Menlo Forward supports the creation of more affordable housing and the state-certified Housing Element. The downtown parking lot conversion offers much-needed affordable housing close to public transportation and places of work, and allows for a more equitable distribution of new housing across the city. Its critical to note that if Menlo Park fails to meet the state-mandated housing requirement of adding nearly 3,000 new units by 2031 that include 25% affordable housing, the city risks opening the door to aggressive developers exploiting Builders Remedy provisions — enabling wildly out-of-scale developments like the proposed 39-story mega towers at the former Sunset Magazine site. Approving the downtown project would avoid the risk of far less desirable Builders Remedy development proposals under an even faster and less restrictive SB35/SB423 process that could certainly overwhelm downtown and all other sectors of the city. However, it is imperative that the downtown building design is built within height and density zoning regulations as outlined in the City’s approved housing plan, that lost parking spaces are replaced, and every effort is made to mitigate negative impacts on merchants and patrons during construction.
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