City of Menlo Park 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025 tel 650-330-6600 menlopark.gov City Council
SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES
Date: 3/4/2025
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Locations: Teleconference and
City Council Chambers
751 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025
Special Session
A. Call To Order
Mayor Combs called the meeting to order at 5:33 p.m.
B. Roll Call
Present: Combs, Nash, Schmidt, Taylor, Wise
Absent: None
Staff: City Manager Justin Murphy, City Attorney Nira Doherty, Assistant to the City Manager/City Clerk Judi A. Herren
C. Closed Session
C1. Closed session conference with labor negotiator pursuant to Government Code §54957.6 regarding labor negotiations with the Menlo Park Police Sergeants’ Association Agency Designated Representatives: City Manager Justin I.C. Murphy, Assistant City Manager Stephen Stolte, City Attorney Nira Doherty, Legal Counsel Charles Sakai, Legal Counsel Genevieve Ng, Administrative Services Director Brittany Mello, Human Resources Manager Charla Freckmann
Adjourn to Closed Session
D. Call To Order
Mayor Combs re-called the meeting to order at 6:23 p.m.
E. Roll Call
Present: Combs, Nash, Schmidt, Taylor, Wise
Absent: None
Staff: City Manager Justin Murphy, City Attorney Nira Doherty, Assistant City Manager Stephen Stolte, Assistant to the City Manager/City Clerk Judi A. Herren F. Report from Closed Session
No reportable actions.
City of Menlo Park 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025 tel 650-330-6600 menlopark.gov G. Study Session
G1. Review and discuss site selection criteria and previous evaluation of City-owned properties completed for the 2023-2031 Housing Element (Staff Report #25-036-CC) Principal Planner Tom Smith made the presentation (Attachment). • Will Oursler spoke in support of affordable housing on the Downtown parking plazas. • Keri Nicholas spoke in opposition of affordable housing on the Downtown parking plazas and in support of reopening Santa Cruz Avenue and affordable housing. • Sean Van Dril spoke in support of affordable housing on the Downtown parking plazas. • Katie Hahn spoke in opposition of affordable housing on the Downtown parking plazas and in support of affordable housing on other sites.
• Alex Beltramo spoke in opposition of affordable housing on the Downtown parking plazas. • Andrea Chan requested clarification on where parking is going to be, traffic impacts and plan allotments
• Cherie Zaslawsky spoke in opposition of affordable housing on the Downtown parking plazas. • Billy McNair spoke in opposition of affordable housing on the Downtown parking plazas and in support of affordable housing on other sites.
• Katherine Dumont spoke in support of affordable housing on the Downtown parking plazas. • Chris Joy spoke in opposition of affordable housing on the Downtown parking plazas and in support affordable housing on other sites.
• William Hindson spoke in support of additional visual and audio aids at City Council meetings. • Carl spoke in opposition of affordable housing on the Downtown parking plazas. • Rich Johnson spoke in opposition of affordable housing on the Downtown parking plazas and support of housing.
• Jenny Michel spoke in support of affordable housing on the Downtown parking plazas. • Carmen Caricchio spoke in opposition of affordable housing on the Downtown parking plazas. • Adina Levin spoke in support of affordable housing on the Downtown parking plazas and other sites.
• Brittani Baxter spoke in support of affordable housing on the Downtown parking plazas. • Sarah Zollweg spoke in support of affordable housing on the Downtown parking plazas. • Skip Hilton spoke in support of affordable housing on the Downtown parking plazas and on other sites.
• Kevin Cunningham spoke in opposition of housing on the Downtown parking plazas, in support of affordable housing in other locations and considering all city owned lots and/or purchasing land for housing.
• Keith Quiggins spoke in opposition of affordable housing on the Downtown parking plazas and in support of revisiting other sites.
The City Council received clarification on uses and constraints of sites that were considered but not pursued during the Housing Element development, City acquiring land for housing, steps to modify Housing Element sites, United States Geological Survey (USGS) and other private property housing site options and constraints, California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) additional review triggers, impacts to anti displacement and below market rate policy updates from exploring additional housing sites and civic center zoning.
The City Council discussed exploring constrained sites, sites to research and level of analysis for each site, impacts to green space on constrained sites, future study sessions on the consideration City Council Special Meeting Minutes
March 4, 2025
City of Menlo Park 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025 tel 650-330-6600 menlopark.gov of individual sites, current and upcoming housing units in District 1, reviewing three parks and the civic center and reviewing responses to the request for qualifications (RFQ) to understand if housing is viable for Downtown before considering the study of additional Housing Element sites.
H. Informational Items
H1. City Council agenda topics: March 2025 (Staff Report #25-035-CC) • Adina Levin spoke on the upcoming Housing Element progress report and requested clarification on a parking and access study in Downtown.
The City Council received clarification on the parking demand study timeline.
I. Adjournment
Mayor Combs adjourned the meeting at 8:48 p.m.
Assistant to the City Manager/ City Clerk Judi Herren
These minutes were approved at the City Council meeting April 15, 2025.
City Council Special Meeting Minutes
March 4, 2025
SITE SELECTION CRITERIA AND CITY-OWNED
PROPERTIES IN 2023-2031 HOUSING ELEMENTMarch 4, 2025
G1-PRESENTATION
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Tonight’s meeting is a study session
– Opportunity for discussion and direction to staff on future actions No formal action will be taken at this meetingBACKGROUND 2 City Council Special Meeting Minutes
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Jan. 28: Councilmember Schmidt requested to agendize
discussion on Housing Element site selection criteria
Feb. 11: City Council directed staff to return with overview of process, including extent of Civic Center analysis – Overall focus on City-owned properties– No new information or analysis requested
BACKGROUND
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Required 6th Cycle Housing Element update
– Plan for city’s housing needs from 2023 to 2031– First adopted by City Council in Jan. 2023; certified by state in March 2024
– Includes goals, policies and programs to preserve, improve and develop housing for all income categories and affirmatively further fair housing
– Must also include a site inventory to show sufficient sites to meet regional housing needs allocation (RHNA)
HOUSING ELEMENT BACKGROUND
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2023-2031 RHNA by income category
Very Low Low Moderate Above
Moderate
Total
RHNA units 740 426 496 1,284 2,94630% buffer 222 128 149 385 884Total units 962 554 645 1,669 3,830
REGIONAL HOUSING NEEDS ALLOCATION
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California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) maintains Housing Element Site Inventory Guidebook Sites must meet several criteria to include in Housing Element – Adequate land area– Zoning that allows residential uses– Access to infrastructure– Lack of environmental constraints that would preclude development City must also identify which RHNA income category each site is anticipated to accommodate
HCD SITE SELECTION FACTORS
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Site area between 0.5 and 10 acres (or additional analysis for sites outside that range)
30 dwelling units per acre zoning density Locations that affirmatively further fair housing – Provide housing opportunities in high-resource areas (high-performing schools, proximity to jobs, etc.)
– Cannot be concentrated in areas of segregation or poverty
OTHER FACTORS TO MEET LOWER INCOME RHNA
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HCD recommends City-owned land as particularly suitable for affordable housing – Can reduce development costs and market constraints– Helps ensure long-term affordability through agreements and deed restrictions Staff evaluated all 49 City-owned parcels to determine which could meet HCD criteria and City goals
EVALUATION OF CITY-OWNED PROPERTIES
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CITY-OWNED PARCELS
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Many sites were eliminated due to existing uses and constraints – Parks and open spaces– Active civic facilities– Infrastructure facilities– Buildings with long-term leases beyond 2031– Sites in City Council District 1– Parcels too small or irregularly shaped for development– Environmentally-constrained parcels
EVALUATION OF CITY-OWNED PROPERTIES
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Attachment E of staff report highlights parcels between 0.5 and 10 acres in size
After evaluating against HCD and City criteria, downtown parking lots were determined to be adequate Housing Element sites
CITY-OWNED PARCELS SORTED BY SIZE
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Burgess Park/Civic Center site is a single 29-acre parcel zoned Public Facilities (P-F)
Housing Commission, Planning Commission, and City Council discussed potential housing at Civic Center
Across five meetings between 2021 and 2022, City Council affirmed guidance not to use parks as housing sites
Correspondence and public comments generally indicated support for excluding parks and including downtown parking lots as Housing Element sites
CIVIC CENTER EVALUATION
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Staff recommends City Council
provide guidance on any requested City-owned sites for additional analysis– Specific parcels, geographic areas, land use types, and/or other criteria
If additional sites are identified for
study, staff would schedule future City Council study session Estimated timing would depend on
desired level of review
13 NEXT STEPS
Analysis options and estimated timing
Level of analysis Potential components Estimated timing Basic screening
• General Plan and zoning consistency review• Overview of legal considerations• Draft Housing Element site sheet 2-3 months
Moderate analysis
Basic screening plus:• Title reports• High-level feasibility assessment 4-6 months
Comprehensive study
Moderate analysis plus:• Complete feasibility study• Legal analysis of individual site restrictions• Environmental assessment• Community engagement events 12 months
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If any modifications to Housing Element are proposed, City would need to coordinate with HCD
Changes to housing inventory sites would require General Plan and Zoning Ordinance amendments, potentially environmental review
14 NEXT STEPS
City Council Special Meeting Minutes
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THANK YOU
City Council Special Meeting Minutes
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