Tuesday night's (8/15) meeting marks the return of regular City Council meetings. If you had a chance to get away or to take some time off this past month, I hope it was refreshing. If you didn't have that opportunity, I hope that you enjoyed Menlo Park in the summertime - National Night out on August 1st and the ongoing Summer Concert Series at Fremont and Karl E. Clark parks (the last two concerts are this week!).
Lots of the issues being discussed this week are very technical and regulatory in nature. I do want to call your attention to upcoming study sessions, at both the Planning Commission and City Council, about zoning amendments related to the Housing Element Update (see item further down the newsletter).
Also note that Menlo-Atherton High School starts classes this week, and the public elementary and middle schools return the following. Please pay extra attention as you navigate the streets as there will be more traffic - buses, cars, bikes and pedestrians. Thanks for keeping our community safe for everyone.
Warmly,
City Council Meeting on Tuesday, August 15th at 5pm Closed Session will begin at 5pm, Open Session will Directly Follow
The meeting agenda includes:
Staff reports for each item
Login/call-in information
How to weigh in on the issues being discussed
Agenda items include (Please note that only a few of the many agenda items are featured below. For all items, please refer to the agenda.):
The heavy rain from the storms between New Year's Eve and March 2023 caused soil erosion on the banks of the San Francisquito Creek. In particular, the northern bank area near the Caltrain railway that supports the foundation of the rail bridge and the Alma Street bicycle/pedestrian bridge were impacted. Immediate work must be performed to safeguard the integrity of this critical infrastructure and the staff report outlines the scope of work and the cost sharing agreement reached among Caltrain, the City of Palo Alto and the City of Menlo Park. The entire cost of the work is $6,471,067 and Menlo Park's share is $1,157,598 of that. If the Council approves the agreement, the construction is anticipated to begin in September 2023.
In a February 2023 study session, the City Council expressed interest in continuing the street closure on Santa Cruz Avenue (in front of Left Bank, Bistro Vida, Walgreens, Starbucks, etc.) and the alley closure at Ryan's Lane (next to Carpaccio). Modifying street uses and circulation flow requires various regulatory steps and this agenda item is to approve amendments to both the City's Circulation Element of the General Plan and the El Camino Real/Downtown Specific Plan to enable longer term roadway changes. Separate actions at future meetings will still be required to approve a longer term or permanent extension of the Downtown street design.
According to the staff report for agenda item L1, this proposed ordinance "establishes a long-term policy which includes permitting, operational and maintenance regulations for outdoor dining in the public right-of-way. The goal of the Streetary outdoor dining program is to maintain the economic activity gained by businesses that implemented parklets while strengthening standards, creating a consistent design aesthetic, and ensuring fairness in the way the public right-of-way is used." Note that while information about the design standards and fee structure are included as attachments to this agenda item, the resolutions/approvals for these will occur at a future meeting.
As part of the ConnectMenlo General Plan update in 2016, regulations were created to allow bonus level development (increased floor area ratio, density and/or height), in certain zoning districts in Menlo Park located in District 1. In exchange for extra development intensity, an applicant is required to contribute to community amenities in the area between Hwy 101 and the San Francisco Bay. The required value of the community amenity is 50% of the fair market value of the additional (bonus) gross floor area above the base allowable gross floor area for a parcel or project site. The applicant can choose to provide an amenity from a adopted list of community amenities, or can provide a payment in the amount of 110% of the community amenities value.
At the July 11th meeting, the Council took two actions related to this topic:
Amended sections of various zoning ordinances to clarify the process for determining the appraised value of bonus level developments and the required community amenities value for bonus level developments.
Updated the previously adopted community amenities list for bonus level developments in the Bayfront Area.
Tuesday night's agenda item L2 follows up on this process and includes the following resolutions:
Appraisal Instructions To Determine the Value of Community Amenities Under Bonus Level Zoning in the Bayfront Area to clarify definitions and appraisal criteria (e.g., comparable sales, conformance with standards and valuation of amenity requirement)
Community Amenity Implementing Regulations that standardize the application procedures, appraisal review process and determination of the value of the bonus level development, and identify the process and timing for screening of the applicant’s community amenities proposal with the City Council.
The staff report also contains a flow chart illustrating the appraisal review and community amenities review process set forth in the proposed implementing regulations (see below).
Short-term rentals (AirBnB, VRBO, etc.) are subject to Menlo Park's Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), also known as Hotel Tax. Over the past few years the City has been working to educate and bring into compliance short-term rental units. This staff report provides an update on the number of registered short-term rental properties, the amount of TOT collected, and the cost of the contract service that Menlo Park uses to administer the program.
For the fiscal year 2021-22, 44 of the 68 registered properties had confirmed stays and remitted tax, interest, and penalties totaling $230,279. For fiscal year 2022-23, 82 of the 89 registered properties had confirmed stays and remitted tax, interest, and penalties totaling $353,753. The amount paid to the contractor overseeing the collection in fiscal year 2021-22 was 35% of total fees ($80,598), in 2022-2023 it was 25% ($88,435) and it will be 20% in 2023-24 and until contract termination.
Other Item of Interest
Below are additional items of interest.
Proposed Zoning Changes for the Housing Element Update
Upcoming Study Sessions
Planning Commission on Monday, August 14th at 7pm
City Council on Tuesday, August 22nd at 6pm
You hopefully have received a mailing about upcoming study sessions at both the Planning Commission and City Council related to proposed zoning changes related to the Housing Element update. As stated in the mailing, the topics to be discussed include, but are not limited to, the following:
Increase residential densities, heights, and floor area ratios in and around the El Camino Real/Downtown Specific Plan area
Allow residential uses in the Downtown parking plazas
Modify and consolidate certain retail and commercial zoning districts to allow new residential and mixed-use opportunities
Add residential uses to the office/commercial districts in the Bayfront area, and along the Sand Hill Road, Willow Road, and Middlefield Road corridors
Modify the regulations of the Affordable Housing Overlay to encourage affordable housing development
Modify parking requirements to support housing
The topic of zoning is technical by nature and can be extremely difficult to understand and digest. The eye-crossing spreadsheet above illustrates the level of detail involved. Prior to the City Council study session on this topic I will be putting out some information to help residents understand more about what is being proposed. Stay tuned.
In the meantime, the staff report for the Planning Commission Study Session to be held on Monday (tomorrow!) at 7pm is available here and save the date for the special City Council Meeting/Study Session on this topic on Tuesday, August 22nd at 6pm.
Two Openings on City Commissions
Application Deadlines Coming Up
The PRC recruitment is open through 5pm on August 18th.
The FAC recruitment is open through 5pm on September 1st.
Applications (Spanish and English) are available online and can be submitted directly from the web.
Enrollment Underway for Menlo Park Recreation Classes
Register Today!
We are so fortunate to live in a community with such a robust recreation class offering (fitness, dance, sports, youth gymnastics, music, drama, art, lifelong learning and more!). Through the years my own kids have enjoyed swimming, gymnastics, dance and more. And there are lots of classes for people of all ages and abilities. Registration is now underway for the Fall session. Check out the offerings and register for classes here.
San Mateo County Measure K Survey
San Mateo County voters approved the Measure K half-cent sales tax extension in 2016 to support essential County services and to maintain or replace critical facilities. The County of San Mateo has released a survey to determine the public's input on the limited-term funding provided by Measure K towards mental health, emergency preparedness, housing & homelessness and children & family issues. Read more about Measure K here and take the survey to share your feedback with the County of San Mateo.
Community members are also invited to share their experiences at a listening session on August 16th at 6pm at the City Room at YMCA at 550 Bell Street, East Palo Alto, CA 94303.
Learn about Risk Appropriate Insurance at
MPC Ready Community Meeting
Saturday, August 26th at 9am
You are invited to join MPC (Menlo Park Community) Ready for its August 26, 2023, 9-10:30am Community Meeting at Trinity Hall at Trinity Church (330 Ravenswood Ave.). The topic for this meeting is risk appropriate insurance. Sub topics include: changes in policy writing for California insurance marketplace; local insurance matters; being insurance prepared for disasters and catastrophes; how to use your insurance dollars to work best for you; importance of keeping coverage up-to-date; and what happens if you have a claim?
Please bring your questions for this interactive update. Meeting includes refreshments and a FREE raffle. Open to all.
MPC Ready is a volunteer-and community-based organization focused on helping to build disaster preparedness neighborhoods, block by block. Questions? Please contact info@mpcready.org or 650-380-3028.
