Mayor Combs and City Council,

An email to Council earlier today referred to a petition to “preserve Sharon and Burgess Park areas.”

I encourage everyone to read that petition. It’s here:

https://www.change.org/p/menlo-park-housing-commission-preserve-menlo-park-s-green-spaces

The petition is really just about Sharon Park. There is a brief mention of Burgess Park, but it is tacked on, almost as an afterthought. So when it comes to the question of using Civic Center parking lots for housing, that petition is a red herring.

Furthermore, based on Council discussions, the Civic Center parking lots are not considered parkland. During deliberations about preserving parkland (Aug. 9, 2022), which was prompted largely because of the above petition, Council went out of their way to add the following text to the draft ordinance:

“uses in support of said recreational opportunities and/or programs” shall not include (1) parking lots or (2) civic center buildings in Burgess Park, neither of which shall be subject to the prohibition on conversion of uses set forth in this section.

The above wording is on page 155 here: https://menlopark.gov/files/sharedassets/public/v/2/agendas-and-minutes/city-council/2022-meetings/agendas/20220809-city-council-agenda-packet.pdf

Although the ordinance to preserve parkland never went through, if it had, it would NOT have included the Civic Center parking lots or administrative buildings.

No one is saying that using the Civic Center parking lots for housing would be easy or popular. But compared to using our downtown parking lots, it would be a walk in the park.

Sincerely,
Alex Beltramo
Menlo Park resident