While there are multiple agenda items on Tuesday, this email only features one of them: Willow Village (Item G2). For all items, please refer to the full agenda.
The review process for Willow Village (see project details below) is coming to its climax on Tuesday night (November 15th). As you may remember, ConnectMenlo, Menlo Park's General Plan, was adopted in 2016 and enabled a massive amount of development in District 1. Soon after, Meta (formerly Facebook) began working with Signature Development Group on the proposed Willow Village project - almost 60 acres of a mixed use development with office, housing and retail.
While there are a lot of technical pieces involved in how and if a project ultimately gains City approval (certification of the Environmental Impact Report, approval of various agreements and contracts, legal waivers and commitments, etc.), the question before Council on Tuesday is essentially: Do the pros of the project outweigh the cons?
To be able to answer this heavy question, there are thousands of pages of documents linked to in the staff report that analyze the project from a multitude of perspectives. If you don't have time to wade through all of the details, the staff report contains high level summaries of key considerations.
Like all agenda items, the public is invited to weigh in live, either in person or via zoom (participation instructions here), or comments can be emailed to Council at city.council@menlopark.org.
Proposed Project Details
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 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
Other Items of Interest
Below are some additional items of interest:
Housing Element Draft Environmental Impact Report & Study Session on Potential Zoning Ordinance and Amendments to the
Downtown Specific Plan at the Planning Commission
Monday, November 14th at 7pm
Monday (November 14th) night's Planning Commission will include two agenda items related to the Housing Element. Items F2 and G1 contain a public hearing on the draft environmental impact report (DEIR) and a study session on potential zoning changes in the Downtown Specific Plan area related to the Housing Element. During the meeting, Staff will request comments members of the public and the Planning Commission. The City is in the midst of a 45-day comment period for the DEIR that began November 4th and ends Monday, December 19th. Information about how to attend the meeting is on page one of the agenda here.
Learn How to Start a Bike Bus
Wednesday, November 16th at 5pm
“Bike buses” — adult-led group bike rides to school — are getting started in multiple cities across the Country. Many families are ditching cars for a morning ride with friends, biking miles in organized clusters led by grown-up volunteers. The effort is a call to combat climate change, encourage exercise and reduce school drop-off traffic. And, parents and kids both say, it just makes the children happier.
On Wednesday November 16th at 5pm, the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition will be conducting a forum on "How to start a Bike Bus" in your City. The forum will begin with Peter Belden sharing his story on how he started a bike bus in SF. He will also talk about basics on how to start a bike bus. Then the forum will move into Q&A where we attendees also be joined by Jess McClellan, another parent who started a bike bus in Palo Alto recently.
Menlo Park Wine Walk
Saturday, December 3rd at 1pm
On Saturday, December 3rd, join your neighbors for the Taste of the Mountains: Menlo Park Wine Walk. The fun (and convenient!) event will take place in Downtown Menlo Park from 1-4pm. All ticket proceeds from the event will benefit the Menlo Park Atherton Education Foundation.
Enjoy wines from small, local boutique wineries of the Santa Cruz Mountains poured in various designated tasting locations up and down Santa Cruz Avenue. Check in for your wristband, glass, and a map of the pouring locations – then enjoy an afternoon of tasting and discovering. Purchase your favorites from the bottle booth and stay downtown for dinner to follow! Advanced ticket price is $50 or $59 at the door. For more information and to get tickets visit https://winesofthesantacruzmountains.com/events/menloww/.
Please drink responsibly and be safe!
Waitlist Open for Sequoia Belle Haven Affordable Housing Community
Application Deadline is February 6, 2023
Sequoia Belle Haven affordable housing community is now accepting applications for the 1 bedroom waiting list until Feb. 6, 2023. One member of the household must be age 62 or older. Sequoia Belle Haven operates affordable housing programs for individuals or families with low, very low, and extremely low incomes and is managed by MidPen Housing Property Management. For more information, visit https://www.midpen-housing.org/property/sequoia-belle-haven/.
