Enough is Enough! The massive influx of a narrow segment of the population (Tech, White Collar) is destroying the very nature of the Peninsula. The area is now "over grown" & turning into a concrete jungle inhabited only by the rich.. Since Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, etc. base their businesses on catering to the new "distributed" economy, there is no reason why all of their workers have to be co-located in the same zip code.

Future expansion should be in other cites. If they want face-to-face interaction (which they claim is not required for others), they can establish/expand in Stockton, etc,and they will still be close enough. Continued, uncontrolled, expansion will destroy the balance & nature of our communities.

A concerned long-time resident

What Facebook is doing to our city and well beyond MP borders is indeed a disaster.

But simply writing letters and attending meetings will not in any way solve the problem. Right now the MP council is deaf to doing anything to control Facebook. The present City Manager loves it all. He is building a huge bureaucracy, raising staff and his salaries.

It is well past time to stop this and the only way that is going to work are referendums and possibly recalls.

The general plan, which whatever it will say, will be approved by Council. It must be subject to a referendum and defeated.

None of these comments reflect that Facebook is also proposing to build housing. If the General Plan update allows 4500 units and the Facebook expansion will increase demand by 3600 households, then we still have a good deal of additional housing capacity to accommodate other growth.

You can't look at the jobs/housing imbalance by looking just at the new jobs and ignoring the new housing.

@ Concerned Resident: Discrimination should never be tolerated. By definition:In human social affairs, discrimination is treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing is perceived to belong to rather than on individual merit.
Your comment: "The massive influx of a narrow segment of the population (Tech, White Collar) is destroying the very nature of the Peninsula. The area is now "over grown" & turning into a concrete jungle inhabited only by the rich" Clearly highlights you support discrimination, although it appears you justify it by picking on Tech and white collar.
I repeat - discrimination should never be tolerated.

Neighboring cities getting in the mix, that makes sense, but why is the ACLU commenting on land use issues? Maybe the Menlo Park Planning Commission can start weighing in on internet privacy and criminal law reform?

Roberto- please take a deep breath & consider what is happening to the community! The comments are NOT in any way racist, sexist, or any other"ist". If you believe that the City/Town managers are protecting the interests of the residents that they represent, they should see those residents are their "customer".

The question really is- Do the majority of the area residents support a transition to a high rise concrete neighborhood with massive traffic congestion. This development is great for the politicians (more $ to spend on them, staff & pet projects), real-estate developers & the "Crony Capitalists" that want to bring in more workers here. But, is it really in the best interests of the residents - particularly the Middle-Class that is being driven out of the area.

I for one do not think so!

Kate, if you ever feel like doing some actual journalism (instead of just acting as a megaphone for people's statements), how about you take a look at Palo Alto and East Palo Alto's own general plan updates and EIRs? Spoiler alert: they are jammed full of the same "Significant and Unavoidable" traffic and air quality impacts that those jurisdictions are complaining about with Menlo. EPA is planning to add 2 million new square feet of office, but did Menlo complain about that?