Menlo Park: Proposals for medical, housing projects Menlo Park: Proposals for medical, housing projects (June 15, 2005)

** Some residents worry about overloading Linfield Oaks neighborhood, while others favor more housing.

By Rebecca Wallace

Almanac Staff Writer

Usually a city council slides one development project at a time under the microscope. But the Menlo Park council is getting ambitious on Tuesday, June 14, taking a broad look at five plans being proposed.

The focus will be on the Linfield Oaks neighborhood, with the council looking at three projects that would demolish office buildings to make way for homes and two that would convert office structures to medical offices.

The projects, all in the area of Linfield Drive and Middlefield and Willow roads, have been in the public eye for some time and are in varying positions in the approval process.

For example, Olive Hill Development's plan to demolish two vacant office buildings and put up 36 single-family homes at 175 Linfield Drive and 22 single-family homes at 110 Linfield has twice been eyed by the council and is expected to have its draft environmental impact report completed this month.

The other four projects -- including a Summerhill Homes Development plan to build 34 single-family homes at 75 Willow Road -- are moving toward having traffic studies.

Not surprisingly, these large undertakings have drawn a flood of comments from residents. Some say the community needs new housing and nearby medical offices, while others worry about whether more residents will weigh down the roads and the schools.

"This is a very desirable town in which to live (something we should all be proud of), but the need for more housing is both acute and chronic," Politzer Drive resident Jeffrey Child wrote in an e-mail to the council on June 9.

On the other side of the issue, Lynne and Barry Calvarese of Claremont Way wrote to the city May 24: "Our schools cannot handle any more students, our sewer systems cannot handle additional load, and our streets are already crowded."

The various points of view will be aired on June 14, when the council is scheduled to review the public input and give city staff general direction on what land uses are appropriate in the area and what the review process should be.
Medical on Middlefield

The council has already voiced some opinions on the projects. Regarding the Dewey Land Co. proposal to convert a 21,139-square-foot office building at 8 Homewood Place to medical offices, council members have said they'd rather see housing at that site.

Medical offices, the council said, should be limited to the Middlefield Road corridor.

The fifth project, a plan by the Pollock Financial Group, would convert a 48,400-square-foot office building at 321 Middlefield to medical offices. Council members have said the site would not be suitable for homes.
Olive Hill project

Some council members have also voiced general support for the Olive Hill housing development, and the council has long looked at those Linfield Drive sites as potential places for new homes.

Fifteen percent of the homes in the Olive Hill project, or nine homes, would be sold at below-market-rate prices, per city regulations, Duke Rohlen of Olive Hill told the Almanac.

Mr. Rohlen also said the project had been altered to "increase the livability" after an earlier appearance before the council. Three proposed homes were taken out to make more room for open space, he said. The plan includes two parks with grass, trees and paths, which some residents have praised.

The project calls for removing about 50 trees large enough to be deemed "heritage trees," which has caused some concern among residents. Mr. Rohlen said Olive Hill has committed to adding two trees for every one taken away, focusing on adding native species such as oaks and redwoods.

In a staff report, city senior planner Tracy Cramer said staff members think the council should reaffirm its previous direction on the Olive Hill plan and the other projects. The direction is consistent with the neighborhood's land-use patterns and also supports the "concept of focusing more intense uses on Middlefield Road," she wrote.
Opposition petition

The council isn't the only one who's been weighing in on the projects.

An April neighborhood meeting drew 55 people, and a subsequent city survey drew 18 responses. Most respondents said they wanted all the project sites to be used for office buildings, Ms. Cramer wrote.

Linfield Oaks residents also conducted their own survey, going door-to-door and circulating a petition opposing the projects that yielded 197 signatures, Ms. Cramer wrote. The document voices concerns about added traffic and students, and the destruction of heritage trees.

According to a copy of the petition in the staff report, the document states, "Buildings in this heavily trafficked area should continue to be occupied by low-intensity professional and administrative offices, with light retail -- such as the existing restaurant, grocery and service station -- along the Middlefield corridor."
INFORMATION

The Menlo Park City Council will eye five development projects in the Linfield Oaks area at a 7 p.m. meeting on Tuesday, June 14, in the council chambers at 701 Laurel St. For more information, go to menlopark.org.

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