Dear Council members,
I am writing to implore you to vote no on making the city owned parking lots "surplus land" and moving forward with the planned development of housing on the parking lots. When people bought property in the area and when I signed my lease, like all other tenants on the street, it was not with any knowledge that the parking lots that were so key in the decision to locate in Menlo Park is "surplus land". How can one designate property that is utilized, as this property is, and key to the success of multiple businesses be considered as "surplus"? Hundreds of people will lose their jobs and dozens of businesses will be forced to close- this isnt hyperbole, this is reality. I employ between 15-20 people that rely on their jobs to support themselves and their families. The collateral damage that will be caused by the development of housing on these lots is substantial and unnecessary. This is not about being a "Yimby" or a "Nimby", this is about finding solutions with the least amount of damage to ones community and with the support of ones constituents. There are other options that can be aggressively pursued without hurting so many people- it isnt that the people opposed to this location are Nimbys"- we all understand that housing must be built but certainly it doesnt have to be at the expense of so many people that rely on the land that you are considering labelling as "surplus" This isnt surplus land to hundreds, if not thousands of people, that will lose their jobs and their businesses, not to mention the hardships it will place on the residents of Menlo Park that will experience awful traffic congestion and a loss of their merchant corridor. There must be a better solution without risking so much for so many.
Please vote no and find a solution that the community can support.
Thank you,
Mitchell Bearg
Bow Wow Meow
