Yesterday was the Menlo Park Halloween Hoopla - a restarted tradition (paused during the height of COVID) including a parade, carnival game event and downtown trick-or-treating (see pics below). It was wonderful seeing so many residents, dressed in costume, having fun and connecting with one another. I also enjoyed seeing lots of Menlo Park staff members, who not only kept things going during the pandemic, but who serve our community every day and pulled together the fantastic Halloween experience. The event was also a great opportunity for residents to check out and support our downtown businesses (and get candy from them!). I am appreciative to the Chamber of Commerce for their collaboration.
I look forward to many more special events and opportunities for us all to come together in the years to come.
The Environmental Quality Commission (EQC), Library Commission (LC), and Planning Commission (PC) have unexpected vacancies which need be filled prior to the annual commission recruitment scheduled for April 2023. These positions will fill the current terms and will expire as follows:
EQC – April 30, 2024
LC – April 30, 2026
PC – April 30, 2026
At Tuesday night's meeting, the Council will make appointments for each of these commissions. Note that the applicants for the Planning Commission were each interviewed by the Council at the October 20th meeting. A list of applicants for each commission can be found in the staff report for this item.
The San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury studies a variety of topics related to local governments and makes recommendations for improvement. This agenda item contains Menlo Park's response to a recent Grand Jury report titled, "A Delicate Balance Between Knowledge and Power: Government Transparency and the Public’s Right to Know.”
The California Public Records Act (CPRA) was enacted in 1968, and requires government records be made accessible to the public upon request, unless exempted by law. The Grand Jury sought to understand how the municipalities in San Mateo County respond to requests, the types of requests they receive, and policies and procedures put in place regarding public records. The report makes several findings and recommendations and each City is requested to respond to certain findings and recommendations identified in the report.
Every three years, the State of California Building Standards Commission adopts a revised Building Standards Code, Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations. Cities and counties across the state can also adopt local amendments and reach codes pursuant to various provisions in state law.
City staff recommends re-adopting Menlo Park’s requirements to remain effective on and after January 1, 2023. In addition, minor modifications to Menlo Park’s current requirements are proposed that staff considers feasible, and in some instances decrease construction costs for electric vehicle (EV) charging. The proposed modifications and additions include the following, and are described in greater detail in this week's staff report and in the October 18 informational report on this topic:
Readopt the current Menlo Park all-electric buildings requirements (including exceptions); applies only to new buildings (not existing buildings.)
Readopt current Menlo Park photovoltaic requirements for newly constructed commercial buildings (nonresidential), and make the finding that the measure remains cost effective based on the cost effectiveness analysis provided in 2019 (Attachment C.)
Include a new measure that prohibits electric buildings from being converted to mixed fuel buildings that use natural gas (applies to residential and commercial buildings.)
Adopt the Bay Area Reach Code (BARC) Initiative1 EV charging recommendations for new multifamily permits as they closely mirror Menlo Park’s current EV charging requirements, and can reduce construction costs using a combination of approaches that help “right size” EV charging needs for new multifamily developments.
Adopt Tier 1 table A5.106.5.3.1 California Green Building Standards (CALGreen) EV charging requirements for new nonresidential (commercial) permits as it closely mirrors Menlo Park’s current EV charging requirements and provides consistency with the state’s method of EV charging requirements.
Readopt Menlo Park’s current EV charging requirements for existing commercial (nonresidential) addition and alteration building permit projects.
For those interested in this topic, the staff report has lots of details and information.
The City of Menlo Park owns and operates 15 public parks of various sizes and featuring a range of outdoor public amenities including benches, tables, shade structures, play structures, walking paths, ponds, public art and heritage trees. Most of the City’s parks contain one or more commemorative park amenities, i.e., plaques or other memorials placed in parks, typically to honor deceased individuals. Memorials are found in most parks in various locations, including park benches, stones, occasionally trees.
This agenda item seeks to establish a Commemorative Park Amenities Policy, to institute procedures and criteria for evaluating, approving, installing, and maintaining commemorative park amenities.
In Case You Missed It: Jen's Explainer Videos
One of my core values as an elected official is to make local government more accessible. To help make this a reality, in addition to my newsletters, from time to time I create and publish YouTube videos that aim to help explain complex issues facing our community. Below are two videos that I put out over the past few weeks:
The facts presented in the videos are based on publicly available information (sources are cited) and the viewpoints expressed in the videos are mine alone, not those of the Menlo Park City Council.
Gymnastics is Back!
Classes Resume as Early as November 15th
After years of closure due to the pandemic, budget and staffing constraints, it's exciting to share that Menlo Park gymnastics is back! It has been hard to see our beautiful gym empty during this period - it will be wonderful to see our community's children tumbling, soaring and smiling there once again!
"The City of Menlo Park’s popular gymnastics program will return for a short fall session beginning Tuesday, Nov. 15, and ending Dec. 22. Fall session classes will take place at the Arrillaga Family Gymnastics Center, and include Kindergym, KinderStars, NewStars, MiniStars, SuperStars, Level A, Level B, Level C, and Stretch and Strength.
Registration for fall session gymnastics classes open to Menlo Park residents Tuesday, Nov. 1. Unincorporated residents may register starting Friday, Nov. 4, and nonresidents Monday, Nov. 7.
Registration for winter session (with classes starting in January 2023) will open to Menlo Park residents Monday, Dec. 5, 2022. The winter session will offer the full range of gymnastics classes for a variety of ages, skill levels, abilities and interests.
Menlo Park's Website URL Changing from .ORG to .GOV
Switch Happening Tomorrow (October 31st)
Visitors to the City of Menlo Park website will soon notice a new more secure web address as of tomorrow (Oct. 31, 2022). The city website will transition from beta.menlopark.org to menlopark.gov on this date. For more information about this transition, click here.
Willow Village Planning Commission Meeting Continued to Thursday, November 3rd; Heading to City Council on Tuesday, November 15th
On October 14th, the City released the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the proposed Willow Village master plan project. The Planning Commission held a public hearing on Monday, October 24th and further continued the meeting to Thursday, November 3rd. (the agenda for that meeting is here). The Planning Commission is reviewing and considering the project and whether to recommend approval to the City Council on the Final EIR and project entitlements. Comments may be submitted following the instructions below, and also may be provided in advance of a future City Council public hearing (tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, November 15th - subject to change).
Written comments on the Final EIR may be submitted by email to Planning Manager Kyle Perata or by letter to:
Kyle Perata
Community Development
701 Laurel St.
Menlo Park, CA 94025
*Email correspondence is preferred.
The proposed project would demolish approximately 1 million square feet of existing office and industrial buildings and redevelop the project site with:
Up to 1.6 million square feet of office and accessory uses (a maximum of up to 1.25 million square feet of offices with balance for accessory uses)
Up to 200,000 square feet of retail/commercial uses, including a grocery store, pharmacy, entertainment and restaurant uses
Up to 1,730 housing units, including 312 below market rate units (260 inclusionary units plus 52 units per the city’s commercial linkage requirement) of which 119 would be age-restricted senior housing units
Up to a 193 room hotel
Publicly accessible open space including an approximately 3.5-acre park, 1.5-acre town square, a dog park, 2-acre elevated linear park extending over Willow Road, and additional public open space
A potential publicly-accessible, below grade tunnel for Meta intercampus trams, bicyclists and pedestrians connecting the project with the West and East campuses
The requested City actions and entitlements for the proposed project include environmental review, a conditional development permit, development agreement, rezoning, general plan and zoning map amendments, vesting tentative maps and below market rate (BMR) housing agreements. The Planning Commission is a recommending body to the City Council on certification of the EIR and the proposed project entitlements.
Peninsula Clean Energy Offers 0% Loans to
Help Resident Electrify Their Homes
Peninsula Clean Energy recently announced zero percent loans to help customers install electric water heaters, heating and A/C, and energy efficiency upgrades that reduce carbon emissions and energy use in the home. The loans, up to $10,000, are zero percent (0%) interest with no money-down for a term of up to 10 years. The payments are conveniently included on monthly electric bills. For information about this exciting new program, and additional rebates available, visit https://www.peninsulacleanenergy.com/zero/.
