Why a Citizens’ Initiative?

A storefront with a sign that reads 'STORE CLOSING' and a poster next to it showing a broken heart and the words 'Downtown Menlo Park'.

Menlo Park’s city leaders claim these parking lots are “underutilized.”

Drone footage of parking Lots 1, 2 and 3, going from El Camino to University Dr. on June 5, 2025 (2x speed)

They plan to declare the lots “surplus land” and lease them to housing developers for a dollar a year.

Drone footage of parking Lots 1, 2 and 3, going from University Dr. to El Camino on June 5, 2025 (3x speed)

They’d squeeze a minimum of 345 apartments on the 3 parking lots. The buildings could be up to 10 stories tall.

Aerial view of a neighborhood with several buildings marked with red semi-transparent 3D boxes, indicating specific structures or areas of interest.

There have been no studies to assess the potential impact on traffic congestion or fire saftey.

The housing developers say the public parking spaces will either be relocated to a large parking garage or would be shared with residents using a validation system.

A woman and a girl with a shopping cart filled with groceries standing next to a parking sign that says 'Parking 2 Blocks That Way' with an arrow pointing to the right, in an urban setting.

A man with a distressed expression holding a ticket at a checkout counter with a cashier woman holding a ticket, with three people behind him also holding tickets, in a parking lot or store. A sign reads "CHECK OUT" and a parking payment machine is on the counter.

And as for providing additional parking for residents, the proposals call for only 1/2 space per unit. So hundreds of residents will be competing with customers for the public spaces.

An aerial view of a parking lot with numerous parked cars, trees, and a building with a mechanical roof structure.

Parking Lot 3 as seen from the current link on Google Earth

Our downtown serves tens of thousands of customers who drive from miles away. If it’s difficult to park, they will go elsewhere. Our downtown businesses would not survive.

An aerial view of a city block with a parking lot filled with cars in front of several commercial buildings. Trees line the streets and parking lot. There are many cars parked in the lot and along the street.

Parking Lot 3 as seen KPIX story.

The loss of businesses would mean fewer jobs and less sales tax revenue. The loss of a vibrant business district and community hub would mean decreased property values throughout Menlo Park.

A storefront with a large sign that reads 'STORE CLOSING' next to a map showing a broken heart symbol and the text 'Downtown Menlo Park.'

(The current vacancies are not due to a lack of people. They are because of overly restrictive retail-only zoning along Santa Cruz Ave. If the City would just loosen the zoning to include personal services, like fitness studios, then the vacancies would be filled immediately.)

And yet the plans to put housing in the parking lots keep moving forward - despite overwhelming opposition from the people of Menlo Park and surrounding communities.

A group of people standing and waiting outside a building at night, some wearing masks, with a bench in the foreground and glass entrance doors showing an indoor waiting area.

This decision is too important, and too irreversible, to be left in the hands of a 3 person majority of the City Council.

And so we are launching a Citizens’ Initiative. If passed, any change in use of the downtown parking lots would have to first be approved by Menlo Park voters.

A public land and community advocacy sign with blue background and white, yellow text. It encourages community decision making, saving downtown Menlo, and supporting local business. Contains a QR code and website URL.

The initiative applies only to the 8 publicly owned, downtown parking plazas.

Menlo Park must meet its housing needs. But there are ways to do that which do not sacrifice our downtown. Look at these better alternatives.

An aerial view of an urban area with roads, parking lots, buildings, and trees. There is a large highway with a curved on-ramp visible in the center of the image. Yellow lines indicate the path from bus stops to buildings and walkways.

Menlo Park voters should be the ones making this choice.

And that is why we’re doing a Citizens’ Initiative.

Two women standing behind a table with signs that say 'Save Downtown Menlo' and 'Ballot Measure.' They are outside near a sidewalk, wearing white shirts, sunglasses, and hats. There are watermelons and other produce displayed on tables behind them. Other signage and cars are visible in the background.

Please make a small donation to the campaign to show your support.