Environmental Impacts of El Camino Housing Project to Be Reviewed Tonight

At Monday night's meeting of the Menlo Park Planning Commission, an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) will be reviewed on the proposed housing project at 389 El Camino Real.

The project seeks to demolish four current homes - a single-family home at 612 Partridge Ave. and a residential triplex at 603-607 College Ave. - and construct 26 residential units.

According to the Planning Commission website, the new residential complex would include a minimum of three below-market homes.

According to the commission's Public Hearing notice, posted on its website in advance of tonight's meeting, the EIR mostly includes findings of a "less than significant impact" - but, there are also a handful of items that yielded "potentially significant environmental impacts that can be mitigated to a less than significant level," and a few that are "significant and unavoidable."

The items read as follows:

Potentially Significant, Can Be Mitigated:

• Air Quality
• Noise
• Aesthetics

Significant and Unavoidable:

• Transportation
• Circulation
• Parking

Less than Significant Impact:

• Land Use and Planning Policy
• Public Services and Utilities
• Agriculture and Forestry Resources
• Biological Resouces
• Cultural Resources
• Geology and Soils
• Greenhouse Gas Emissions
• Hazards and Hazardous Materials
• Hydrology and Water Quality
• Mineral Resources
• Population and Housing
• Recreation

The full Draft EIR report is included as a downloadable PDF with this article.

Details of the report will be discussed at tonight's meeting, which is open to the public. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. and will take place in the City Council Chambers, 701 Laurel St.

Those who wish to comment but cannot attend the meeting can send their written comments by fax, e-mail or postal mail to the Community Development Department no later than 5:30 p.m. on Monday, April 2. Comments by e-mail can be sent to dmchow@menlopark.org. Faxes can be sent to 650-327-1653. Comments by mail can be sent to Community Development Department, 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, California, 94025. 

For more information, visit the 389 El Camino Real Project page of the Menlo Park Planning Commission website.