SAND HILL ROAD: Menlo Park council endorses M

Menlo Park urges Palo Alto voters to reject Measure O and support Measure M on Nov. 4

by Vicky Anning

In the early hours of Wednesday, the Menlo Park City Council passed a resolution endorsing Measure M, the initiative that proposes an alternative to Stanford's planned development of Sand Hill Road. Voting 3-0, with two council members abstaining, the Menlo Park council urged Palo Alto citizens to oppose the Stanford proposal, Measure O, at the ballot on Nov. 4 and vote for Measure M.

The resolution states that the negative impacts of the Stanford Sand Hill Road corridor projects outweigh the benefits to the city of Menlo Park. The resolution also lists degradation of air quality, endangerment of the creek, noise pollution and traffic congestion as the major reasons for the city's opposition to Measure O.

Three members of the council--Mayor Steve Schmidt, Chuck Kinney and Paul Collacchi--voted to support Measure M, stating that it "creates a framework for regional solutions to land use, planning and transportation" and "allows the Stanford projects to proceed with substantially less negative impacts . . ."

Council members Bob Burmeister and Bernie Nevin chose to abstain.

"As a council, I don't think it's necessary to take a position on a political measure before voters on the ballot in another city," said Burmeister.

Burmeister said the council had made its opposition to Measure O clear in a letter to Stanford on Jan. 30, and questioned whether Menlo Park's endorsement would be supportive to Measure M's campaign.

However, Burmeister said he "lauds" the Measure M campaign although he doesn't like every component of the measure, and Nevin said she "applauds the efforts" of the Measure M campaign and chided Stanford for not looking more seriously at alternative housing sites for the 628-unit Stanford West apartments.

Palo Alto City Attorney Ariel Calonne said Wednesday that there are strict limits imposed on the ability of one city council to support another city's ballot measures, particularly if public funds are involved. But he declined to comment on Menlo Park's decision.

Some members of the Menlo Park council have been actively involved in Measure M's grass-roots campaign. Mayor Schmidt spent his own time last weekend walking precincts in Palo Alto.

Council members Collacchi, Kinney and Mayor Schmidt argued that supporting Measure M would send a clear message to the voters of Palo Alto and to the Stanford administration.

"Both Palo Alto and Stanford have more or less ignored us since July," said Schmidt. "Palo Alto didn't want to go down the regional path on this. They had their own agenda."

Larry Horton, Stanford's director of government and community relations, expressed disappointment at Menlo Park's resolution, but stressed that the decision will be made ultimately by the voters of Palo Alto.

Horton said Stanford has offered $7 million to make improvements to roads in Menlo Park's jurisdiction, including widening Sand Hill from the creek to Santa Cruz Avenue, which the Menlo Park council has vehemently opposed.

Around 15 members of the public spoke in favor of Measure M at Tuesday night's council meeting, including citizens of Palo Alto and Menlo Park. Nobody spoke in favor of Measure O.

Measure M organizer Debbie Mytels was very pleased with the outcome. "I think it shows Measure M has some viable ideas that could help us work on a regional solution to transportation problems," she said.

Palo Alto Council member Jean McCown said she was not surprised at Menlo Park's endorsement of Measure M.

"Menlo Park has not been shy about telling the world what it thinks about the Stanford proposal," she said. "The opinion of a neighboring city council will not have a significant impact on the decision of Palo Alto voters."

Council member Gary Fazzino agreed. "I don't think this is a significant development, because it's 100 percent consistent with (Menlo Park's) stance," he said. "If Anna Eshoo or Bill Clinton took a position, that would be big news." DROP QUOTE

"Palo Alto didn't want to go down the regional path on (the Sand Hill projects). They had their own agenda."

--Steve Schmidt, Menlo Park Mayor

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