Vote YES! to require voter approval before the City Council can convert downtown plazas into high-rise developments.
MEASURE P
Ballot Description
The measure appearing before voters would prohibit the City of Menlo Park (the “City”) from selling, trading, leasing, donating, disposing, or otherwise conveying all or a portion of City-owned downtown Menlo Park parking lots for any reason that would affect or diminish the availability or convenience of parking, without voter approval, with certain exceptions.
ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF MEASURE P
Vote YES! on Measure P to give voters a say before the City Council can permanently convert downtown parking plazas into high-rise developments.
A FLAWED PLAN
Over 3,000 Menlo Park residents signed the Measure X petition because they don’t believe Council’s plan is an effective way to provide the low-income housing we need.
Council presumed that developers, who’d get the plazas for $1/year, could pay to replace 556 spaces. But the developer proposals tell a different story, and Menlo Park could be on the hook for tens of millions to build public garages. Furthermore, the City’s done insufficient analysis on economic impact, traffic, parking, overcrowded classrooms, or fire safety.
Already, 135 downtown businesses publicly oppose the Council's plan, as they’d be unlikely to survive years of high-rise construction followed by a permanent loss of convenient parking.
A SMARTER WAY FORWARD
Most residents aren't aware, but Menlo Park is proving it can deliver housing without this plan. Menlo Park’s own July 2026 housing update reported that housing capacity exceeds state requirements by 30%. Since 2010, Menlo Park has added more than 1,400 homes, nearly 30% more growth than the county average.
And 1,750 more homes are on the way, near downtown, at the former SRI and USGS sites. The problem is that not enough of them are affordable to local workers. We can remedy that by incentivizing the developers to shift units to the very-low-income category. The City’s cost to do that would be far less than giving away public land, building expensive garages, and undermining local businesses.
Menlo Park has many ways to meet its housing goals. The greatest risk is Council pushing forward, without community consent, with a flawed, unfunded plan that could fail us all.
Vote YES! on Measure P. It ensures our voices are heard.
Signed by:
Catherine Carlton, Former Mayor of Menlo Park
Robert McNamara, Former Mayor of Menlo Park
Henry Riggs, Former Chair of Menlo Park Planning Commission
Ben Eiref, Former Chair of Menlo Park Planning Commission
Anthony Draeger, Owner of Draeger’s Supermarkets
What MEASURE P Would Do
Measure P would establish an ordinance prohibiting the City of Menlo Park from selling, leasing, or repurposing any of the eight downtown parking plazas without voter approval.
If the measure passes and the City Council wants to pursue its current plan (or something like it), voters would have the final say on a later ballot.
What MEASURE P Would Not Do
IT DOES NOT prohibit housing or development.
IT DOES NOT require a vote for improvements to the “availability, access, or convenience” of parking (eg. EV charging, improved access, paving & striping, parking structures, etc.)
IT DOES NOT apply anywhere other than the eight downtown public parking plazas.
Why Residents Should Have a Say
PERMANENCE
Building on the downtown parking plazas cannot be undone. Decisions of this magnitude should require voter approval.
SCALE
The proposals under consideration would fundamentally change the character of downtown. Residents deserve a direct voice in decisions of this magnitude.
COST
Developers have indicated that replacement parking could require tens of millions from City taxpayers. The people paying should have a say.
BUSINESS IMPACT
Downtown businesses depend on convenient public parking. Changes that could affect the economic health of downtown should have full support.
COMMUNITY CONSENT
The downtown parking plazas are vital public assets. Their future should be decided by the community they serve.
We Need Everyone’s Help
15% of Menlo Park's registered voters signed the petition to qualify the initiative— well beyond the required 10% — and the City Council voted unanimously to place it on the November 2026 ballot.
But outside special interests and developers have mobilized to oppose your ability to vote. To pass Measure P, the people of Menlo Park will need to help out, and spread the word to Vote Yes! on P.