Planning Commission To Discuss Vision for Downtown

A public meeting will be held tonight for Planning Commission to debate specific improvements to a plan that will define the way businesses can use land in downtown Menlo Park in the future.

The plan, known as the El Camino Real/Downtown Specific Plan, has been in the works since 2007 and is in its second phase. It will regulate the look of buildings downtown, placement of parking, sidewalks, bike lanes and other spaces used by the public.  Private and public developers will be required to abide by the guidelines outlined in the final draft of the plan. 

At 7 p.m. tonight, the Commission will discuss specific items in the draft El Camino Real/Downtown Specific Plan that the public has recommended that they consider. These items will be debated, and subsequently presented to the City Council as recommendations for inclusion in the final version of the plan, or not.

This body of representatives will meet three more times to discuss

Interested parties may attend tonight's meeting and present their thoughts on the matter to the Commission, as the meeting is open to the public.  For those who like to be prepared, a .pdf of the agenda has been attached to this article.

The project in its entirety can be physically viewed in the city's administration building, which is located at 701 Laurel.