As I mentioned in my July 24th email (copied below) about the proposed project at 80 Willow Road (former Sunset Magazine campus), I requested that our city staff develop Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) to provide what information is known to community members. The FAQ is now available on the City website at https://menlopark.gov/housingelement. On the Housing Element webpage, the fifth drop down menu item is called "Frequently Asked Questions" and the first four questions are related to the Builder’s Remedy and contain information about 80 Willow Road. Please note that much of the information provided in the FAQ is quite technical and much is still unknown. (See image below on how to navigate to the FAQ.)
The proposal for 80 Willow Road is wildly out of scale with what our community has been planning for in terms of housing growth. The City Council has been working diligently over the past few years to develop a Housing Element that thoughtfully distributes density throughout the City. Even as Builder's Remedy projects go, the proposed project at 80 Willow Road is extreme.
As stated in the FAQ, a formal application for this project has yet to be submitted. Even if or when this happens, there is quite a bit of process that will need to be worked through, including an environmental review, before any project could be built.
I will be working hard with our staff and city attorney to understand more about the city’s options. The implications of new State laws, as they relate to the Builder's Remedy, are still unfolding. I have requested from city staff that once we know more, some type of community forum be provided to residents to share their thoughts and ask questions — I have received quite a few good ones from residents over the past few weeks.
I encourage you to stay informed and I will keep you posted on any developments.
Sincerely,
Jen
Email from July 24, 2023
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I'm writing to share some news that has recently been reported by the local press. On Wednesday, July 19th, the Daily Post ran a news story titled, "Developer wants to replace Sunset campus with four buildings, one taller than Hoover Tower." The reporting includes the following details for a proposed project at 80 Willow Road (on the Palo Alto/Creek side of the street at Middlefield):
800 to 1,150 apartments
150 hotel rooms
8,400* square feet of retail space
Between 50,000 and 280,000* square feet of office space
*Note: There were typos in the article and these are the correct numbers.
The article goes on to state that the proposed development would be spread across four buildings. One of the buildings would be over 300 feet tall, another is proposed to be 270 feet tall. For comparison, as stated in the Daily Post, Hoover Tower on the Stanford campus is 285 feet tall.
I have asked the City Manager to prepare a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) webpage on the City's website to outline what is known and what is not known about this proposal. As soon as it is available, I will send an update.
In the meantime, I know there are many in the community thinking, "What? How? Huh???" The details of this proposed project are indeed shocking. The applicant is submitting the project as a “Builder’s Remedy” project under the Housing Accountability Act. The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), of which Menlo Park is part of, has a Builder's Remedy explainer document. You can also view a video I put together in October 2022 where I discuss the Builder's Remedy. The bottom line is that a city that has not adopted a Housing Element that is "substantially compliant" with state law, may not deny a housing project that has at least 20% of total units available for lower income households.
According to a July 18, 2023 update to the ABAG Builder's Remedy explainer document (bottom of page 2), with regards to the definition of "substantially compliant", there are open questions on how to interpret state law vis-à-vis the Builder's Remedy:
"State law does not explicitly require [California Department of Housing and Community Development] HCD approval for a housing element to be found substantially compliant with state law. State law provides that a city or county may adopt its own findings explaining why its housing element is substantially compliant with state law despite HCD’s findings. (Section 65585(f).) However, HCD has taken the position that HCD’s approval is required for a housing element to be found in substantial compliance with the state law. HCD is authorized to refer agencies to the Attorney General if it finds a housing element out of compliance with state law. (Section 65585(j).) Local agencies are encouraged to work with their legal counsel to stay informed about any judicial rulings that consider whether HCD’s approval is required for a housing element to be found substantially compliant."
That is, there is still a lot that is yet to be known, especially as things play out in the courts, as it relates to the Builder's Remedy. As a refresher on the status of Menlo Park's Housing Element, the City Council adopted it on January 31, 2023. The State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) acknowledged that Menlo Park's Housing Element addressed many statutory requirements; however, additional changes were requested. On June 27, 2023, the City Council conducted a meeting to review draft changes to the City's Housing Element and approved submittal to HCD. On June 30, 2023, final versions of the updated Housing Element were sent to HCD.
Please note that the Daily Post reported about a second Builder's Remedy project in the same article, at 1305 Hoover Street. That proposed project would replace a single family home with a five-story, 19-unit apartment building.
I am currently on vacation (I was "off the grid" camping on a river with no internet or cell service until last night) and I will only be checking email intermittently over the next week and half. As mentioned, I will let you know when the FAQ is published online. If you have other questions or comments about this project, or anything else you'd like to discuss, I will be back "in the office" on Monday, August 7th. Until then, please take care.
