It should be noted that Menlo Park has a higher percentage of its housing in multi-family homes (high density compared with single family homes) than any of our neighboring communities. We do our share and have begun the process of transit-oriented housing as is evident in the residential development across the street from our train station.
Let us not forget that high-density housing can be beneficial if sensibly planned but can also bring environmental concerns such as increased traffic, not to mention the impact on school districts, open space availability and city services.
Can our schools accommodate increased enrollment? Is there sufficient open space and parks for our population? Can our tax base support police and other emergency services that might be required with a sizable increase in population? To simply argue more dense housing in and of itself is a solution is not sufficiently thoughtful to ensure positive impacts on the environment.
Greg Druehl Hermosa Way, Menlo Park
(This letter was published in the Almanac's May 23 print edition.)
