California Warns Menlo Park Must Amend Housing Plan if Measure P Wins

The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) notified the city of Menlo Park in an Oct. 30 letter that if voters approve Measure P in Tuesday's Nov. 3 election, the city will be required to amend its state-certified housing element, according to reporting by Arden Margulis in The Almanac.

As of Friday, Oct. 30, the San Mateo County Elections Office reported that 28% of registered Menlo Park voters had already returned their ballots.

Downtown Parking Plazas and the 345-Unit Affordable Housing Plan

Coordinated by the group Save Downtown Menlo, Measure P would require citywide voter approval before Menlo Park can repurpose or significantly reduce parking across 8 city-owned downtown parking lots.

Three of those 8 downtown parking lots are designated in Menlo Park's state-approved housing element for the construction of at least 345 below-market-rate affordable housing units, with replacement parking structures incorporated into the developments. Under the city's current proposal, Menlo Park would lease the downtown land to an affordable housing developer for $1 per year over a 55-year lease term. City analyses indicate the project still faces an estimated local funding gap of $19 million to $45 million that would need to be filled by city contributions or outside philanthropy.

In its Oct. 30 letter, HCD stated that requiring a second citywide ballot measure before those downtown parking lots can be developed introduces a new governmental constraint. If Measure P passes on Nov. 3, Menlo Park must revise its housing element to either demonstrate that the downtown lots remain viable or identify alternative sites with equivalent capacity. HCD previously sent a similar warning letter in August before the Menlo Park City Council selected a developer.

Arguments From Measure P Opponents and Supporters

Campaign leaders and City Council District 4 candidates offered sharply contrasting interpretations of HCD's Oct. 30 letter:

• No on P Campaign and District 4 Candidate Charlotte Reed: Karen Grove, a leader of the No on P campaign and former Menlo Park housing commissioner, warned that amending the housing element is an expensive, multi-year process that could result in HCD decertifying the city's housing plan. Decertification could expose Menlo Park to state fines, loss of affordable housing grants, and "builder's remedy" applications — which allow developers to bypass local zoning limits, as occurred in 2024 before the city's housing element was certified, when a developer filed an application for a high-rise project at 80 Willow Road. District 4 candidate Charlotte Reed likewise opposed Measure P, arguing that losing housing element certification would strip the city of local land-use authority.
• Measure P Proponent Alex Beltramo and District 4 Candidate Laura Melahn: Measure P proponent Alex Beltramo and District 4 candidate Laura Melahn argued that HCD's letter confirms passage of Measure P will not trigger immediate decertification on Wednesday morning, giving the city time to identify alternative sites for affordable housing without eliminating surface parking for downtown merchants and shoppers.