Dear Menlo Park City Council,
I am asking for a delay on plans to move forward with housing on plazas 1-3 until MP residents can properly weigh in on this proposal. This initiative has been kept secret from residents until recently, and I only found out about it a few days ago.
This proposal will be destroy downtown businesses as they wont be able to survive with the limited parking alternatives. I can attest that some of these lots - in particular Lot 3 - is always filled midday. My daughter routinely drives me to & from appointments in this area, and she often needs to circle several times to even find a spot.
What happens when the existing small businesses we rely on (the hardware store, salons, bakeries, restaurants, etc.) shut down due to lack of parking? Menlo Park already has many empty storefronts; do we want to risk more, just to force low income housing into downtown? The community deserves a say in this proposal before it is approved, and more discussion is definitely warranted.
Sincerely,
Joy Giannotti
1615 Stanford Ave.
Menlo Park, CA
