Dear Members of the Menlo Park City Council and the Parks and Recreation Commission,

Attached is a letter we hand delivered to the addressees with the Menlo Park City School District (MPCSD) on March 23, 2007 regarding the proposed Encinal School Facility Development Project. Revised plans for the project were presented during a March 13 MPCSD meeting and the public was encouraged to comment, even after the meeting. The concerns we raised in our letter fall into four broad categories: (1) traffic congestion; (2) Teacher Education Resource Center (TERC) size, location, and design; (3) setbacks for new parking lot and playing fields; and (4) rules and limitations on the use of the playing fields. For each area of concern, we suggested mitigations. For example, as mitigation for traffic congestion and related safety concerns, one suggestion is to return to using school busses (perhaps through contracting out for these services) to transport children. NOTE: More Menlo Park residents in Felton Gables have signed an addendum supporting our March 23 letter. We
 will be submitting the additional signatures to the MPCSD shortly.

Since the March 13, 2007 meeting, staff from the MPCSD has advised us that even though the Encinal development plans will possibly be approved during the April 4th MPCSD meeting, there still will be opportunity to work with concerned neighbors and the City to modify plans. We appreciate this and are very interested in being part of the process. Nevertheless, we hope that the City of Menlo Park not only raises/supports our concerns and suggested mitigations in your ongoing discussions with the MPCSD, but also encourages the MPCSD to delay final approval of the Encinal School plans beyond April 4. Even a short delay in granting approval should allow more flexibility in resolving problems.
 
Also, based on having attended the Parks and Recreation Commission March 21, 2007 meeting, we understand that the Commission is recommending investing funds in the Encinal School playing fields in order for the City of Menlo Park to gain a regulation soccer field, and to be allowed to administer the playing field during non-school events, to provide input to the Encinal School facility-development designs, and to approve final Encinal School project plans. In this regard, we point to concerns summarized on page 3 of our March 23 letter. For example, we believe the addition of the Teacher Educational Resource Center (TERC) represents overbuilding of the Encinal School grounds. Its design and size are not consistent with the character of surrounding residential neighborhoods of Menlo Park and Atherton. And the TERC's large square footage (particularly the square footage for storage and supplies distribution) and location are pushing both the proposed new 49-stall parking lot
 and the playing fields directly against Menlo Park (Felton Gables) homes, without allowing sufficient setbacks. We request that the City of Menlo Park support its residents' interests by questioning the design, size, and placement of the TERC at Encinal School. At a minimum, we request that Menlo Park request that MPCSD significantly increase the setbacks and provide landscaping to provide a buffer to our homes and to be in line with zoning requirements other businesses have to adhere to in Menlo Park. Other issues the City of Menlo Park might wish to discuss with the MPCSD include the impact of possibly increased delivery-truck traffic, the adherence to heritage tree ordinances, etc. For example, what impact will TERC-related truck traffic have on Menlo Park and Atherton residential streets and during what hours? Will heritage tree ordinances from both Menlo Park and Atherton be followed?

On page 4 of our letter, we discuss the need for clear rules, accountability, and limitations for Encinal School field usage. Enclosure 2 in our letter documented the process that neighbors (in Felton Gables and Atherton homes along Encinal Avenue) have successfully used to work with MPCSD to adopt rules and enforcement strategies regarding after-school usage of the fields. We are asking that the City of Menlo Park, if you become the administrator for the Encinal fields, continue with the precedents agreed to by the MPCSD. We further hope that the City of Menlo Park improves this process, by actively taking steps to anticipate and solve new problems. For example, are plans to provide restroom facilities for these after-school field activities adequate and clearly coordinated with Encinal School?

Finally, our letter contained an enclosure (#3) citing the Atherton "School Event Guidelines" attached to section 17.38 of the Atherton Municipal Code. These guidelines contain clear limitations for field usage hours. We ask that the City of Menlo Park, the MPCSD, and Encinal School agree to abide by these guidelines.

Thanking you in advance for your support,

Elizabeth Blois, Judy Font, and Ivan Odom
Residents of Felton Gables Neighborhood, Menlo Park