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When it comes to getting developments approved in Menlo Park, one of the largest obstacles many development proposals face is what’s called an Environmental Impact Report. Applicants have to analyze and report on various ways their project and its construction will impact the surrounding environment, quantifying the impacts of everything from air pollution to traffic.
Community members are able to participate in this process by raising topics they’d like to be analyzed when a “notice of preparation” is released at the start of the process. They may also comment on the analysis that has been done when the draft environmental impact report is released.
The draft environmental impact reports for two projects in northern Menlo Park have been released. Go to is.gd/mpEIRs to view the draft environmental impact reports for these projects.
111 Independence Drive
This is a proposal by to build an eight-story building with 105 apartments, a cafe and above-ground parking at 111 Independence Drive. The deadline to submit comments is 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 2. People should email comments to Payal Bhagat, contract principal planner at pbhagat@menlopark.org or address them by mail to Bhagat at Community Development, 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025.
Menlo Uptown
Menlo Uptown would involve redeveloping the office and and industrial buildings at 141 Jefferson Drive and 180-106 Constitution Drive to build 441 apartments and 42 for-sale townhomes, plus about 3,000 square feet of office space.
The deadline to submit comments is also 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 2. People should contact Senior Planner Tom Smith by email at tasmith@menlopark.org or by mail at Tom Smith, Community Development, 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025.
People may also submit comments when the Menlo Park Planning Commission reviews the environmental impact report at its remote meeting, currently scheduled for 7 p.m. on Jan. 11.
Menlo Flats
The Menlo Flats development proposal at 165 Jefferson Drive is adjacent to the proposed Menlo Uptown development. This proposal by developer Greystar is to build an eight-story building with 158 new apartments and about 15,000 square feet of commercial space. There would be an estimated 113 studio-size and 45 four-bedroom apartments.
The Planning Commission weighed in Dec. 7 on what topics should be analyzed before the environmental analysis begins; the deadline for others to comment is 5 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 21, by emailing Payal Bhagat at Pbhagat@menlopark.org with “Menlo Flats Project EIR” as the subject.
