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Parks and Recreation Commissioner Wonman Lee has pulled papers to run for the District 1 seat on the Menlo Park City Council, saying he wants to address quality-of-life issues in Belle Haven, especially after Meta recently shelved plans for a large development in the city’s easternmost district.
“I think District 1 is on the precipice of something really great: Belle Haven School is being heavily renovated, a lot of housing has been built around Independence Drive, and Snowflake has moved in as a new employer,” Lee said in an exclusive interview with The Almanac, referring to the AI company that is one of Menlo Park’s five largest employers.
But Lee said he and his neighbors often need to travel to other cities to shop. If retail and commercial development comes to Belle Haven, he said, the city could use additional revenue to expand services and fund existing programs.
He also envisions a future where residents can walk or bike to work, shopping and restaurants.
“I want not just my family but all families in Belle Haven to be able to walk on a weekend, for example, to a breakfast place, order a plate of waffles and enjoy their time,” Lee said. “We literally cannot do that right now.”
Incumbent Councilmember Cecilia Taylor announced on June 28 that she would not seek reelection to the District 1 seat, which she had held for two terms. District 1 represents the Belle Haven neighborhood and the Bayfront area of Menlo Park.
‘Abundance’ philosophy
Lee, a software engineer at educational technology company Learneo’s Menlo Park office, said his philosophy aligns with parts of the New York Times bestselling book “Abundance” by Derek Thompson and Ezra Klein.
“That book talks about how scarcity drives a lot of the division that we’re seeing right now,” he said. “I’m a big proponent of creating a lot more housing. Going back to simple supply and demand: If there’s more housing, then rents potentially can go lower.”
To spur housing, Lee said the city should work to remove red tape. One example, he said, is following East Palo Alto’s lead in temporarily pausing some requirements to include income-restricted affordable housing in small-scale developments to encourage new construction.
He also said the city should examine the factors that led Meta to pause the massive, mixed-use Willow Village project and learn from it to better support future development.
Lee added that the city should address bureaucratic delays affecting homeowners.
When he moved to Belle Haven during the pandemic, Lee said renovating his 1950s single-story home was arduous. Like roughly half of all lots in Menlo Park, his home is on a “sub-standard” lot, meaning it does not meet certain zoning requirements or has an irregular shape, often due to the city’s history of annexations that left some parcels slightly undersized.
Property owners seeking to build or renovate on substandard lots must obtain Planning Commission approval, even for projects that might otherwise be permitted over the counter.
Lee said one commissioner voted against his proposed renovation because “the exterior didn’t match the character of the neighborhood.”
“Especially if a lot of the lots right now are substandard to begin with, I think we can revise some of that code that is unnecessarily punitive,” he said.
On other housing proposals, Lee said he supports exploring mixed-use development at Bohannon Office Park. He also said he supports a controversial proposal to build affordable housing on city-owned downtown parking lots but wants the Menlo Park officials to structure any development to avoid harming small businesses.
“I have a few ideas, like maybe building the parking garage first, but I’m not directly involved in those discussions yet,” he said. “I want to understand the nuance before jumping in and saying one thing or another.”
Dealing with controversy
Since joining the Parks and Recreation Commission in 2023, Lee said he has had a front row seat to how discussions can quickly become unproductive. The commission held multiple meetings on whether to name the new Belle Haven Community Campus after late community activist Onetta Harris.
“A beautiful new community center was opening, but something like the majority of those meetings were focused on such a narrow issue — what to name the facility — instead of talking about what services we’re going to provide,” Lee said. “I feel like that marred what was something great, and a lot of those meetings turned very nasty.”
He said the experience was a learning opportunity. While he does not dismiss the importance of deciding on a name or Harris’ legacy, Lee said the focus should remain on community impact and moving discussions forward.
Family-oriented
Lee said he wants District 1 and Menlo Park as a whole to attract young families and build the types of services and amenities that they want.
As part of that, Lee wants to restore the city’s gymnastics program to pre-pandemic levels and increase staffing. He also wants the city to improve its turbulent relationship with pool operator Team Sheeper to ensure residents have access to public swimming facilities while keeping the operator afloat financially.
Lee said he supports expanding community events and said he helped champion the first-annual Belle Haven Community Fun Run as a commissioner.
Newcomer to politics
A self-described neophyte in local politics, Lee said he promises voters that he will work with stakeholders and experts to fully understand issues before making decisions.
“I’m coming into this with good intentions, and I think it is helpful to have a good steward of District 1 to work on Willow Village and future developments,” he said.
Lee previously worked on Capitol Hill for two U.S. senators. He lives in Belle Haven with his wife, two children and dog, Luna.
For more information on his campaign, visit wonmanlee.com.
According to the Menlo Park city clerk’s office, a resident named James Rohr has also pulled papers to run for the District 1 seat. Attempts to contact Rohr were not immediately successful.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly said Lee’s remodel did not increase the home’s square footage.
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