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Menlo Park aims to shape compromise with Stanford continued from page 5
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6 N The Almanac N TheAlmanacOnline.com N April 24, 2013
tion organized to oppose the project, said the recent changes Stanford made amounted to “re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.� She urged the council to remove the Stanford parcels from the boundaries of the specific plan and reinstate the zoning that existed prior to the plan’s passage. Several asked that the height of the buildings be restricted to two stories. The current design has two five-story residential buildings, one four-story office building and two three-story office buildings, according to Stanford, which the new downtown/El Camino Real specific plan allows. Three speakers expressed support for the proposal and four indicated they would if minor changes were made. Chamber of Commerce CEO Fran Dehn asked the council to “trust the process; don’t undermine the (specific) plan� created through years of public outreach and discussion. Councilman Rich Cline said that should the subcommittee’s efforts prove futile, he didn’t mind looking at removing Stanford’s parcels from the specific plan boundaries, although he noted the plan does technically comply with the new regulations. “I need to see a better balance of housing and office use. I need to see a traffic study that shows me there’s a way to mitigate traffic,� he said, along with a way to help get people who aren’t in cars from one side of the city to
Big Bear 5K run set for May 5 The five-kilometer Big Bear Run, open to runners and walkers of all ages, is set for 9 a.m. Sunday, May 5, at MenloAtherton High School, 555 Middlefield Road in Atherton. Proceeds help pay for equipment and tournament fees for more than 50 athletics programs at M-A, said spokeswoman Diana Holliday. Entry fees are $25 for adults and $15 for students 18 or younger. Rates jump slightly after April 29, and for online registration. Same-day registration begins at 7:30 a.m. at the main gym. Go to www.active.com to register online. Set the search locality for “Atherton� and enter “big bear run� in the search box.
the other. He asked Mr. Elliott to explain how the proposal ended up so far afield of what the city and community indicated it wanted during the five-year specific planning process. “Compliance is one thing. I’ll grant you that,� Mr. Cline said. “But we were in the same meetings and had the same discussions ... no one said they wanted medical office on El Camino. In fact people said (they did not want it). ... This became a majority of office and not housing, and I think that starts the disconnect� between what the city expected and what Stanford actually proposed. Acknowledging that “disconnect� was an accurate description, Mr. Elliott said that Stanford indicated that a variety of uses might work, including senior housing or a hotel or medical offices, and never guaranteed to develop any one type of use. “Would more residential be a deal-breaker?� Mr. Cline asked after further discussion. Mr. Elliott initially declined to comment one way or another, but later told the council Stanford wasn’t interested in adding more housing. City review of the project is waiting on completion of Menlo Park’s traffic analysis, which staff expected to take at least two to three months. The Planning Commission may review Stanford’s new proposal in August, which is also when the council subcommittee may return with recommendations, although the exact timing remains to be worked out. A
STANFORD CHANGES continued from page 5
the city prevents development based on complaints “from the vocal minority. There is no bias for action here, which results in lower revenue from restaurants, shops and businesses and our schools are impacted.� Steve Taffee also wrote the council to say he supported the project. “Stanford has demonstrated flexibility in design considerations. The opposition that is being mounted is, unfortunately, mostly of the NIMBY type who are motivated by fears about projected personal inconvenience or loss of property value.� Traffic, parking and noise were concerns that could be managed, according to Mr. Taffee’s email, given the overall value of the project to Menlo Park. “Everyone needs to give a little. This is part of living in community.� A