Trust.

This is an opinion piece. It argues a position. Every factual assertion is sourced to the primary documents listed at the end, so readers can check it against the record and reach their own conclusion.

The downtown ballot measure presents a choice.

Those demanding facts before entrusting government to make irreversible changes to downtown Menlo Park favor a yes vote.

Otherwise, those decisions, and your money, are left unchecked.

Think of it as a blank check.

The date and the payee are missing. No bidder has been chosen, yet the council hopes to pick one this year. Who would do the picking is even in doubt: two incumbents, including the one representing downtown, leave the council in December.

More important, the amount is missing. The RFP specified that developers finance and replace all 556 spaces without using City money. Not one bid does that. Presidio Bay asks $15 million, plus fee and tax waivers. Related/Alta has no private parking plan and wants a City-bonded $63 million garage. Even Alliant asks the City for two loans — the impact fees, and the upfront lease value. [Updated Aug. 17, 2026: this sentence originally named only the impact-fee loan; Alliant’s filing contains two distinct financing requests.]

Menlo Park doesn’t have it. The City runs a structural deficit, with unassigned reserves projected gone by 2028. In June it debated whether to light the holiday tree.

The question isn’t whether a plan shows 556 spaces on paper. It’s whether anyone can build those, plus parking for 345 new homes, for a city that cannot cover the gap. Meanwhile, what becomes of a village business district that relies on being convenient to shop and work?

Most of all, your signature is missing.

Sources

1. City of Menlo Park, Development on Downtown Parking Plazas 1, 2, and 3 — Request for Proposals, issued Sept. 15, 2025, § 3.1 Project Priorities (556 replacement spaces, developer-financed, without City financial contribution) and § 4 (55-year ground lease at $1.00/year). RFP (PDF)
2. Alliant Communities, Related California/Alta Housing, and Presidio Bay Ventures, RFP responses filed Dec. 15, 2025. Presidio Bay’s $15M contribution request and fee and tax waivers; Related/Alta’s statement that it has no fully privately funded parking garage proposal and its $63.0M garage to be City bond-financed; Alliant’s two requested City loans — the impact fees, repaid with interest, and the upfront fair market lease value, structured as a residual receipts note. Compared in RFP Fast Facts.
3. City of Menlo Park, 2025 Ballot Measure Impact Analysis — 9212 Report, Dec. 2, 2025 (structured parking cost; replacement ratio “could vary”; downtown vacancy and construction-period parking findings).
4. City of Menlo Park FY 2026-27 proposed budget and June 9, 2026 staff report; The Almanac, June 8, 2026, on the Council’s consideration of ending the annual holiday tree-lighting event.
5. Council seats in Districts 1, 2 and 4 are on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot. District 4 includes downtown. Two incumbents are not seeking reelection, per The Almanac and the Palo Alto Daily Post, July 2026.

Disclosure: the operator of MonitorMenlo.news has made personal financial contributions to Save Downtown Menlo, the organization sponsoring Measure P. This page is labeled opinion. MonitorMenlo.news does not raise or expend funds in connection with the measure and is not affiliated with any campaign supporting or opposing it.

AI disclosure: research, drafting, and page composition were AI-assisted from the primary sources cited above, then reviewed and edited by the site operator before publication. See the site’s standing AI use disclosure.