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Briefs: Menlo council meets on redevelopment agency, Facebook, rail issues

by Sandy Brundage

It's an agenda packed with acronyms for Tuesday night's meeting of the Menlo Park City Council.

The council first meets in closed session at 5 p.m. to review labor negotiations with Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and various bits of litigation, including two lawsuits filed against high speed rail (HSR).

Then it's on to the regular meeting, where the council will try to figure out how to respond to the Feb. 1 shutdown of the city's redevelopment agency (RDA) and whether the public comment period on the draft environmental impact report for Facebook's planned campus expansion should be extended as requested by the city of East Palo Alto and the Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter.

The regular meeting starts at 7 p.m. following the closed session in council chambers at the Civic Center at 701 Laurel Street.

Go to tinyurl.com/6sbb88s to view the agenda and associated staff reports.

East Palo Alto takes no action on Facebook

Although city officials and council met in closed session on Thursday, Jan. 5, to discuss whether to sue over the environmental impact report for Facebook's planned campus expansion, the meeting adjourned with no action taken.

"The item may return for further consideration in the future: the project review process is a long one and there may well be points along the way that merit further consideration in closed session," said City Attorney Kathleen Kane.

City officials have expressed concern that the report fails to adequately address traffic and housing impacts to East Palo Alto.

LB Steak to seat 130

LB Steak, the new steakhouse at 898 Santa Cruz Ave. in downtown Menlo Park that's slated to open in upcoming months, will seat 130 people, according to spokesman Tom Walton.

Housed at the former location of Marche restaurant at the corner of University Drive, the restaurant will be approximately 4,000 square feet, Mr. Walton said.

The restaurant will be Left Bank's second in Menlo Park, and is based on a similar establishment on San Jose's Santana Row. Roland Passot, proprietor and chief culinary officer of Left Bank Brasserie, is leading the project.

The exact date for the grand opening of will be determined by how long it takes to navigate Menlo Park's permitting process, Mr. Walton said.

Caltrain board elects new officers

San Mateo County Board of Supervisor Adrienne Tissier, who represents the San Mateo County Transit District on the Caltrain Board of Directors, was elected chairperson on Jan. 5.

Santa Clara County Board of Supervisor Ken Yeager, representing the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, was elected vice chair.

Malia Cohen, from the San Francisco County Board of Supervisors, attended her first board meeting as the replacement for Sean Elsbernd, also of the San Francisco County Board of Supervisor.

The Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board has three representatives each from San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. The board meets the first Thursday of each month at 10 a.m. at 1250 San Carlos Ave. in San Carlos.