Subject: Our Ballot Measure - These Pictures Tell the Story
Downtown Menlo Park - It’s where our community gathers and where local businesses can thrive.
A common scene of people enjoying Santa Cruz Avenue
The Parking Plazas - They provide the convenient parking and easy navigation so everyone access the downtown.
The open-air plazas are critical for downtown access. They allow for convenient parking and easy navigation.
Downtown vitality depends on easy access for everyone. The parking plazas provide convenient parking and traffic flow.
A common scene of people enjoying Santa Cruz Avenue
Now imagine this. The City Council intends to declare the heavily-used parking plazas to be “surplus land” and lease them to a housing developer for $1 a year.
Image taken from one of the developer proposals. (Blue tint added.) Oak Grove Ave. is in front, and Santa Cruz Ave. behind.
How would you get around? This developer’s explanation shows how people would get around the buildings. (It does not show how they would go in and out of the buildings - that would mean a lot more arrows.)
Image taken from one of the developer proposals. (Blue tint added.) Oak Grove Ave. is in front, and Santa Cruz Ave. behind.
Whose idea was this? This plan was a vision of various councilmembers and interest groups. It was put into the 1,400 page Housing Element. Very few residents or businesses knew about it.
Led by consultants, M-Group, the Housing Element process did not succeed in its outreach to residents.
When the people of Menlo Park found it, they clearly voiced their concern. They wrote hundreds of emails, met with council members, and flooded Council Chambers
Council Chambers overflowed with people objecting. January 14, 2026
Businesses
Several of these businesses have already left. Many will follow if this plan continues.
But the City Council would not change course, so residents did a Citizens’ Initiative. If it passes in November, the City will not be allowed to repurpose the downtown plazas without voter approval.
15% of Menlo Park voters signed the Citizens’ Initiative petition - far exceeding the required 10%
There are better sites for housing. There are sites near downtown, and throughout the city, which are more suitable and realistic for housing.
These are just some of the sites which could be used to meet our housing obligations - without compromising the downtown.
There are better ways to develop our downtown. The downtown’s future is bright - if we focus on common sense priorities: maintenance, beautification, and broadening zoning to fill vacancies.
There are better ways to make this decision. This decision is too big, too permanent, for a 5-person City Council. The people of Menlo Park deserve final say on the future of their downtown.
15% of Menlo Park voters signed the Citizens’ Initaitve petition - far greater than the required 10%
The future of Menlo Park is in our hands.
Your Downtown. Your Vote. In November, the people will have a chance to save their downtown.
Vote YES on the Downtown Parking Plazas Initiative