Controversial Menlo Park High-Rise Site Prompts Mayor’s Renewed Invitation To Bonta: Report

MENLO PARK, CA — A proposed development with 665 housing units and buildings as tall as 39 stories is at the center of Mayor Betsy Nash’s renewed request for a visit from California Attorney General Rob Bonta, The Almanac reported.

Nash’s Oct. 16 letter invited Bonta to tour the former Sunset Magazine campus at 80 Willow Road, where the proposal also includes a 130-room hotel and commercial space. According to The Almanac, she has questioned how the development would affect traffic, emergency response times and the city’s housing balance.

The invitation follows an August request prompted by Bonta’s allegations that Menlo Park violated state housing law while reviewing the application. City officials dispute those allegations. Developer N17 sued the city Oct. 2 as it pursues approval under California’s builder’s remedy provision, which can allow qualifying housing developments to bypass certain local zoning restrictions.

Read the full report in The Almanac.