While our main focus is winning at the ballot box this November, we have also taken formal legal action to ensure the City of Menlo Park respects long-standing legal and ethical obligations regarding our downtown.

Downtown property owners paid special assessments between 1945-1965 to create these parking plazas. We believe the City cannot unilaterally convert this land to housing without violating the fiduciary duty owed to those who funded it.

This 1946 newspaper article documents the beginning of this unique funding arrangement:

Peninsula Times Tribune -Read More

The Core Issue: A Breach of Trust

The heart of our legal challenge (Case No. 25-CIV-02592) concerns the history and purpose of Menlo Park’s downtown parking plazas.

These lots were specifically acquired and developed through special assessments paid for by local downtown property owners between 1945 and 1965. This history created a unique and binding legal relationship:

• A Fiduciary Duty: Because local property owners funded these lots for the express purpose of parking, the City holds this land in a "fiduciary trust."

• Contractual Integrity: We believe the City cannot unilaterally diminish these parking resources - effectively stripping away the value paid for by the property owners - without a majority vote or proper consent.

A Comprehensive Filing

Beyond the Breach of Trust, our legal filing addresses several other significant failures in the City's process, ranging from the bypass of state transparency laws to the lack of essential environmental and economic impact studies. We believe a project of this scale requires strict adherence to the law, not bureaucratic shortcuts.

Current Status: Paused

By mutual agreement with the City, our legal challenge is currently paused. The City clarified it has not yet taken final action to convert the plazas, so we've agreed to a voluntary dismissal without prejudice. This preserves our legal rights, and we remain prepared to refile if the City attempts to move forward without proper approval.