Menlo Park Housing Commission backs anti‑displacement plan, asks for electrification protections and guardrails

The Menlo Park Housing Commission voted to recommend City Council approve the city’s draft anti‑displacement plan, while urging staff to incorporate four specific protections addressing habitability law, electrification work, and cost pass‑throughs.

Management Analyst Ariana Milton presented the draft plan and said staff’s recommendation is that the commission “review and recommend approval of the City of Menlo Park’s anti displacement plan.” The proposal organizes 23 candidate strategies into four pillars—production, protection, preservation and prosperity—and advances seven priority actions that focus mainly on tenant protections and short‑term supports.

Why it matters: commissioners and public commenters said the plan targets immediate threats to Belle Haven residents, where many rentals are single‑family homes and displacement risks have been documented. Staff told the commission that the city received a $250,000 grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) to help fund rental assistance and a legal assistance program.

Public testimony emphasized speed and tenant safeguards. Pam Jones, a longtime Belle Haven resident, thanked staff for the report’s “breadth and depth” and urged that the rental registry be moved up the priority list so the city “knows what we have and what’s available”…