Councilmember Drew Combs

10/14/2025

October Newsletter

Proponents of the Downtown Parking Plazas Ordinance initiative have submitted a petition to the City Clerk to qualify it as a ballot measure. If the proposed ordinance becomes law, it would require voter-action to redevelop the downtown parking lots.

12/02/2024

November 2024 Newsletter

https://drews-newsletter-c45b6e.beehiiv.com/p/november-2024-newsletter

06/20/2024

Willow Oaks Park will reopen on June 29th in a ribbon cutting ceremony at 10 am.

Construction has taken less than year, but this major renovation represents the culmination of 6 years of effort. It’ll be exciting to see kids enjoying the new play structures and dogs enjoying the new dog park. Please join the mayor, the city council and city staff in celebrating this accomplishment. Key elements of this project include:

- new playground area

- new dog park

- bathroom facility

- resurfacing of the basketball court

- new bike/pedestrian pathway connecting Willow Rd. and Elm St.

- tennis court improvements

The new playground area, new dog park and resurfaced basketball court will open June 29th. Other elements of the projects are scheduled to be completed later this summer. The new bike/pedestrian pathway was completed and reopened last year.

05/19/2024

It was a treat to help cut the ribbon to open Menlo Park’s newest community center. The awesome collection of resources that make up the Belle Haven Community Center includes a senior center, two pools, two libraries and a gym to name a few. Thank you to the core group of Belle Haven residents who never wavered from their vision for a new community gathering place. And thank you to Meta for making that vision a reality.

05/29/2023

Willow Oaks Park Improvements

A complete overhaul of Willow Oaks Park is scheduled to begin later this year. The project, which has essentially been in the works for almost a decade, will go before the city council for final approval in July. In the lead up to this final approval:

- the city council has discussed the project on several occasions and authorized its funding
- a resident survey was conducted to determine what changes/updates residents wanted to see
- I’ve connected direct outreach to residents bordering the park
- city staff has reached out to residents bordering the park as well as other key stakeholders such as Building Kidz and the tennis community

To recap, the project will include the following changes/updates:

- new play structures
- the addition of 5 picnic tables
- new landscaping throughout the park
- new fencing around the dog park and playground
- resurfaced basketball courts
- resurfaced and/or new pathways throughout the park including - a new pathway linking the park to Pope St.
the addition of bathrooms (near the tennis courts)

Given that there still may be questions in the community about some elements of the project, I plan to devote the upcoming District 2 community office hour (Saturday - 6/3, 9am) at Cafe Zoe to the park.

Here’s the project website: https://menlopark.gov/Government/Departments/Public-Works/Capital-improvement-projects/Willow-Oaks-Park-improvements

Note: The field adjacent to the park is not technically a part of the park. The field is the property of the Ravenswood City School District. The field is made available to the public and youth sports leagues during non-school hours as part of an agreement between the city and the school district.

05/13/2023

Scenes from today’s information session about the redesign of Willow Oaks Park. Construction starts this summer.

04/28/2023

Really excited for this project to enter this new phase.

Pop into the pop-up information booth at Willow Oaks Park on Saturday, May 13 from 11 AM to 1 PM to learn more about upcoming park renovations.

🐕Willow Oaks Park renovations include playground renovations, dog park enhancements, a new picnic area, a new restroom building and pedestrian/bike path updates to improve connectivity for the surrounding neighborhood.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/449Kjf5

02/23/2023

Yesterday afternoon PG&E reported that San Mateo County was the hardest hit county in the Bay Area from this windstorm with the resulting power outages affecting nearly 1 in 3 people in the county, over 60,000 customers. Systemwide on the PG&E network over 400,000 customers have been affected. More....

12/31/2022

09/24/2022

Menlo Park's well-loved holiday traditions are returning for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, with several council members making efforts to reinstate more community events at a Sept. 20 council meeting.

07/07/2022

The Summer Concert Series returns to Fremont Park on Wednesday evenings with a variety of musical styles: R&B, classic rock, Latin blues, southern soul, disco and pop. Concerts begin on July 13 and continue through August 19. Find out what bands are playing online. InMenlo file photo (c) 2018  

04/26/2022

FloodPark.org hosted one of the final Earth Day events in the area this year on Saturday, April 23. “Our goal was to celebrate Flood Park’s trees and woodlands, wildlife, hiking trails, and picnic areas,” said Alice Newton, one of the event’s organizers. “We are urging the County to preser...