BY NORAH SHEPPARD-HUTCHINS
Daily Post Staff Writer
Three days before Election Day, state housing officials weighed in on a ballot measure that would require the city to go to voters with any plans to redevelop downtown parking lots into public housing in Menlo Park.
Menlo Park would need to consider new places for the public housing if voters approve Measure P on Nov. 3, according to a letter from state housing official Brian Heaton.
That’s because council listed eight downtown parking plazas as a place where at least 345 affordable homes could get built in its 2023-2031 Housing Element, Heaton said.
A group of residents, downtown property owners and business owners collected signatures to put the measure on the ballot because of the city’s plans to redevelop 556 parking spaces across three lots into up to 500 subsidized apartments.
The Housing Element is a state-mandated plan for where 2,946 homes can be placed throughout the city, Heaton said.
Heaton said the city could get fined a minimum of $10,000 per month or lose local control of land-use decisions and be subject to Builder’s Remedy if the plan isn’t followed or certified by the state.
Builder’s Remedy law allows developers to ignore local rules on height and density, as long as one-in-five units are rented below the market rate if a city has not gotten its housing plan approved by the state.
The proposed 80 Willow Road development, which includes a 39-story tower on the historic former Sunset Magazine campus, has been pushed on the city because of Builder’s Remedy.
The city’s decision to not approve the project in an expedited manner has led to a lawsuit from the developer.
Los Altos received a similar letter in September regarding its Measure D, which also aims to preserve downtown parking lots.
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