Dear City Council and Planning Commission,
I am a long-time resident of The Willows in Menlo Park and am expressing great
opposition to the massive and out-scaled project being proposed by developer N17 at the former Sunset Magazine campus.
We all support measured growth and affordable housing for our teachers and firefighters and public servants.
This project, comprising three buildings of 33 to 39 stories; an hotel; office space; and residential housing
will cause major traffic disruption on Middlefield and Willow roads, which are already heavily bottlenecked,
and will become even more so if the old SRI and USGS campuses are converted to high-density housing.
The proposed N17 development will greatly aggravate through traffic in the quiet family
neighborhoods of The Willows and Linfield Oaks; and will have adverse effects throughout Menlo Park.
My understanding is that Builders Remedy requires the host municipality to assure
emergency services and adequate access to buildings claimed under the Remedy.
What does this mean? Likely, resurrection of long-dormant ideas to widen Willow Road and push
it through to El Camino Real, at citys expense, necessarily accompanied by eminent domain seizures
and traffic fan-out throughout all of Menlo Park.
To say nothing of the abominable lack of esthetic appeal, adverse environmental effects,
and ruination of neighborhood charm in adjoining areas of Menlo Park and Palo Alto by towers
rivalling in height the highest of those in San Francisco.
Council, Planning Commission, and Staff, please serve the interests of your constituents,
not those of external special-interest groups and developers.
If necessary, join with other cities to fight the scourge of outlandish projects sanctioned
by a Sacramento laden with contributions from real-estate, developer, and trades-union groups.
Please do not cater to developer blackmail by tying rescission of this project
to the granting of special privileges throughout the city.
Given the current anti-Russian public sentiment, it would seem politically ill-advised
to permit an enterprise backed with Russian money to victimize our quaint town.
Please stand with our community and expel the N17 project.
Sincerely,
Ross Wilson, The Willows
