Statement by Siobhan Flynn and Donald Mendoza regarding the Menlo Park Planning Commission’s Regular Meeting of February 27, 2023, Agenda Item F2 (“…resolution to approve use permit to exceed maximum nighttime noise limit…”)

1. Acknowledgements: Thank you to the Commission, Menlo Park residents, and all else who are here to voice their opinion and exercise their right to free speech.
2. Issue at Hand: How do we benefit the greater community without causing undue burden and harm to the historically marginalized minority (a part of the community that just recently gained its own city council member)? How does the city live up to its promises of social justice, equity, and environmental stewardship/justice (yes noise in this context is pollution and unjustly harms a minority of the community)? We will answer these questions in a set of recommendations which I will give after establishing some context.
3. Context: First off, we believe we all appreciate the City Staff, departments, commissions, boards, and council members and all that serve the City of Menlo Park – their jobs are difficult, tiresome, and noble. Yet, this particular situation reflects gaps in management, planning, and execution as the Menlo Park Community Center project located at Belle Haven neighborhood backed itself into a corner that violates the City’s own laws and worse - damages the Belle Haven neighborhood as numerous studies have shown the harmful effects that noise inflicts on biological systems. In short, the noise studies performed for this project (as shown in attachment C of this meeting’s packet) should have been completed prior to settling on a design or a specific heat pump, not afterwards.
4. Recommendations & requests for action: However, with setbacks there is always opportunity for improvement and restitution. Therefore, and in answer to the questions posed previously, we recommend that:
* The Commission issue a resolution to reject the staff’s request to approve the use permit to exceed the nighttime noise limit of 50 dBA.
* The Commission include in its resolution a recommendation to the City Council and Staff that the design of the heating system planed for use at the Menlo Park Community Center Pool at Belle Haven be re-worked to ensure it does not exceed either the day or nighttime sound limits.
* The Commission include in its resolution a recommendation that City Staff/Department Heads (especially those in Public Works) associated with this project perform an assessment to determine how this process escape occurred and develop corrective action plans to prevent them from reoccurring – rework and lawsuits are more costly to the City and its citizens than correcting the issue at hand.
* Lastly, the Commission include in its resolution that in the condition that all earnest attempts to correct the design’s deficiencies still result in an elevated noise level that the City provide each household within the impacted area some form of reparations (such as…free access to the Community Center facilities – including the pool, allowances to build and/or plant their own noise abatement systems…).
5. Summary: In summary, the already marginalized community of Belle Haven should not be further burdened or harmed by a less than effective Public Works project management process that led to the City Staff requesting an allowance to exceed the City’s sound ordnance limits.
6. Closing: The eventual re-opening of the Menlo Park Community Center located at Belle Haven should be an event of celebration for everyone – however proceeding with staff’s current recommendation to exceed sound limits will make that day one of very visible demonstrations/protests, social medial campaigns of complaint, letters to the editor, and worse - lawsuits. The Commission and City Council can prevent this and maintain the community’s trust by enforcing the City’s own ordnances.
7. Thank you