The first in a line of projects to affect the Linfield Oaks neighborhood could get the green light at the March 21 meeting of the Menlo Park City Council.
The council will consider a proposal for 56 detached, single-family, two- and three-story homes at 110 and 175 Linfield Drive.
In order to approve the project, the council would have to adopt a “statement of overriding consideration” that shows the project’s benefits outweigh its impacts — impacts neighbors say are too harmful.
The plans for Linfield Drive are one of four projects proposed for the neighborhood. Other plans call for building 37 houses at 8 Homewood Place and 33 houses at 75 Willow Road, and converting a 48,500-square-foot office building at 321 Middlefield Road into medical offices.
Cumulatively, the projects would bring an additional 2,000-plus auto trips per day to the neighborhood, and impact 12 intersections, according to an environmental impact report (EIR) by Oakland-based transportation firm DKS Associates.
Traffic mitigations will be considered by the council to offset the impacts of the proposals, including the plans for homes on Linfield Drive. Possible mitigations include prohibiting left turns from Alma Street to Ravenswood Avenue, and placing a traffic light or lighted crosswalk at the intersection of Middlefield Road and Linfield Drive.
The applicants for the four projects would cover all costs of traffic mitigations approved with the proposals.
At the council’s March 14 meeting, some residents argued that the mitigations won’t be enough to counteract increased traffic in the neighborhood.
“Two thousand trips a day is a lot to be added on any street in any area of Menlo Park,” said Stu Soffer, a resident and former planning commissioner.
Laure Laprais, a bicycle commissioner, said more drastic measures — such as lowering the speed limit along Middlefield Road — are needed to make the neighborhood safe for children who walk or bike to school.
The Planning Commission approved the Linfield Drive proposal 3-2 at its March 13 meeting.
The council meets at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at the Civic Center, between Laurel and Alma streets.
