When the Menlo Park City Council invited public comment Tuesday on a proposal for developing parking lots in downtown, its chambers were packed. Hundreds of residents, business owners and activists waited inside and outside to get their two-minutes at the podium. Among them: Menlo math teacher Reeve Garrett.
Garrett, one of the first people to speak, voiced his support for the development, which would see three city-owned parking lots on the north side of Santa Cruz Ave. (i.e. behind Amici’s, Coffeebar and Cheeky Monkey) turned into hundreds of units of housing and commercial space. After public commenting, the council voted to begin searching for developers while delaying rezoning the lots for such development.
Citing his own experience living downtown after moving from Ohio to work at Menlo, Garrett said that such housing would allow more people to enjoy the financial benefits of living without a car. “There will still be ample parking in downtown Menlo Park,” he added.
Others in the crowd disagreed with Garrett’s claim, and a chorus of groans and sarcastic laughter filled the chamber each time a pro-housing advocate made similar claims (though targeted and personal hostilities were not limited to the project’s detractors). Several residents cited “10-to-one” opposition to the project, with one decrying “the socialist bent” of the city council and another likening her cause to the Boston Tea Party. “We’re all for affordable housing, but don’t destroy the fabric of downtown Menlo Park,” one speaker said.
One resident even targeted Garrett’s comments almost two hours after he spoke. “They don’t get to move here from the Midwest […] and say ‘I like it here,’” the resident said.
Writing to The Coat of Arms, Garrett brushed off the comments. “I’m glad I was referred to a few times after I spoke,” he wrote. “It indicates to me that what I had to say actually mattered in this conversation.”
A motif throughout opposers’ comments was the concern for existing businesses. Members of the Draeger family — which owns the supermarket by the same name — were some of the speakers who called for a citywide referendum on the project. Additionally, Linda Sullivan, the owner of Sullivan Design Studio on Santa Cruz Ave., contended that the removal of the three parking lots “is going to doom most of our businesses.”
During a break in public comment, resident Pam Paige echoed this opposition, saying that she appreciates the tight-knit community of downtown businesses. “I feel like I know everybody.”
While other residents feared that the project would put “a dagger in the heart of downtown,” pro-housing advocates like Garrett contended that the development will provide some relief to the housing crisis, create more business opportunities, and add vibrancy to downtown Menlo Park. “I think [downtown] has a lot of potential to bring interesting restaurants and other great businesses with fun and exciting things to offer, and more downtown residents can help them build a customer base,” Garrett wrote. “To me, parking lots aren’t what make a great downtown: it’s the people, services, and businesses.”
