We need more housing.
We want a thriving downtown.
We can have both.
Smart growth starts with good decisions. There are ways to meet our housing obligations without sacrificing the downtown.
And yet …
Despite viable alternatives, the City wants to convert heavily-used parking plazas into housing.
The loss of surface parking could drive out the businesses that we depend on.
Easy access to surface parking is what makes our downtown work.
Residents have been left out of this once-in-a-generation decision.
SO WE’VE PROPOSED A COMMON-SENSE SAFEGUARD:
The parking plazas may not be repurposed without voter approval.
November 2026 Ballot
Downtown Parking Plazas Initiative
THE MEASURE: No repurposing of the parking plazas without a public vote.
THE GOAL: Encourage community-driven solutions that keep our downtown businesses thriving.
THE IMPACT: Residents — not City Hall — get the final say on our downtown’s future.
☑️ Vote YES to: Ensure that any fundamental transformation of our downtown plazas has community consent.
⬜ Vote NO to: Allow a 5-person City Council to repurpose our downtown plazas at their own discretion.
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Allow residents to decide the downtown’s future - vote YES!
We have only one downtown. Its future is worth a vote.
In 2025, we had to say no.
Just over a year ago, the City was set to declare our downtown parking plazas as “surplus land” for high-density housing.
When word got out, concerned residents and business owners overflowed the City Council chambers and wrote hundreds of emails - expressing dismay and disbelief. They were not objecting to housing downtown – they were objecting to the loss of the surface parking upon which the downtown depends.
Menlo Park City Council Meeting - January 14, 2025
Residents proposed better locations, but city officials (except Mayor Combs) would not reconsider.
And so the people of Menlo Park were left with little choice but to do a Citizens’ Initiative. 15% of Menlo Park voters signed it, far exceeding the required 10%. The measure, if it passes in November, will prohibit the City from repurposing the downtown parking plazas without first getting voter approval.
In 2026, we get to say YES!
YES! - TO PUBLIC CONSENT
Right now, any 5-person city council can declare the downtown plazas to be “surplus land” and lease them to developers for $1/year. It almost happened, and it still might.
We all hope our city leaders will make sound choices. But a permanent decision of this magnitude must not be made without true public consent. And that requires a public vote.
YES! - TO A THRIVING DOWNTOWN
We love our downtown - both what it is, and what it can be.
Whether you adore our long-time shopkeepers, or relish the prospect of new venues, all of it depends on convenient parking. But it is now clear that vital parking could be lost due to a rushed decision - by this City Council, or any future one.
This uncertainty is already having real consequences. Existing businesses are not renewing leases, and new businesses are choosing other locations - as shown by a statement from 130+ businesses expressing their deep concern.
Until this threat is gone, investment will stall, and we risk a downward spiral.
Our initiative provides a needed safeguard: it ensures that any permanent change to this critical infrastructure must have broad public support, so we can continue to enjoy a thriving downtown - one that businesses want to invest in.
YES! - TO BETTER ALTERNATIVES
Putting large apartment buildings into narrow, commercial parking lots is fraught with problems. There are better alternatives - sites appropriate for residential use, with good transit access, and proper infrastructure. We do not need to depend on the parking plazas to comply with our housing obligations - we can pivot to a better path.
The question is not whether we need more housing. The question is whether the downtown parking lots are the right place for it. Our Citizens’ Initiative trusts the people of Menlo Park to make that decision.
Let’s Do This Right
San Mateo easily amended their Housing Element. We can too. Click the above video to watch a one-minute summary.
We Have Time
In order to meet our state’s housing allocation, we only need to have the entitlements and permits in place by 2031. The actual construction can come later. That means there's still time to pivot to better sites - ones that don’t jeopardize our downtown.
When Councilmember Jeff Schmidt asked what would happen if the City discontinued the plan to put housing on the downtown parking lots, the City Attorney responded that the City would 'continue on the path of pursuing other housing development projects' - meaning alternative sites could replace the parking plazas without jeopardizing compliance. See the exchange below.
But sooner is better than later. And that is exactly why alternative sites should be pursued. Building high-density housing on the parking plazas is fraught with environmental, infrastructure, legal, economic, and funding problems which are likely to cause the project to ultimately be a dead-end, wasting valuable time and resources that could have been directed toward viable alternatives. We have time to do this right, but we do not have time to cling to a bad plan.
We Have Choices
There are those who would have had us believe that there were no other viable options for affordable housing. But there were, and there are.
Residents have suggested several alternative sites that are actually better suited for housing - without sacrificing the vitality of our downtown. See our Alternative Sites page to learn more.
Bohannon Park
Civic Center (city-owned)
333 Burgess Dr. - Corporation Yard (city-owned)
1283 Willow Rd. (city-owned)
2400 Branner Dr. (city-owned)
SRI / Parkline
Drew Combs Explains
In his December 2025 newsletter, Mayor Drew Combs captured the situation clearly:
“… there were alternative paths to pursuing redevelopment of the parking lots … I don’t think the city council should take any additional actions to move the project forward until the voters have spoken.”
For further explanation, watch this 2.5-minute excerpt. The mayor expresses concern about 'the extreme concentration of affordable housing in one location' and 'strangling downtown.' He then candidly admits the parking lot plan was not a last resort, but rather 'what the Council at the time thought was the vision of Menlo Park in the future.'
March 4, 2025 City Council Meeting
Drew Combs has been the only one willing to listen to residents and trust voters to decide this issue. He understands that any “vision” for our downtown should be that of the community, not just his fellow councilmembers.