Menlo Park: Boarding house proposed along Willow Road

MENLO PARK — A property owner hopes to build a boarding house along Willow Road in Menlo Park, according to city documents. While a city planner acknowledged that the project, if approved, would be a “single-room occupancy type of building,” he said it would not operate like a hotel, as all tenants would at least have monthly leases, and it would be geared toward high-income workers. “It’s our understanding that it would likely be longer-term leases,” Senior Planner Kyle Perata said, adding that he wasn’t aware of the city receiving any boarding house applications in the past. “It would be market-rate units, it would not be part of the (city’s) below-market-rate program.” ADVERTISING The project is planned for 555-557 Willow, where Menlo BBQ currently operates. The restaurant would continue at the site whether or not the project is approved. Property owner Reza Valiyee seeks to tear down a long-vacant office building and construct a three-story building with 16 bedrooms. Each bedroom would contain an individual bathroom, but all residents would share a common kitchen and living room. The project would trim the current 20 parking spaces at the site to 14, with four of them covered spaces. Perata didn’t have additional details, as the project is still undergoing an initial review. The proposal would need to go before the Planning Commission for approval, but has not yet been put on the city’s calendar. Perata encouraged people with questions or comments about the plan to call him at 650-330-6721 or email him at ktperata@menlopark.org. Maureen Holding, a nearby resident, wrote a letter to the city saying the project would be out of character with the surrounding neighborhoods. “Placing either a hotel or college-type dormitory in the midst of a family-oriented neighborhood is certainly not appropriate,” Holding wrote. In September 2014, Valiyee proposed to convert the existing office building into two residential units containing five bedrooms each, but it stalled after the Planning Commission raised concerns about adding another floor. Email Kevin Kelly at kkelly@bayareanewsgroup.com or call him at 650-391-1049.