The City has unveiled a new web page to provide the community with factual information about the ballot initiative proposed to revise Menlo Park’s El Camino Real/Downtown Specific Plan. The direct link to the new page is www.menlopark.org/ProposedInitiative.  The informational web page is also linked from www.menlopark.org/specificplan, and from the City Clerk’s web page at www.menlopark.org/cityclerk. 

This new web page summarizes the proposed ballot measure’s primary elements, and clarifies how the Specific Plan currently addresses relevant key issues of community importance, including: open space definitions and requirements, maximum allowable development and office space area designations, issues of traffic, noise, and air pollution, and fiscal impacts. It also provides information on the two developments currently proposed under the Plan, including initial renderings and comparisons of building “massing” and scope, and offers a review of the public process through which the Specific Plan was developed.

All of the City’s Specific Plan information on this web page has been gathered from existing public documents, and is compiled and summarized in one location for easy access by interested members of the community. The page will also provide updates on the Council-approved consultant study of the proposed measure, which is expected to be completed in July. That document will provide a thorough, fact-based, and fully objective review of how the proposed initiative would affect key factors related to the Specific Plan, and will be a crucial source of information for the City and the community.

The petitions submitted to the City by supporters of the proposed measure have been provided to the San Mateo County Elections Office for signature verification. The County Elections office has up to 30 days to verify the signatures. Verified signatures of 10% of Menlo Park’s approximately 17,800 registered voters are required in order to place the initiative on the November 2014 ballot.

The Menlo Park El Camino Real/Downtown Specific Plan was the result of a $1.6 million, five-year community visioning and engagement process including detailed analysis, thorough public discussion, compromise, and revision. It represents a blueprint for the future development of the El Camino Real/Downtown corridor. More information about the El Camino Real/Downtown Specific Plan can be found online at www.menlopark.org/specificplan.

For more information, please contact City Manager Alex D. McIntyre.