November 2024 Newsletter

East Palo Alto Sanitary District Advisory Committee

The city is seeking applications to represent Menlo Park on the East Palo Alto Sanitary District advisory committee. The recruitment period has been extended and now potential candidates have until December 6, 2024 to submit their applications. The committee with advise on legal and financial matters, maintenance priorities, annual budgets, capital improvement plans and service rates. This committee’s creation stems from the dissolution of the East Palo Alto Sanitary District as an independent agency. To be considered, you have to be 18 years or older and live in the Menlo Park portion of the service area.

80 Willow Road Development Application Completed

The city deemed the development application for 80 Willow Road complete on November 14th. As I’ve noted before, completion of the application does not represent an approval of the project but initiates a phase that will include an environmental impact analysis. There is no precedence for a Builder’s Remedy project of this scale and the upcoming process will likely be lengthy and complex. You can learn more about the project on the city’s website.

San Francisquito Creek Reach 2 Project

At a meeting on November 21st, the board of directors for the San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority received a presentation on a new set of potential Reach 2 projects. This presentation and the proposed projects (aggressive creek widening) highlighted the JPA’s evolving approach to providing flood protection to residents in Menlo Park, East Palo Alto and Palo Alto. Analysis following the flooding in 2022 concluded that Reach 2 projects being considered by the JPA (limited creek widening and replacing Pope-Chaucer bridge) could result in transferring flooding risks to residents downstream of the bridge. My stance is that any project should have as its goal reducing flooding risks not transferring them.

Recent Council Agenda Items

• Oversized Vehicle Ordinance - At the council meeting on November 12th, a city council majority decided to postpone a decision on an oversized vehicle ordinance. I very much appreciate that this is a vexing issue in which compassion should be a priority. But I continue to believe that this ordinance represents an important additional tool for the city in achieving the best outcome for all involved.

• Legal Billings - At the council meeting on November 12th, a closed session report out noted that a council majority gave direction to the city attorney to discontinue the public reporting of legal billings. I was not in attendance at this closed session which was held earlier this year. I think the reporting policy on legal billings was a model of good governance and I disagree with this decision to discontinue it.

• Coleman-Ringwood Avenues Project - Given recent emails to city council, I think it’s important to reiterate that the council has only expressed support for exploring the implementation of several traffic calming and bike infrastructure measures. Any decisions to implement these measures will only come after a full analysis of their impacts.

• Flood School Site Housing Project - At the council meeting on November 19th, I voted with a council majority to award $1 million from the city’s affordable housing fund to the housing development proposed on the Flood School site. Some community members asserted that any grant money from the city should be linked to the creation of a second access point. After much discussion with residents and my own analysis, I concluded that providing city funds to this project and a possible second access should not be linked in any way. I remain open to exploring a second access, and will be meeting with representatives from Ravenswood City School District and the developer on this topic next month. But there still needs to be a deeper discussion about this topic. The current situation is one in which two segments of the larger Bay Road community have taken opposing positions on the topic. Two petitions on this issue have been submitted to the city. One of the petitions (mostly signed by Suburban Park residents) argues for a second access to the site while the other petition (mostly signed by Flood Triangle residents) argues against the creation of a second access point.

• Downtown Parking Lots Housing Proposal - I very much appreciated the public engagement (especially from downtown business operators and property owners) around the plan to develop housing on as many as 3 of the downtown parking plazas. This continued engagement will be key to landing on a path forward that considers the impacts across different stakeholder groups and has broad support in our community.

Upcoming Events

• Light Up the Season - Join us on December 6th (Friday) in Fremont Park for the city’s annual tree lighting and winter wonderland themed event.

• Holiday Train - Caltrain’s Holiday Train will stop at the Menlo Park station at 6:55pm on December 8th (Sunday). This event, which is filled with singing and holiday cheer, is a staple on my family’s holiday schedule.

• Council Swearing-in and Mayor/Vice Mayor Transition - On December 10th (Tuesday), the city’s annual mayor and vice mayor transition will take place. And given that it is an election year, we’ll also swear-in and seat recently elected council members. This year’s transition meeting will take place at the Belle Haven Community Campus.

• Photos with Santa - On December 14th (Saturday), the city will continue the tradition of hosting a photo with Santa event. The event also includes a light breakfast and crafts for kids. Please note that reservations are required and that this year’s event will take place at the Belle Haven Community Campus.

• Community office hours - Please note that because I’m traveling next week, I will not be holding community office hours on November 30th. Office hours will resume on December 2nd.

A Final Thought…

I want to take this opportunity to say Happy Thanksgiving! Whether you’re staying local or traveling, I wish you a holiday filled with togetherness, gratitude and optimism.