More than 800 new housing units approved in Menlo Park

This is all good. Yes, All Good.

We have two pressing issues regarding housing; increasing homelessness and the lack of affordable housing for anyone who is not an employee in high tech (or the companies that serve it; e.g finance and legal services).
We have a two-tiered economy in this area, high tech versus everyone else. High tech companies compensate their employees at rates that cannot be matched by other industries or services. There is no way to get around this discrepancy.
Will these projects help to solve our problems with homelessness and housing for non-tech employees? I suspect not. If they eliminate any current housing, they will contribute to the number of homeless. Will that be mitigated by providing more housing for employees in non-tech companies? Not necessarily. It's more likely these apartments will serve as pied-a-terres for tech employees who have homes elsewhere but must at times show-up at the office.
As long as we allow tech to keep expanding, we will have insufficient housing. We need to address this problem at its source, and put a moratorium on further commercial development.

This project promotes development at the expense of quality of life in Menlo Park. Traffic is already intolerable on the east side of ECR especially near the Marsh and Willow exits and around MA. This article suggests there will additionally be negative impacts to our local high school. I also read that the development includes more office space, which will surely exacerbate the housing issues. Based on the housing shortages our community is experiencing, why on earth do we need more office space? Can we use that space for more affordable housing units? It feels to me like these decisions are being made to accommodate Facebook’s relentless growth and I don’t understand it. One only has to read “The Facebook Files” in the WSJ this week to know this not a trustworthy company. They will continue with the unchecked overdevelopment until the city council stands up to them. It is like having big tobacco in our backyard.

More office space, more building here on our east side. The housing crisis is understood, however are we really saying there was no space on the westside for either of these developments. They are tearing down office buildings to build these projects. The same could not be done on the westside? And where will the $3.8 million go? Will it, as it should be, be used in Belle Haven? Will the city staff and the council do right by their east side community or will those funds if and when they are received be funneled back into the westside operations of Menlo Park? We are all Menlo Park. It will be a bright day when we have a council and staff who truly understand that.

I am frankly appalled at the city council's approval of projects that so clearly put the burden of their housing requirement on one neighborhood. Hearing the disparities between 4 developments in the bayside neighborhood with over 300 units in each one and 1 development in the rest of the city with 11 units. I heard one council member call this out - along with the historic redlining which created these issues and that the city has NEVER taken steps to make up for the years of turning a blind eye to racism. That it now finds itself with no way to stop an already overburdened neighborhood (because of its own past policies) from bearing the brunt of a housing burden should cause more council members to feel a pang of conscience. Councilmember Taylor is right that we should not be allowing this to proceed. Show some leadership and remorse and lead the fight to fix the problem instead of throwing your hands up in complacent despair.

@Ellen, @Menlo Oaks Mom, @Belle Haven Resident, @Dawn1234

You may also know that our CA legislature has just passed housing bills to continue this takeover of our communities, against the known interests of their constituents. They don’t think they have to represent us.

If you would be interested in finding out more about how we can stop this, send me an email: barry_smith@pacbell.net, and I can tell you what we are doing to fix this.

@Dawn, @Menlo Oaks Mom: I can share with you a housing poll we conducted right in your neighborhoods.