This story was first printed in Wednesday’s Daily Post. Now we’re noticing that another media outlet has re-written the story and posted it as their own. Here’s the original. Remember to get important local news first, pick up the Post in the mornings.
BY NORAH SHEPPARD-HUTCHINS
Daily Post Staff Writer
A U.S. sanctions designation against Russian property owner Vitaly Yusufov could stop development of his 39-story tower at the former Sunset Magazine headquarters in Menlo Park.
Yusufov faces sanctions in Ukraine, while his father, former Russian Energy Minister Igor Yusufov, also faces sanctions in Ukraine and in Canada.
Sanctions can prohibit individuals and entities from engaging in certain trade, financial transactions and freezing one’s assets, according to the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Menlo Park City Council has not reached out to the OFAC or Congressman Sam Liccardo’s office to ask about putting Yusufov on a sanctions list, Councilman Drew Combs said in an email to the Post.
However, a group of residents has been preparing to report Yusufov to the Committee of Foreign Investment in the United States, Combs said.
The Post requested comment from Liccardo’s office and Menlo Park Mayor Betsy Nash but did not receive a response in time for publication.
Vitaly Yusufov bought the seven-acre property at 80 Willow Road in 2019, which he plans to develop into 665 apartments, a hotel, office space and a preschool across three towers, with the tallest going up to 461 feet.
At 461 feet, it would be the tallest building between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office sent the city a letter on July 27, stating the city improperly changed its reasons for rejecting Heneghan’s proposal.
Heneghan then sent the council a letter on Aug. 3 stating that the council must approve the project by Oct. 27. Both Heneghan and Bonta’s office cite Assembly Bill 712, which is aimed at punishing cities that do not follow housing laws.
An extreme approach
Palo Alto will be in the shadow of the new Sunset towers. Councilman Pat Burt said he believes Bonta has taken an extreme ideological approach to Menlo Park’s housing issue.
“I would think if the Attorney General wanted to weigh in on something, it would be to look more deeply into who is actually investing in this property and is driving this development, and what are the sources of those funds,” Burt said.
While the proposal for 80 Willow would normally violate city building codes, Menlo Park’s housing element wasn’t certified by the state on time. As a result, certain projects are allowed under the Builder’s Remedy provision of state law if they include a portion of subsidized housing.
Combs said the council did submit its housing element on time, but the process was disorganized and the state wouldn’t return their calls.
“You’re also going to say that the city and residents have no right or expectation to any sort of environmental analysis, any sort of in-depth understanding of the impacts of traffic, of the ecological impacts—like, again, what’s the quality of the soil? How does that support a structure of that size?” Combs said.
Residents protesting
Residents in Menlo Park have been protesting the proposed development, and the pressure being placed on council by Bonta and Heneghan.
Resident Peggy Propp emailed council on Sept. 14, saying that it’s a shame a historical site may be destroyed.
Last summer, the National Park Service found that the former magazine headquarters is eligible for a historic listing, which could force a full California Environmental Quality Act review.
“Of course he’s going to object to it, given the money he stands to make,” Propp said. “That doesn’t negate the fact that the property qualifies both for the historical character of the building and the discovery of Native American artifacts on the site. I don’t believe that the intent of the state Builder’s Remedy law was to destroy California’s architectural heritage or sacred Native American sites.”
About 20 residents showed up to a Menlo Park City Council meeting yesterday to encourage council to stand against accepting the proposal.
On the federal level
The United States government has had a complex relationship with the Russians after the election of Donald Trump in 2016. He had been accused of having close ties to Russia. He’s denied that — and was vindicated by the Mueller Report — but then in recent days, Donald Trump Jr. and Bettina Anderson confirmed that a Russian oligarch with ties to Vladimir Putin helped fund their wedding party back in May.
Umar Kremlev reportedly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the younger Trump’s wedding expenses, according to a report by ProPublica.
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