fter months of debate and revision, the Menlo Park City Council last week adopted an ordinance that turns a blighted portion of Hamilton Avenue into an M-1 (light industrial) zone as part of an effort to clean up the area.
The council voted 4-1 to enact the ordinance at its March 6 meeting, with Mayor Nicholas Jellins dissenting.
The M-1 zone, which had formerly been an M-2 (general industrial) area, covers an area of about five blocks on the northeastern side of Hamilton Avenue from roughly Windermere Avenue to Carlton Avenue. The new law allows existing businesses to stay, once they have acquired a use permit from the city to ensure that owners clean up run-down or unkempt buildings. Future businesses could include manufacturing, storage, packaging, assembling, repair and prototype development.
The area had originally been proposed as a site for a mixture of homes and commercial buildings, but city officials revised the plan after Belle Haven residents objected to it in September. They argued that the combination of residences and businesses would draw too much traffic to the area.
More recently, the City Council spent much time haggling over the size of office buildings it will allow in the M-1 zone. It ultimately decided to allow office buildings with a 20 percent floor area ratio (FAR), meaning that the floor area of an office development could be no more than 20 percent of the lot area. A majority of the council feared that larger office buildings would mean that the market's demand for office space would drive existing businesses, which hire local residents, out of the area.
Council discussion
During last week's meeting, Mr. Jellins urged the council to wait before adopting the M-1 ordinance so it could develop a vision of what it wants the area to be. He noted that the city soon expects to acquire the lot at 735 Hamilton Ave., the current location of George's Speedy Market, and the future development of this site could do much to improve the neighborhood.
"We're really putting the cart before the horse if we zone it before we know what it looks like," he said. Council member Mary Jo Borak disagreed.
"We could be here in two or three years with no movement on Hamilton Avenue, that would be a big mistake," she said.
Councilman Steve Schmidt said he believes the council already has a vision for the M-1 zone that includes light industrial businesses that serve the local populace and some office use. He later cited Allen Equipment Co., which rents construction equipment, as one such existing Hamilton Avenue business that serves Menlo Park.
"We don't want to have to drive to San Jose to get a wheelbarrow," he said.
