To all Council members: As a tenant in 845 Oak Grove Ave and a housing provider for more than 500 residents, I must vigorously protest your downtown plans for housing in the parking lots. For 30 years I have pulled in and out of lot 3. The ingress and egress into this lot from University is very difficult. Cars parked on the street block the view and there is a continuous stream of traffic in both directions.
Secondly your plan will not work without access to both Santa Cruz Avenue and Oak Grove. This is going to force you to purchase existing buildings to provide pedestrian traffic access to the building and parking lots. You cant build that type of building and cram people in and out of Crane Street and University. This addition cost will add to the burden of financing this project.
Third you are talking about destroying downtown. Every plan the city has come up with over the years has failed to make a healthy, vibrant downtown.
I know the city is under pressure from the State but this plan just shoots your downtown in the foot. A temporary solution could do long lasting damage.
If you are in need of something radical to solve the problem, 1) Raise your height limits, most especially along El Camino Real. What little room is left there could provide some relief 2) Find little used industrial property and create a village for example by the Bohannan post office. Go higher in areas where the impact on current housing isnt as great.
Please do not ruin the downtown.
John L Worthing
Worthing Capital
845 Oak Grove Ave. Suite 105
Menlo Park, CA 94025
(650) 333-1735
