Update: Menlo Park residents said no to Measure V, choosing to protect affordable housing proposals like the one for the teachers of Ravenswood School District!
Greenbelt Alliance encouraged Menlo Park residents to vote no on Measure V because earlier this year, a group of Menlo Park residents qualified a ballot initiative that would have required a citywide vote in order to make zoning changes to any parcel currently zoned for single-family residences. While the initiative presented itself as a reasonable measure to balance growth in the city, it was in actuality a cynical ploy targeted at one particular site and project, where a proposal for affordable housing for teachers of the Ravenswood School District has been presented. By eliminating the City Council’s ability to rezone the site of this defunct school for affordable educator housing, the initiative proponents hoped to stop the affordable housing project altogether.
In addition to effectively thwarting the construction of badly needed new affordable housing for teachers on the site of a defunct school, owned by the school district, the measure would have applied to numerous other parcels in the city as well, throwing into jeopardy Menlo Park’s ability to comply with state housing element law, particularly the requirement to affirmatively further fair housing.
Why We Opposed Measure V
California is in the throes of a severe housing shortage, one that is especially acute in the Bay Area. At a time when many jurisdictions are attempting to correct historic supply imbalances, this would exacerbate the crisis, making it even harder than it already is to build badly needed dense infill housing in one of the region’s most affluent and resource-rich communities.
Moreover, making it easier to build the kind of dense housing we need in the places where it is most impactful combats suburban and exurban sprawl, allows people to live closer to where they work, and helps us to make significant strides in our goals to decrease greenhouse gas emissions.
You can learn more about Measure V via the campaign website here.
Others Who Opposed Measure V
- Menlo Together
- Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County
- Habitat for Humanity
- Climate Resilient Communities
- Urban Habitat
- NAACP
Photo: FatCamera via Canva
