Group seeks to halt Menlo Park parking lot redevelopment with ballot measure

Save Downtown Menlo Park a group opposing plans to build housing on three citizens parking lots downtown has filed a notice of intent with the city hoping to bring the issue before voters At City Hall at least business leaders residents and downtown patrons gathered Thursday afternoon to file the notice They expressed concerns about the city s proposal to build at least housing units on Parking Plazas and located off Santa Cruz Avenue near Maloney Lane Chestnut Street and Crane Street Opponents contend the plan would eliminate over parking spaces even temporarily harming small businesses reliant on customer access Related Articles Chemicals ignite million South Bay apartment complex fire Massive housing improvement breaks ground in North San Jose at site of former Japanese-American farm City VTA authorities break ground on -unit tiny home society in North San Jose Gov Newsom picks housing over CEQA in bills aimed at speeding construction Is secret to California s housing affordability buried in its building code This initiative absolutely says that any plan to diminish residents parking downtown should go to the voters noted Alex Beltramo a leader of Save Downtown Menlo Park in a message The plazas are community assets and the residents deserves a say before they re lost forever In their filing the group described downtown Menlo Park as a society hub Families run errands friends meet for coffee and local businesses form the backbone of daily life they wrote All of this depends on easy reliable access including parking Save Downtown Menlo Park argues that even garages would dissuade patrons from coming downtown and suggests building housing at the nearby Civic Center instead Proponents of the redevelopment including affordable housing advocates argue that the city must act swiftly to build housing wherever realizable amid an escalating housing problem Before the measure can appear on the ballot supporters must gather signatures from at least of Menlo Park s roughly registered voters Save Downtown Menlo Park also sued the city in April in an effort to block the project They argue that the parking lots are held in a fiduciary threshold meaning the city must act as a trustee for the masses s use not for private maturation City administrators have disputed that interpretation Several developers have submitted proposals for the site including Alliant Communities Eden Housing MidPen Housing Path Ventures Presidio Bay Ventures Related California Alta Housing and a joint submission by The Pacific Companies and West Expansion Partners All proposals include plans to replace or mitigate parking impacts and express a willingness to work with local stakeholders The city faces mounting pressure from both state representatives and local advocates to deliver more housing especially in high-cost cities like Menlo Park home to tech giant Meta and several major venture capital firms Amid a worsening statewide housing shortage state regulators have been closely monitoring cities compliance with housing mandates Cities that fail to follow through on approved housing plans known as housing elements exposure decertification which can trigger the builder s remedy a legal provision that allows developers to maneuver around local zoning if at least of the proposed units are affordable Noncompliant cities may also lose access to critical state and federal funding Menlo Park s housing plan outlines efforts to build nearly new homes by Across the Bay Area cities are collectively aiming to construct homes in that timeframe according to the Association of Bay Area Governments City staff is reviewing the proposals and anticipates presenting recommended next strategies to the city council in May The evaluation will consider advance concepts developer qualifications financial plans public engagement strategies and construction management approaches