Opponents of Menlo Park affordable housing proposal reach signature threshold for ballot measure

Opponents of a plan to convert downtown parking lots into affordable housing say they ve collected enough signatures to put the issue before voters potentially halting an effort to build affordable units on lots that presently provide more than parking spaces Save Downtown Menlo Park a coalition of local businesses and downtown patrons submitted signatures to City Hall last Friday well above the threshold of registered voters needed to qualify the measure for the ballot The proposed initiative would bar the city from selling leasing or giving away its eight downtown parking lots without voter approval It specifically targets actions that would reduce or limit masses parking for downtown customers workers or visitors and would require a majority vote of the city s residents to make any such changes Related Articles State audit calls out UC CSU learner housing and says million should not be used for SJSU s Spartan Village Amid soaring evictions Bay Area city gets a state housing grant and a designation that could lead to new solutions Retirement in the Bay Area Poll finds multiple seniors face bare-bones budgets mounting debts Governor Newsom signs bill to spur housing near community transit Why this wealthy South Bay suburb is at the center of the next big fight over California housing In Menlo Park began exploring the idea of building housing on city-owned downtown parking lots to help meet its state-mandated housing targets The city developed a plan that focuses on three of its lots It calls for the replacement of residents parking spaces with at least affordable housing units Six developers have been invited to submit proposals by Dec Opponents of the project argue that reducing the amount of available parking could harm longtime downtown businesses and limit accessibility while housing advocates say it is essential to addressing the region s growing necessities The city proven on Wednesday it had received the petition and forwarded it to the San Mateo County Elections Office for verification a process that could take up to business days Once the county verifies the signatures the City Council would formally confirm that the petition meets all legal requirements making it valid to move forward disclosed Assistant City Manager Stephen Stolte After certification the council must schedule the proposed ordinance for a future agenda and decide whether to adopt it outright or send it to voters either in a special polling or the November general polling We are encouraged by the number of Menlo Park residents who eagerly signed our petition explained initiative proponent Van Kouzoujian This initiative entirely says that all Menlo Park residents deserve to have their voices heard on a decision that will reshape our town forever The petition marks the latest growth in a months-long debate over the redevelopment of downtown Menlo Park The group previously sued the city in April arguing that the parking lots are residents assets that cannot be used for private growth without voter consent a claim the city has reported it disagrees with That lawsuit has since been paused by mutual agreement We ve paused our lawsuit because the City has clarified that it hasn t taken a final action on the parking lots Save Downtown Menlo Park commented in a message on their website Nothing was decided on the merits and we retain the full right to refile if it becomes necessary The group added that pausing the lawsuit has no impact on the ballot initiative While Save Downtown Menlo Park opposes the project the group says it is not anti-housing It argues that removing easily accessible parking could drive away longtime downtown patrons and that new housing would be better suited for the nearby Civic Center Adopting the ordinance outright would this instant empower residents so we can resolve this issue and move on to sensible housing that the whole locality wants organizer Alex Beltramo advised this news organization Wednesday He added that the group hopes to redirect city efforts toward better locations for affordable housing Supporters of the downtown redevelopment say Menlo Park cannot afford further delays amid a worsening housing dilemma and argue that new residents would boost local businesses by increasing foot traffic and expanding their customer base Menlo Park s state-mandated housing plan calls for nearly new homes by including more than affordable units for moderate- and low-income households In San Mateo County individuals earning below are considered low-income