Overview
- The Attorney General’s office issued a July 29 letter saying Menlo Park improperly added new reasons to block the 80 Willow application, misread wetlands and habitat rules, denied builder’s‑remedy protections, and wrongly required the developer to pay the city’s legal costs.
- Developer N17 has combined SB 330, the builder’s remedy, and AB 2011 in its bid to proceed and this week gave the city a 90‑day ultimatum to approve the project or face a lawsuit under AB 712 that could let the developer recover legal fees.
- Menlo Park officials say they are reviewing the Attorney General’s nonbinding opinion, continuing their environmental and land‑use review, and consulting state legislators about next steps while the dispute remains unresolved.
- The Willow Park plan would replace the former Sunset Magazine campus with 665 homes, offices, retail and a hotel and calls for towers up to roughly 39 stories, which neighbors and city leaders say would harm creek habitat, increase traffic, and conflict with local scale and historic preservation.
- The case highlights how California laws work in practice: SB 330 freezes certain local rules for applicants, the builder’s remedy can let projects proceed when cities were out of compliance, AB 2011 limits new objections during streamlined review, and AB 712 strengthens enforcement and fee‑shifting for developers who win in court.