Menlo Park planning commission backs Habitat for Humanity's Laurel Landing, urges council to consider waiving recreation fees

The Menlo Park Planning Commission on July 13 unanimously approved Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco's Laurel Landing project at 335'355 Pierce Road and recommended that the City Council consider waiving or substantially reducing the project's recreation in-lieu fees.

The commission voted to adopt the staff resolution approving the use permit, architectural control, below-market-rate (BMR) housing agreement and a set of 12 waivers under the state density bonus law (SDBL) so the project can proceed as proposed. The applicant also asked the commission to recommend that the council grant a fee-waiver concession the staff had recommended denying because the city already committed $3.6 million in grant funding and the per-unit subsidy is comparatively high.

Why it matters: Laurel Landing would create eight for-sale townhomes restricted to households earning up to 80% of area median income, including family-sized units the community and Habitat said are especially scarce in the Belle Haven area. Commissioners and residents framed the fee question as a policy trade-off between supporting a unique homeownership model and protecting the city's existing housing fund and budget assumptions.

Habitat representatives described the project and its funding stack and said fee relief would materially affect feasibility. "The waiver of fees, if or a partial waiver of fees is important, to the ability of this project to be financially feasible and our ability to raise adequate money to essentially start construction," said Felix Au Young, chief real estate officer at Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco.

Multiple local residents who said they benefited from Habitat programs urged approval. "I was able to afford my first forever home," said Dina Avarka, a Habitat homeowner who testified in support. John Taster, a longtime volunteer, said the project "fulfills President Carter's vision" of community-based homeownership.

Staff and housing division analysts explained their recommendation on fees: staff noted the city's prior $3.6 million grant commitment, that grant funds were not provided as a loan and could not be recaptured, and that, on a per-unit basis, this award represented one of the largest subsidies the city has provided (staff cited about $450,000 per unit in analysis). For those reasons, staff advised against additional fee waivers but recommended approval of the waivers and concessions the commission can act on.

Commission debate focused on precedent and equity. Several commissioners said they supported approving entitlements and waivers now while asking council to weigh the fee question in light of citywide priorities; others urged predictable, transparent guidance for future fee-waiver requests. Commissioner Schindler moved to adopt the resolution approving the permits, waivers and BMR agreement; the motion passed unanimously. Later, the commission voted unanimously to recommend that City Council reject staff's fee-waiver denial and "waive or substantially reduce the recreation in-lieu fees for this project in a manner that considers the policy implications for future projects and that specifically recognizes both the value and uniqueness of affordable homeownership projects for Menlo Park." The motion also included recommendation approval of the vesting tentative map for the subdivision.

What happens next: The commission's recommendation and the staff report will go to the City Council for the fee-waiver decision and approval of the tentative subdivision map. Staff told commissioners they would include the commission's recommendation alongside staff analysis and the meeting record when council reviews the item.

Sources and attributions: Quotes and attributions are taken from the Planning Commission hearing on July 13, 2026. Speakers quoted include Felix Au Young (Habitat chief real estate officer), Dina Avarka (Habitat homeowner), Robert Smith (Habitat project manager), Jacob Garcia (contract planner), Adam Patterson (housing division management analyst), and multiple commissioners including Chair Ross Silverstein and Commissioner Schindler.

Ending: The commission approved the project and sent a formal recommendation to the City Council on the fee-waiver question; council review on the subdivision and fee matters will determine whether the city grants the requested concessions.