City Council has a regular meeting this Tuesday, September 20th, and then our next one will be Tuesday, October 11th. Below is the Council regular meeting schedule for October, November and December. You can access the complete schedule here.
We have a lot of important matters to get through before the end of the year. As always, I'll do my best to work hard, listen to all points of view and make the best decision I can with the information available.
If you want a preview of what's to come at future meetings, each meeting agenda contains an informational item with a list of upcoming meeting agenda topics. You can view the most recent one here.
This Study Session seeks community and Council feedback on upcoming city-hosted events and how to make the City's overall celebration offerings more inclusive and welcoming for all. The staff report contains a tentative calendar of city-sponsored events for the fiscal year 2022-2023, and also includes costs and estimated number of attendees for each program.
In October 2021, Lane Partners, on behalf of Stanford Research Institute (SRI), submitted plans to redevelop the 63 acre SRI campus located on Ravenswood Avenue, between Middlefield Road and Laurel Street, in the heart of D3. You can find all information to related to this project here.
As part of the development review process, and to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) must be completed in order to reveal to the public and decision makers the potential significant environmental effects of the proposed project. This agenda item provides the City Manager with the authority to move forward with an EIR consultant that will be paid for by the applicant, Lane Partners. It is important to note that this item, and the approval of the EIR consultant contract, does not imply an endorsement of the project, rather it initiates the EIR process.
As stated in the staff report, "following City Council approval of the EIR consultant contract, the City will issue a notice of preparation (NOP), which signifies to public agencies and the public that the City plans to prepare an EIR for the proposed project. The notice is designed to seek comments from interested agencies and members of the public on the scope and content of the EIR."
It goes on to say, "the release of the NOP begins the process for agency and early public consultation, which is referred to as the “scoping” process. The scoping process is designed to enable the City to determine the scope and contents of the EIR at an early stage, including identifying possible issues to be studied, topic areas that do not warrant additional study based on specifics of the proposed project, and possible alternatives and mitigation measures to be analyzed and considered in the EIR. As part of the scoping process, the Planning Commission would hold a public meeting or scoping session for the EIR for the proposed project. The scoping session is an opportunity for the Planning Commission and public to provide comments on the scope and content in the EIR. Oral comments received during the scoping session and written comments received during the NOP comment period on the scope and content of the environmental review will be considered while preparing the draft EIR."
Please stay tuned for information about when the Planning Commission will hold a public meeting for the EIR scoping session. Once the scope is determined, the draft EIR will be prepared and then circulated for comment. The final EIR will include responses to comments. At that point, the City Council, as the final decision-making body for the proposed project, will review and determine if the EIR can be certified as compliant with CEQA's legal requirements. I will continue to keep you updated as the project makes its way through the review process.
Every year each City Advisory Body prepares a work plan that supports the goals of its particular commission. This item contains the Parks and Recreation Commission annual work plan that includes "review the pickle ball court additions", "develop strategies to mitigate the risks of off-leash dogs harming children" and more.
The San Mateo County Transportation Authority (TA) released their sixth call for projects for fiscal year 2023-24 and fiscal year 2024-25 for the Pedestrian and Bicycle Program on August 4, 2022. The grant applications are due to SMCTA September 26, 2022. Notification of awards are anticipated in November or December 2022.
As stated in the staff report, based on many factors, including compatibility with grant criteria, consistency with the City's Transportation Master Plan and prior direction and project priorities from City Council, Staff is planning to apply for funding for 2 Menlo Park bike/ped projects:
Ravenswood crossing connections project
Middle Avenue complete streets project
This agenda includes a resolution (required to quality for the grant) in support of the projects, and confirming that the City would be willing to provide a local match of 10% for the Ringwood project and 14% for the Middle project. The total cost of the two projects would be $2,400,000 with $300,000 coming from City funds and the balance from the SMCTA.
I would like to thank our transportation staff for pursuing this grant in order to maximize our local dollars for the largest impact possible.
This staff report is a quarterly update of the Menlo Park Police Department (MPPD) activities, including information about license plate reader technology, interactions with animal control, use of force and Taser incidents, complaints and more.
Other Items of Interest
Below are some additional items of interest:
History of Education in the Ravenswood City School District (RSCD) and
Sequoia Union High School District (SUHSD) TODAY - Sunday, September 18th at 4:00pm
Join Belle Haven Empowered for a chat TODAY (9/18/22) at 4pm on the history of education in the Ravenswood City School District (RSCD) and Sequoia Union High School District (SUHS). Topics to be discussed include the impacts of segregation on the RCSD and decisions made that affected the district’s funding. SUHD’s decisions that segregated their high schools and the impact will also be covered.
You can attend this event in person at the Belle Haven Library or online via Zoom. To register click here.
Menlo Park Community Police Academy Application Deadline Extended to Monday, September 19th at Noon
The Menlo Park Community Police Academy is back. The academy gives community members a hands-on introduction to police work. Participants will get firsthand information on why and how the police department operates, as well as its organization and culture. It provides an excellent opportunity to ask questions openly and to discuss topics of interest. If you want to learn more about what police officers and staff do every day and are interested in criminal law, forensics and investigations, this is a great program for you to join.
The academy is a six-week program open to ages 18 years and older. It takes place Wednesday evenings from 6:30–9:30 p.m., from Sept. 21–Oct. 26, 2022. For more information and to apply online, visit the community police academy webpage. Applications are due no later than Monday, September 19th at noon.
UPDATE Middle Avenue Street Design
At last Tuesday (9/13/22) night's meeting, the City Council directed Staff to develop a pilot which includes wide buffered bike lanes on both sides of Middle Avenue. While this decision involves removing parking on both sides of the street, to me the safety benefits of this bike lane design, especially for young school-age kids, outweigh other considerations, primarily the retention of on-street parking. You can see more about how I arrived at my decision, by viewing my comments in the meeting video below at minute 2:31:00.
The Middle Avenue Complete Street project is of significant value to D3 because in conjunction with the Middle Avenue Bike/Ped Undercrossing, there will be a direct route across town to improve connectivity to schools, parks, grocery stores, downtown and residential neighborhoods.
To read more about the direction given by Council, please check out this article in The Almanac.
Given that this project will proceed as a pilot, there will be additional opportunities to hear concerns and weigh trade-offs as this project moves forward. Stay tuned.
September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month
At last Tuesday's (9/13/22) City Council meeting we recognized Suicide Prevention Awareness Month by reading a proclamation and hearing moving testimony from a Menlo Park resident who is a survivor.
Menlo Park has joined the San Mateo County Mayors Mental Health Initiative where mayors across the 20 cities in San Mateo County have come together with the mission of promoting awareness of and access to mental health resources in their communities.
Voter's Edge Learn about Candidates, Propositions and Ballot Measures
November 8th Election Ballots to be Mailed Starting October 10th
With mail-in ballots scheduled to be sent from the San Mateo County Elections Office starting October 10th, the November 8th election is coming sooner than you may realize. Now is a good time to educate yourself on who and what to vote for (or against). Voter's Edge is a helpful tool run by the non-partisan League of Women Voters that previews what will be on your specific ballot, and reviews information provided by candidates and campaigns.
Won't You Be My Neighbor?
National Good Neighbor Day on September 28th
National Good Neighbor Day was created in the early 1970s by Becky Mattson of Lakeside, Montana. In 1978. United States President Jimmy Carter issued Proclamation 4601: “As our Nation struggles to build friendship among the peoples of this world, we are mindful that the noblest human concern is concern for others. Understanding, love and respect build cohesive families and communities. The same bonds cement our Nation and the nations of the world. For most of us, this sense of community is nurtured and expressed in our neighborhoods where we give each other an opportunity to share and feel part of a larger family…I call upon the people of the United States and interested groups and organizations to observe such day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.”
As stated on the National Good Neighbor Day website, "Get to know your neighbors. Host a block party, invite neighbors over for a BBQ, help a neighbor with a project, or go for a walk around your neighborhood. Be the good neighbor. Because, good neighbors make great neighborhoods."
A special thanks to my good neighbor, Gabi Jubran, for teaching me about this sweet day and for bring so much joy to the community.
