I had the most joyous morning on Thursday during Bike to Wherever Day. I visited all of the Energizer Stations in Menlo Park (see below).
I even rode in a "Bike Bus" to Upper Laurel (Go Squirrels!) with students, parents and city staff (special thanks to our police escort, Sergeant Adair!).
Any day can be a Bike to Wherever day. I encourage everyone who can to bike wherever, whenever! It's the best way to get around Menlo Park, and it helps to reduce traffic congestion for those who need to drive. Happy (and safe) riding!
Every day, more than 120 Americans are killed by gun violence and in California, there are an average of 3,253 gun deaths every year. To raise awareness about gun violence and to honor the lives of gun violence victims and survivors, the first Friday of every June is recognized nationally as Gun Violence Awareness Day. Those honoring this day wear orange because hunters wear orange to announce themselves to other hunters when out in the woods, symbolizing the value of human life. Tuesday's agenda includes a proclamation (Item F1) declaring Friday, June 2nd as Gun Violence Awareness Day and I encourage residents to join me on June 2nd in wearing orange.
The Menlo Park Community Campus project includes two new swimming pools. In an effort to further the City's environmental polices and goals in accordance with Menlo Park's Climate Action Plan, the entire development, has been designed to avoid greenhouse gas emissions and not to use natural gas. For the new pool facilities, five air source heat pumps (ASHPs) are needed in lieu of traditional gas pool heaters. The use of the ASHPs could produce noise in proximity to residential property lines that exceeds the nighttime noise ordinance limits of 50 decibels.
On April 24th the Planning Commission denied a use permit to allow the ASHPs to exceed the nighttime noise limits. Vice Mayor Cecilia Taylor "called up" the project to allow the full City Council to discuss the permit further. Agenda Item I1 outlines the issues and includes the following staff recommendations:
Uphold the Planning Commission's denial of the use permit
Direct staff to install the electric heating equipment at the MPCC swimming pools as designed, then conduct live measurements of the actual sound levels produced by the installed equipment.
If the actual sound levels produced by the equipment as installed exceed the nighttime noise limits when measured from residential property lines, then have staff return to City Council for authorization to implement one or more of the post-installation sound mitigation strategies recommended in the staff report (install sound walls, relocate equipment or upsize the solar thermal heating system). Note: Of the mitigation strategies outlined in the staff report, the only one that is recommended by staff is to install sound walls.
If the actual measurements showed the noise levels exceeding the nighttime noise limits, the heat pumps would not be permitted to run overnight unless mitigation strategies were installed that reduced the noise along the residential property lines.
A new restaurant is being proposed at the site of the Clock Works store and repair shop on El Camino Real (directly adjacent to the Guild Theatre). The proposed venue will offer food, alcohol, outdooring dining on a back patio and indoor live acoustic music. In the staff report for the April 10th Planning Commission agenda item on this topic, city staff, in consultation with the Police Chief, recommended that the restaurant's live music be limited to 11pm, consistent with the Guild Theatre's closing hour. The Planning Commission voted to issue a use permit which allowed live music until 2am, in line with the applicants proposed hours of operation. City Councilmember Betsy Nash "called up" the project to allow the City Council to discuss.
Tuesday night's Agenda Item I2 permits the City Council to affirm, reverse or modify the decision of the Planning Commission. From my perspective, the major policy issue before Council is how to balance the desire to enhance downtown vibrancy while safeguarding (and I'm borrowing from technical language here) the "health, safety, morals, comfort and general welfare of the persons residing in the neighborhood." The proposed back patio of the restaurant is 55 feet away from the nearest residential property line."
The restaurant use of the building is permitted "by right." That is, the applicant does not need any discretionary review or approval to operate a restaurant. However, there are three ancillary uses, covered in the El Camino Real/Downtown Specific Plan, that the applicant is proposing and that are discretionary and considered by the City on a case-by-case basis:
The sale of alcohol in conjunction with a restaurant
Live entertainment
Outdoor seating
As the staff report goes on to state, "The City Council has the ability to consider additional performance standards, conditions, or limitations on the requests for live entertainment, alcohol sales associated with the restaurant, and the outdoor seating. These requirements could include limiting the hours for the sale of alcohol, use of the outdoor seating area, and live entertainment. These potential limitations could be independent of the hours of operation of the restaurant. Additional options for City Council consideration include, but are not limited to, limiting the number of live entertainment events over a specific duration (e.g., three events per week), prohibiting speakers and/or televisions on the outdoor patio, setting a maximum occupancy for the outdoor seating, or modifying the permitted Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) license type.
This agenda item has garnered quite a bit of interest and many community members are invested in its outcome. Please know that with all items, I will study all of the information, consider all perspectives and make the best decision I can for the community. Thank you for entrusting me with this responsibility.
The Middle Avenue Bike/Ped Caltrain Undercrossing is in the design phase and getting closer to becoming a reality. The preferred design concept for the project requires the City to purchase a 17,000 square foot portion of the 700-800 El Camino Real project site (home to Big 5, Staples, etc.) to enable room for a ramp to be built (see image above regarding location of area to be purchased). The purchase would require a revision to the existing planned development permit (PDP) for the existing site to reduce the required minimum lot size and parking, and modify percentage based development standards (e.g., building coverage and floor area ratio) based on the reduced lot size. The revision to the PDP would not result in any increase in gross floor area, or any modifications to the existing buildings on the project site. Agenda Item I3 outlines this technical step so that the purchase and subsequent construction of the tunnel can proceed.
On May 24, 2022, the City Council passed a resolution to implement stage 2 drought measures and from March 2022 February 2023, Menlo Park Municipal Water (MPMW) customers reduced water use overall by 18%. While Menlo Park appreciates that residents used less water, the City imposed a drought surcharge is to recover lost revenue (due to less water sales) so the water fund could meet target reserves and cover operating, maintenance and capital expenditures. Due to current improved drought conditions, Agenda Item J1 is to remove the drought surcharge associated with the stage 2 drought and end other stage 2 drought measures when the State Water Board modifies or ends its drought regulations that MPMW follows.
This year the City Council made Climate Action one of its top 5 priorities. Information Item K2 outlines the progress and activities that the City is undertaking to implement its Climate Action Plan (CAP). The agenda item contains information about staff resources, work streams and volunteer support related to the CAP implementation and summarizes actions being taken on each of the CAP's 6 strategies towards Menlo Park being carbon neutral by 2030:
Explore policy/program options to electrify 95% of existing buildings by 2030
Set citywide goal for increasing electric vehicles (EVs) and decreasing gasoline sales
Expand access to EV charging for multifamily and commercial properties
Reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by 25%
Eliminate the use of fossil fuels from municipal operations
Develop a climate adaptation plan to protect the community from sea level rise and flooding
This agenda item (K3) transmits to the City Council the preliminary staffing, operations, and programming plan considerations for the new Menlo Park Community Campus (MPCC) in advance of the upcoming fiscal year 2023-24 budget deliberations. City staff estimates that approximately 6.0 FTE new personnel, in addition to hourly personnel, will be needed to support the gymnasium, recreation center, makerspace, teen lounge, expanded library space, and other desired new programs when the MPCC opens in 2024. These personnel expenditures are estimated to cost $950,000 annually.
Other Items of Interest
Below are some additional items of interest.
Save the Dates
Upcoming Budget Meetings
The Menlo Park fiscal year runs from July 1st to June 30th. This means that the City Council must adopt the 2023-24 budget by June 30th, in about a month. Please save the dates for the following budget-related meetings:
June 1st - Public budget workshop (this includes staff presentations and no Council action will be taken)
June 13th - City Council meeting includes budget public hearing
June 27th - City Council meeting includes budget adoption
Menlo Park Summer Reading Game
Kicks Off Parties at Main Library and Belle Haven Branch Library
Saturday, June 3rd from 12pm to 3pm
The Menlo Park Summer Reading Game will challenge you to track your reading, discover great books, enjoy community activities and earn awesome prizes! The Summer Reading Game is open to all ages; anyone can play and be eligible for prizes. The Game starts June 1st and kick-off parties are being held on June 3rd from 12 to 3pm at both the Main and Belle Haven Branch Libraries. For more information click here.
Menlo Park Construction News
Subscribe for Updates
Do you want to know what construction impacts to expect around town? Subscribe to receive weekly Construction News updates directly from the City here under "News and Updates." An example of the type of updates included is shown above. As you can see, expect impacts on Ravenswood this week.
End of the Federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
Health Coverage Requirements May Change
May 11th marked the end of the federal public health emergency (PHE) for COVID-19. With the end of the PHE, some COVID-19 health coverage requirements may change. For health insurance policies and health care service plans that are regulated by the state of California, requirements to cover COVID-19 testing, vaccination, and therapeutics, such as Paxlovid, without any out-of-pocket cost are generally permanent. However, self-funded employer-sponsored plans regulated by the U.S. Department of Labor or U.S. Department of Health and Human Services may no longer cover COVID-19 testing or vaccinations without cost sharing.
For additional information, the California Department of Insurance compiled this Fact Sheet to inform consumers about health insurance coverage of COVID-19 testing, vaccination, and treatment following the PHE.
Have you heard people say that they like gas appliances because they work even if the power is out? Is this myth or fact?
Fact: while some gas appliances can be used during a power outage, many require electricity to operate.
Many gas water heaters, ovens, and furnaces use electricity and will not work during a power outage.
Water heaters: Most recent model, gas, tank-type water heaters have electronic ignition systems and will not work without electricity. Recent-model gas tankless water heaters require electronic controls and also will not work in a power outage.
While gas stove tops can be lit with a match, the oven portion of most recent models require electricity.
Most heating systems require electric fans to circulate the warm air, and will not operate
when the power is out.
Gas dryers use an electric tumbler which will not function without electricity.
Fact: some gas appliances will continue to operate without electric power.
Older model, tank-type water heaters with continuously burning pilot lights will continue to operate when the power is out. However, the 24/7 pilot adds to energy waste and cost, and many water heaters of this type are nearing the end of their useful life.
Gas stove tops will continue to operate as they can be lit by hand with a match, but fans needed to exhaust the fumes require electricity. Note that the oven portion of most
current models require electricity.
Gas wall furnaces will typically work during a power outage, but are not a very efficient form of heat.
Gas fireplaces typically will continue to operate if the power is out, but these are not a very effective source of heat.
Another consideration with methane (natural) gas is that in the event of an earthquake, gas supply to the home may not be reliable and leaks can be dangerous.
Houses with solar + battery backup can maintain power during an outage. Depending upon the system, the solar panels can recharge the battery during the day.
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Click here for more information about low cost ways to stay resilient during power outages from Redwood Energy.
