Menlo Church also hosted cub scouts in the past including the former troop(s) from Hillview and Oak Knoll. Folks were told that they would be non-denominational meetings and activities as many of the cubs were from non-Presbyterian families. Not the case and as a result many withdrew their boys from those troops at the church.

BTW having the church buy up commercial and residential properties in the downtown is a detriment to the retail robustness (yeah I know it's not all that robust)and diversity of our city. Plus there is the loss of tax base.

Just stop basketball, then everyone's happy. Let's see if the PC has the backbone for a simple compromise like that!

Thursdays from 2:30 to 4 p.m. and provides a space for students to do homework, eat and socialize.

Thursdays 1.5 hours for kids. Chill out.

It's central downtown, not a remote Zen retreat being interupted. There's already traffic and noise 7 days a week.

In my home office, I hear noise from two middle schools and one elementary school. I would expect to hear playground noise and the shouts of children during the school day during the school year, but the sounds continues into the evening and on weekends year-round. Why? Because as cities densify neighborhoods and the local population expands, we have failed to build more schools, parks, libraries, or community centers. In fact, we have closed movie theaters, dance studios, bowling alleys, mini-golf, laser quest, and other recreational facilities. I have come to enjoy and appreciate the sounds from the school campuses (that now also serve as before-and-after-school day care centers, athletic facilities, summer camps, meeting spaces for Scout groups/Peninsula orchestras/theater groups, etc).
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Both parents work full time in many households. Where can kids go after school to learn, play, and be in community? Where can they have (affordable) supervision after school? Seems to me the city of Menlo Park should support and be thankful for this service that Menlo Church provides. And it should come up with other safe, fun, accessible, free, supervised community center alternatives that can accommodate large numbers of youth.

To the inconvenienced: May I suggest changing your perspective? (The youth could be hanging out in parking lot street gangs) Or changing office locations? Perhaps noise-canceling headphones? Perhaps your landlord can invest in sound-insulating windows?

My kids are grown, but I am whole-heartedly in favor of supporting and encouraging more safe, free, and supervised spaces for youth to play, study, and "hang" together, especially near schools, churches, community centers, and downtown areas where there is already lots of sound and activity.

Lots of Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops meet in churches. In my many years of Scouting experience, the quality and commitment of troop leaders, volunteers, families, and Scouts are far more important to the success of a troop than whether it meets in a school, community center, church, or elsewhere.

Also, this property used to be a bank, and banks are not big generators of sales tax revenue. That aside, what kinds of properties should churches buy, in your opinion, when they want to start or expand? You seem to object to a church taking up commercial and retail space "because there is the loss of tax base", but others object to churches in residential areas. And don't churches in downtown areas generate sales (with tax revenue) and contribute to the town's robustness by bringing in a regular supply of congregant-shoppers?

My children are too old to use this program but I think it’s wonderful that there is a safe place for teens to hang out after school. I hope that the city, land owners and renters can all come to an agreement that will allow kids to have this great place to hang out and be supervised after school.

The downtown plan allows religious facilities there, with planning commission approval. Housing could be there instead.

Churches, as nonprofits, typically don't pay property taxes so this is a loss to the tax base. It is great to have a safe place for youth to spend time, as long as any youth are welcome to groups that use the facility. When our son was in scouts, this church did not support Jewish members to be part of the pack there.
I hope the commissioners require better bike parking so these don't spill onto the sidewalks.

One would hope that the Middle School would provide these same after school meeting places for kids to do homework and socialize. Library space after school? Plenty of great facilities at the school that should be utilized after school. Seems like it would make more sense for the kids to remain on campus and keep it secular, safe and supervised by professionals who have been screened. The school is already permitted and it wouldn't be as impactful on the Church's neighbors - some who already lodged noise complaints.