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Hangin’ with the goats
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671-A Oak Grove Ave, Menlo Park t DQPSUFS !GBSNFSTBHFOU DPN
These goats may have sensed a friend in Bobby Targ at the Hayfields open space area at the northern edge of Portola Valley. On July 9, a shepherd, guard dogs and herd of about 150 goats from Coalingabased Living Systems came to the Hayfields for a three-week stay to lower the wildfire hazard by eating the open-space vegetation down to stubble.
Developer plans mixed-use project Local developer Pinnacle Group has submitted an application to build a mixed-use complex at 1283-1295 El Camino Real, near Valparaiso Avenue, according to the city. A 6,471-square-foot building would be demolished to make way for a new three-story building with 1,906 square feet of commercial space and 15 residential units. The kind of commercial use remains to be determined, according to Menlo Park Senior Planner Thomas Rogers, and could be office, retail or some other type.
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zoning changes away from the council,� Shirley Chu said. Representatives of Menlo Park Deserves Better, a grassroots coalition formed to defeat the initiative, vowed to fight an intense battle, saying that the specific plan resulted from years of transparent consensus building by the community. The initiative, on the other hand, was written without any public input or oversight, they said. Representatives from Stanford University and Greenheart — two developers that each have proposed large mixed-use projects along El Camino Real — told the council that if the initiative passes, their projects have to go back to the drawing board, and they weren’t sure
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The project falls within the base level size allowed by the specific plan, but will need an analysis for any additional environmental impacts as well as a review of architectural features by the Planning Commission, the planning staff said.
Update on BBC Rob Fischer’s plans to renovate the historic BBC in Menlo Park into a three-floor restaurant are moving along; he requested
what would emerge as replacements. Steve Pierce of Greenheart also said that the changes would result in a minimum two-year delay — long enough that the company fears a downturn in the currently favorable economy could derail any project. “I think it’s a serious risk,� he said. Stanford University’s Steve Elliott said the modifications made to its project, including the removal of all medical offices and a commitment to pay a substantial portion of the costs of building a pedestrian-bicycle tunnel, will remain in effect if the initiative doesn’t pass. The council also voted to form a subcommittee composed of Councilman Cline and Mayor Mueller to draft the ballot argument against the ballot measure by Aug. 15. A
building permits on June 25, according to the city’s staff. The new BBC will feature an expanded mezzanine for indoor and outdoor dining on the ground floor. According to the city, Mr. Fischer wants to add an exterior staircase, create an outdoor dining area with a bar and grill on the roof, and switch the main entry from El Camino Real to Santa Cruz Avenue. Mr. Fischer also owns the Palo Alto Creamery along with Reposado and, in Mountain View, Gravity and Scratch restaurants.
Good for Business. Good for You. Good for the Community.
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and distant feel of the other highend cities such as Woodside and Portola Valley,� he said. Mr. Pinel predicted that the local market will continue to be strong. “More and more buyers are buying on the Peninsula, particularly in Atherton,� he said. “What we have seen in Atherton is only the beginning.� He also predicted that the number of buyers from China will increase as the Chinese economy creates more very wealthy people looking for a place to put their money. “The Chinese appetite for very, very expensive luxury real estate — that’s enough to justify that prices are not likely to go down much, if at all, and are very likely to keep going up,� Mr. Pinel said.� A
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