Fail: 4,273 / 39.0% Yes votes ...... 6,677 / 61.0% No votes

See Also: Index of all Measures

Meaning of Voting Yes/No

A YES vote on this measure means:

The effect of a "yes" vote will be to advise the Menlo Park City Council that there is voter support for the City of Menlo Park having the option of construction sports fields at Bayfront Park. If a majority of the votes cast on the Advisory Measure are in favor of the Measure, the Advisory Measure shall be deemed to have been recommended by the voters of Menlo Park.

A NO vote on this measure means:

The effect of a "No" vote will be to advise the Menlo Park City Council that there is not voter support for the City of Menlo Park constructing sports fields at Bayfront Park. If a majority of the votes cast on the Advisory Measure are opposed to the Measure, the Advisory Measure shall be deemed not to be recommended by the voters of the City of Menlo Park.

• Official WWW Site

Preliminary concept plans show an area of between 10 - 17 acres (depending on the number and configuration of fields) roughly in the center of the Park, that could be developed with up to two full-sized regulation, lighted soccer fields and 1 - 2 adult baseball diamonds or combination multiuse areas. Preliminary cost estimates range from $10 - 17 millions for the construction of the fields and related infrastructure (utilities, parking, restrooms, concession stand). Further detailed studies would be required to determine the cost of developing sports fields on the closed landfill and identify sources of funding for both the capital cost to build the facilities and the operation and maintenance expenses.

In accordance with the California Elections Code, advisory measures such as this one are nonbinding; meaning that neither a "yes" vote nor a "no" vote will result in the constructions of any sports field or the necessary roads or utilities without further public hearings, environmental studies and approval from various regulatory agencies and the identification of funding for construction and maintenance.

/s/ William L. McClure, City Attorney of Menlo Park

Video of Yes and No Arguments

• Watch a 5 minute presentation from each side of Measure J - produced by Midpeninsula Community Media Center with the League of Women Voters of South San Mateo County (10 minutes)

Information: http://www.sfbws.org/board.htm

Against Measure J: http://www.savebayfrontpark.org

Plans at Bayfront Park are viable. Independent consultants and engineering experts agree that these plans will work.

The play fields can be built without raising city taxes. The costs to construct these fields will be covered by dedicated existing and projected funds, and will not dilute other city services.

The play fields would only use 17 acres of a 160 acre park + about 10%. Bayfront Park is our largest city park. We can share a little of it with our children. The park's hills won't be impacted. The hiking and biking trails won't be impacted. The wildlife preserve won't be impacted. Strict environmental standards will be maintained. In fact, the addition of more restrooms and improved access will allow more people to enjoy this park.

Vote YES to move forward on play fields.

/s/ Lee B. Duboc August 5, 2006 Council member

/s/ John Conway August 6, 2006 Owner, Menlo Chevron

/s/ Larry McGill August 6, 2006 Menlo Atherton Little League Board Member

/s/ M. Maria Flaherty August 6, 2006 Menlo-Atherton High School Lacrosse

/s/ R.P. (Dee) Tolles August 5, 2006 Former Mayor

Bayfront Park was planned and built as a hilly, open space for passive recreation. It is not suitable for intensive uses requiring many acres of flat lat. Opening up Bayfront's landfill cap to create level athletic fields would be environmentally risky and extraordinarily expensive.

• It's unwise and premature to give the City your approval for a project that has no controls over constructions costs, no estimates of maintenance costs, and no citizen oversight over spending.

• This plan will take many years and will not meet our immediate need for fields.

• There's been no comprehensive study of the environmental threats from construction on the landfill including hazardous combustible gas, impacts to air and water quality, unique toxic hazards to humans and impacts to San Francisco Bay and the National Wildlife Refuge.

• The costs of reopening the closed landfill and constructing an athletic complex would be exorbitant and could preclude funding for other long-planned and voter approved (Measure T) park and recreation projects. These include the Burgess gymnasium and recreation center, which desperately needs upgrading.

Vote NO on Measure J! Say NO to extravagant spending and preserve Bayfront Park as open space.

/s/ Andrew Cohen August 24, 2006 City Council Member

/s/ Mary Jo Borak August 23, 2006 former Mayor, City of Menlo Park

/s/ James B. Madison August 24, 2006 soccer coach & referee

/s/ Anne G. Moser August 24, 2006 former trustee Menlo Park City School District

/s/ Lennie Roberts August 24, 2006 Legislative Advocate Committee for Green Foothills

• The park sits atop an old landfill, built years ago when there were few restrictions on dumping along San Francisco Bay. Sports field construction will require reopening the landfill, rebuilding the underlying methane gas collection system, and leveling the site. These actions are expected to unearth hazardous waste.
• Regulatory agencies will likely require expensive upgrades to monitor, control and dispose of leachate (toxic liquid) and methane gas. Costly precautions will be necessary to keep people and buildings safe from the invisible landfill gas.
• The landfill will continue to settle and shift as solid waste decomposes. Structures, paved areas and sports fields will require costly ongoing maintenance and repair due to landfill settling. How could all these extraordinary costs possibly be financed by a City in financial straits?
• The City proposes using fees levied on new residential development, which could result in extensive development, and still wouldn't come close to paying for this boondoggle.
• Constructing fields at Bayfront could preclude funding for other voter approved (Measure T) high priority park and recreation projects.
• Other funding sources are merely speculative.

/s/ Kelly Fergusson August 13, 2006 Vice Mayor, Menlo Park

/s/ Charles M. Kinney August 14, 2006 Former Mayor, Menlo Park

/s/ Stephen M. Schmidt August 13, 2006 Former Mayor, Menlo Park

/s/ Elizabeth Lasensky August 13, 2006 Friends of Bayfront Park

/s/ Robin Winslow Smith August 13, 2006 Sequoia Audubon Society

1. Your "Yes" vote is not a blank check. This is a non-binding advisory measure simply asking whether you favor the idea of building play fields on 10% of Bayfront Park. Lots of planning, review, and approval cycles will lie ahead before any construction even begins.

2. The construction is possible, and has been done before. Play fields have already been built on closed landfills all over the Bay Area. We already regulate lechate and methane gas at Bayfront (you pay for this through increased garbage bills). An independent consultant has told us that these fields can be built and that getting the regulatory agencies' approval should not be a problem.

3. Because certain funds are set aside explicitly for parks and recreation, we will not have to use money from our city's general fund. The argument against this measure fails to mention that there are NO good alternatives for building the play fields our city needs. Even if the needed 17 acres of land were available, the cost of purchasing it would be about $68 Million. Add in the cost of developing the fields, and it becomes obvious that Bayfront Park is our most economical option. We own the land at Bayfront Park. We already spend over $250,000 a year to maintain it.

This proposal represents an excellent way to leverage an underutilized, existing city asset for the benefit of all. It's time to move forward!

/s/ John Posthauer August 24, 2006 Pop Warner Football Coach

/s/ Robert Silano August 24, 2006 Parks and Recreation Commissioner

/s/ Mickie (Miriam) Winkler August 24, 2006 Former Mayor, Menlo Park

/s/ John C. Boyle August 24, 2006 Transportation Commissioner

/s/ Todd A. Roberts Soccer Coach, Mid Peninsula Strikers