Menlo Park will have to revise its state-approved housing plan if voters pass Measure P on Tuesday, Nov. 3, state housing officials said in an Oct. 30 letter, The Almanac reported. The city may also need to find other sites for affordable housing now planned on downtown parking lots.

What Measure P does

Measure P is a citizens' initiative coordinated by Save Downtown Menlo, a group of businesses and residents. It would require voter approval for major changes to eight downtown parking lots. Three of those lots are slated for below-market-rate housing and replacement parking under the city's housing element, with plans for at least 345 affordable units.

What the state letter says

The Department of Housing and Community Development, known as HCD, said the city would have to amend its plan to analyze whether Measure P would constrain housing and whether the lots would still be suitable housing sites, according to The Almanac. Depending on that analysis, Menlo Park may need to identify other sites.

The letter warns that failing to act could put the city's housing certification at risk and expose it to penalties or the builder's remedy, which lets qualifying projects bypass some local rules. The Almanac noted that when Menlo Park lacked a certified housing element, a skyscraper was proposed under the builder's remedy at 80 Willow Road, the former Sunset magazine headquarters. The letter did not set a timeframe.

How each side reads it

Karen Grove, part of the No on P campaign, told The Almanac the letter should be “scary to everyone” and said she expects HCD to require quick action. Measure P proponent Alex Beltramo said the letter shows the city would go through “a standard process” of updating its housing element. Save Downtown Menlo has backed an alternative plan from District 4 council candidate Laura Melahn to subsidize more affordable units at the former SRI International and U.S. Geological Survey campuses. Her opponent, Charlotte Reed, and the No on P campaign call that plan infeasible.

The money

The Palo Alto Daily Post reported that the No on P campaign had raised $374,201, while Save Downtown Menlo reported $129,524 in contributions plus about $87,000 in loans, much of it from Beltramo and Draeger's.

Background: Measure P explained and the campaign money.

How to vote

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Polls and vote centers close at 8 p.m., and mailed ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and arrive within seven days. You can check your registration and ballot status at sos.ca.gov/elections. California lets you register and vote the same day at a vote center.