The Menlo Park City Council will have a full plate on Tuesday, Nov. 27.
On the same night council members are scheduled to discuss grade separations and the new Derry project, they’re also expected to take on the issue of building more playing fields.
Council members will consider a staff recommendation to pay a consultant $42,917 to conduct a citywide sports field study, and determine where more fields can be built.
The study would also survey spots where artificial turf fields and/or lighted fields could be built, according to a staff report. If approved, the study would start in December and conclude in April.
The playing fields study is listed as a regular business item for the council’s regular meeting, which is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at the Civic Center, between Laurel and Alma streets.
Derry project returns
Menlo Park City Council members will get their first chance to publicly discuss the new Derry condo-commercial project on Nov. 27.
The project includes plans for 108 condos in a cluster of three-story buildings, a 3,500-square-foot plaza, and a payment of $2 million from the developer, the San Mateo-based O’Brien Group, to the city.
The council will discuss the project as an information item at its regular meeting, which is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at the Civic Center.
The new proposal is the result of a compromise reached by the developer and the residents group Menlo Park Tomorrow, which led a referendum against the original proposal.
The original project included plans for 135 condos in three- and four-story buildings up to 50 feet tall at a 3.4-acre site that borders Oak Grove Avenue and Derry Lane, between El Camino Real and the Caltrain tracks.
Grade separations
study session
Grade separations — separating the Caltrain tracks from the roadway at key intersections — will be the focus of a Menlo Park City Council study session scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 27.
Council members are expected to discuss the costs, impacts and feasibility of separating the tracks from the road at four Menlo Park streets: Ravenswood, Oak Grove, Glenwood and Encinal avenues.
The study session will be in the council chambers at the Civic Center.
Proponents of grade preparations say allowing traffic, bicycles and pedestrians to pass over or under more heavily used tracks would reduce congestion and improve safety, but critics say constructing grade separations will worsen congestion, and severely impact nearby homes and businesses.
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