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Commission unanimously recommends updates to Menlo Park picnic-area rental policy
Summary
The Menlo Park Parks & Recreation Commission voted unanimously Jan. 28 to recommend updates to the city’s picnic-area rental policy, endorsing formatting and procedural changes and adding an explicit allowance for tents; staff will finalize language and return the item for next steps.
Vice Chair Joseph Grass said the Parks and Recreation Commission recommended updates to the city’s picnic-area rental policy after a staff presentation and brief discussion.
Staff presented a version of the policy that reorders and reformats the document to current city standards, updates rental time frames and permitted quantities, adds guidance for rentals, corrects contact information and typographical errors, and explicitly permits use of tents at picnic rentals. "One addition is the use of tents for our picnic rentals," a staff member said during the presentation.
Commissioners asked how the city could promote a separate community-run zero‑waste party-pack program so renters would know reusable, plastic‑free sets are available. John McKenna, a District 4 resident and chair of the Environmental Quality Commission, told the panel that "through a community fund grant, 350 Silicon Valley can offer Menlo Park residents access to five zero‑waste party packs" and suggested the city include information about the program with reservation confirmations. Staff said promotion would likely belong in communications (confirmation emails or receipts) rather than the policy itself and offered to follow up to confirm logistics, pickup locations and the sustainability of ongoing availability.
Vice Chair Joseph Grass moved to recommend the policy updates; the motion was seconded and passed unanimously on a roll-call/voice vote.
Staff will revise the draft as needed based on discussion and follow up on promotion logistics for the party‑pack program, then return the item for the next procedural step.
