Medical offices may move into Middlefield/Willow area Medical offices may move into Middlefield/Willow area (October 20, 2004)

By Rebecca Wallace
Almanac Staff Writer

Maybe the question should be "Is there a doctor in the neighborhood?"

Some developers in Menlo Park would like there to be. Two are seeking permission to convert general office buildings to medical office facilities in the area of Linfield Drive and Middlefield and Willow roads.

With those possibilities in mind, the Menlo Park City Council may take a broader look at the Linfield/Middlefield/Willow area, tapping neighborhood residents to see what kinds of uses they'd support having there.

Medical offices are currently allowed in the area with a use permit, along with other professional offices such as architects and attorneys. Research facilities can also go in with a use permit.

Larger numbers of doctors' offices, though, could alter the character of the area. City Councilwoman Mickie Winkler said those changes could be positive or negative.

It could be "very community-serving" to have physicians within a short drive of Menlo Park residents, she said. Some residents, though, are worried about medical offices attracting more traffic to their streets.

"We just have to figure out what the impacts are," she said.

There's also been talk that many doctors on Stanford University-owned land on Welch Road near Palo Alto are not having their leases renewed by Stanford, and thus could move to Menlo Park, Ms. Winkler said.

But Bill Phillips, director of the Stanford Land Management Company, said the only Welch Road lease expiring in the near future is for the Stanford Barn shopping complex at Welch and Quarry, in 2006. No other leases will expire until 2012, with another group due to expire in 2019, he said.

But he added that, given the long-term space needs for the Stanford University Hospital, Children's Hospital and Medical Center, there's not a strong likelihood the leases will be renewed when the time is up, he said.

Back in Menlo Park, Dewey Land Corp. is seeking a use permit to convert general office space to medical offices at 8 Homewood Place, and Pollack Financial Corp. has applied to do so at 321 Middlefield Road at Linfield Drive.

A major housing project is also in the works at 110 and 175 Linfield Dr., by Consolidated Freightways and Olive Hill Development. The plan is to build 58 single-family homes; an environmental impact report is being prepared.

At its meeting on Tuesday, October 19, the Menlo Park City Council is set to decide whether to launch an outreach process on the Linfield/Middlefield/Willow area.

City staff members recommend holding a community meeting to solicit feedback on land uses in the area, pending and potential. The council might also opt to have a special development review process for the area, senior planner Tracy Cramer wrote in a staff report.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at 801 Laurel St.

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