Menlo Park El Camino Real/Downtown Specific Plan Implementation

The City of Menlo Park requested assistance interpreting standards and guidelines and implementing the Menlo Park El Camino Real/Downtown Specific Plan, including applying plan standards and guidelines and consulting with applicants and the City’s Planning Commission. 

Since 2014, Arnold Mammarella, Architecture + Consulting has consulted on around 20 projects with design input, review for consistency with standards and guidelines of the specific plan, and support to staff on staff reports and presentation at planning commission study sessions and hearings. In addition to the downtown shopping area the plan includes a long stretch of El Camino Real running north from Palo Alto through much of Menlo Park and around the Menlo Park train station. 

Projects developed under the plan range from small infill lots to very large multi-use blocks and include several hundred residential units in varied building form and several hundred thousand square feet of office as well as a substantial amount of required ground floor retail. 

As the city’s architectural consultant, Arnold Mammarella, strives to provide clear direction and creative design evaluation and support to implement the Specific Plan effectively. Some examples are provided to show design consulting tools and results from guiding applicants to meet plan regulations and navigate the Planning Commission’s Architectural Control process. Renderings shown are from project architects.