Yes on Measure P
FAQ
Does Measure P Block Housing?
No, it just requires that a plan be approved by voters. And Measure P only applies to the eight downtown public parking plazas. It does not affect development elsewhere downtown or anywhere else in the city.
Does Measure P Slow Improvements to the Parking Lots?
No. As the City Attorney’s summary of the measure clearly states: "Voter approval is not required for the following actions: Maintaining, repairing, renovating, or improving the Parking Plazas.” Even a dedicated parking structure would not require a vote. Read the measure here.
Would Measure P Cause Builder’s Remedy?
No.
1,750 new homes are coming to the 80 acres on the former SRI and USGS campuses – near transit and downtown. (Only 490 homes were estimated when our housing plan was adopted.)
According to Menlo Park’s own July 2026 Housing Update, the City exceeds state-required housing capacity by 30% in every income category. And that doesn’t even include the 20 acres at Bohannon Office Park that the owner wants to convert to housing, nor the vacant city-owned lot at 1283 Willow Rd.
To stay in compliance, we can update our Housing Element to reflect the unexpected new housing and remove the reliance on the downtown plazas. Housing Elements are amended all the time. San Mateo amended theirs earlier this year.
The greater risk of Builder’s Remedy is that our Council clings to a plan that ultimately fails.
How Does Measure P Affect the Sunset Towers?
It has no effect. 80 Willow is a legal battle that has nothing to do with Measure P. The application was filed in 2023, and its fate will be decided on that record. City leaders across the spectrum have opposed the Sunset Towers, and it will only go forward if a court forces it. Measure P can’t change that outcome.
What are the Developers Proposing for the Plazas?
In letting a developer use the land for $1/year, the City’s original objective was for a developer to provide 345 units of very low-income housing, while replacing the lost public parking spaces at no cost to the City. Only three developers submitted proposals. None came close t meeting those objectives:
345 units (191 very low-income)
163 homes without a parking space
$20 million funding shortfall
500 units (259 very low-income)
247 homes without a parking space
$19 million funding shortfall
347 units (0 very low-income)
89 homes without a parking space
$45 million funding shortfall
Why Might the City Council’s Plan Fail?
According to city-commissioned financial analysis, the three developer proposals already have funding shortfalls ranging from $19-45 million. That’s because replacing public parking is extremely expensive – it will cost about what the land itself is worth.
Furthermore, the proposals do not cover a myriad of infrastructure, fire safety, soil toxicity, and legal obstacles to squeezing high-rise apartment buildings onto tight lots in the middle of our business district.
Did Burlingame and San Carlos Build Housing on Parking Lots?
Yes, they used downtown parking lots for housing. However, the relative scale was much smaller, and they increased the net public parking in the process – they didn’t remove nearly half the downtown’s parking without the funding to replace it.
Could Measure P Cost Taxpayers Millions in Legal Fees?
Any new law could theoretically lead to a lawsuit. But the City's own impact report on the measure declined to estimate litigation costs because potential legal claims were too speculative.
On the other hand, there is an actual lawsuit (now paused) which would be renewed if the City proceeds with its plan to declare the plazas surplus land and change their use.
What is this talk of 3 people having legal control?
They are talking about Section 10 of Measure P.
Section 10 comes into play if voters approve Measure P, if it is later challenged in court, and if City officials decline to defend it. If all those ifs happen, then the measure’s proponents (the three residents who formally filed it) may step in as agents of the people to defend the voter-approved measure. They can be reimbursed for legal fees, but at rates no higher than what it would cost the City to provide the defense itself.
This type of language is used in many citizens’ initiatives because officials have sometimes undermined voter-approved measures simply by refusing to defend them in court.
Section 10 does not give the proponents any special authority to decide how the parking plazas are used or to challenge City decisions. It only lets them defend the measure if, for some unlikely reason, the City decides not to defend it.
Are Downtown Vacancies Improving?
Yes! In 2025, the downtown vacancy rate of storefronts was about 17%. Now, a year later, it is about 11%. And the remaining vacancies are filling quickly with the very recent expansion of zoning on Santa Cruz Avenue to allow a broader range of businesses.
Our downtown is starting to thrive. But without Measure P, the recovery could be reversed, as few small businesses could survive a 5+ year high-rise construction zone