Dear City Council and Planning Commission,
Unfortunately I will be out of town on 14 January 2025, when Council is slated to
decide on the downtown parking lot situation.
As a long-time Menlo Park resident, I take this opportunity to state my
unreserved opposition to conversion of downtown
parking lots to high-density housing.
You -- the Council -- and I -- know full well that these lots are valuable
City resources; and that declaring them as surplus land is a thinly clothed
excuse to turn them over to greedy developers.
Judging from exchanges on social media, it is apparent that Council is being pestered
continually by legions of high-density housing advocates, many/most of whom do not live in
Menlo Park, hence really dont care if our downtown languishes. Resist the pressure.
It is unconscionable and a betrayal of our citizenry to transform
our downtown into a dark canyon of tall buildings and morass of traffic.
Please do the right thing and retain City control of the lots in question. Going further,
consult with downtowns small-business owners and restaurateurs and augment the Santa Cruz
corridor into a thriving and charming destination for residents and visitors alike.
Sincerely,
Ross Wilson, The Willows
