Priorities

By Drew Combs

Business Recruitment - Grow Menlo Park's business base with strategies that target burgeoning Bay Area retailers and fast-growing companies.

Downtown Vibrancy - Ensure the Specific Plan lives up to its guiding principles, including the promise of increased street and economic activity.

2. Fiscal Responsibility

Costly Consultants - Limit the city's use of consultant studies by implementing a more rigorous and comprehensive approval processes.

Conservative Budgeting - Scrutinize all one-off, nonessential proposed expenditures in the context of worst-case revenue projections.

3. Land Use and Transportation

Traffic Relief - Seek out the latest research for solutions to commuter traffic on high-volume thoroughfares like El Camino Real and cut-through traffic on neighborhood streets.

Moderate Development - Champion projects that reflect Menlo Park's suburban character and prioritize locally-formulated guidelines over state mandates.

4. Parks and Natural Resources

Pesticide-Free Parks - Advocate procedures that keep Menlo Park's green space and parks, from Sharon Hills Park to Bedwell Bayfront Park, free of pesticides.

Preservation of San Francisquito Creek - Emphasize flood protection procedures for San Francisquito Creek that protects surrounding oak trees and its overall natural beauty.

Comprehensive Water Policy - Require the implementation of a clearly defined policy and monitoring infrastructure for extracting groundwater.