Hi City Council
My family and I have lived at 1004 Windermere Ave for 27 years. Our property borders on 2 sides onto the parking lot and property at 687 Bay Rd. We are STRONGLY OPPOSED to rezoning this plot and prefer to keep it zoned as R1U. Those who have bought property in this neighborhood bought it because it is a quiet family neighborhood. We like walking our dogs and having kids play here in peace and quiet. This is NOT the place to put high density housing. There are many places in Menlo Park that have more of a commercial feel already and can handle additional traffic that would be more appropriate for this. Our streets are not designed to handle the traffic of high-density housing and it poses safety risks, noise risks, privacy risks, potential lighting blocking and traffic glut issues. There are some mornings it already takes 20 minutes to get a few blocks to Willow Road during commute times. The area is not set up to handle more people and traffic.
Changing the zoning will also greatly reduce the attractiveness of the neighborhood, since everyone living here chose the area for its quiet, family feel. This proposed rezoning will reduce property values and reduce the desirability of others buying in this area in the future. It is just NOT a fit for this area in any way. Why would our City Council make zoning changes that hurt our neighborhood? We are counting on City Council to fight for making this a better, more desirable area, rather than damaging the attractive features we have had for decades.
There is no reason to make this zoning change when there is not a specific proposal by the owner of the land at 687 Bay Rd to make changes. In fact, based on the feedback at the last meeting where there were many complaints that the notification to the community was severely lacking and late, I wonder if the owner of the land even knows that you want to change the zoning on his land? The business that is currently actively running on the land was not informed that you were attempting to change the zoning and was VERY upset, since it could mean the end of his business. I dont understand why City Council would propose changes that have no pressing need, no apparent benefit, many complaints from the residents, no residents who want it or are neutral and that damages the attractiveness of the neighborhood?
More appropriate areas for high density housing in Menlo Park include downtown (Santa Cruz), Willow, Marsh, El Camino, etc. I would think that those who want to live in high density housing would find these more urban areas of more interest anyway. Our neighborhood is just not the right fit. I hope that you will help us to keep our neighborhood desirable.
Thank you for your consideration,
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