaurant Building located on El Camino Real. The former Beltramo's property is
about to disappear, and the list goes on and on.
Whether it is right to demolish the old properties and haul them off to the landfill and replace them with something shiny and new
is a topic well worth talking about. What are you thoughts? What are the staff's thoughts? How does the business community look at
this? Old timers in the community vs. the thousands of new employees and families in the area will need to sort this out.
Please consider a Study Session on the topic. There is a lot at stake.
