The son of a Putin-aligned Russian oligarch is suing a wealthy Bay Area suburb after officials rejected his plans to build a massive skyscraper complex in the middle of the quiet community.
N17 — the developer behind the proposed 80 Willow Road project — sued Menlo Park on Friday after the city rejected the controversial mixed-use development planned for a 6.7-acre site.
Vitaly Yusufov, son of former Russian Energy Minister Igor Yusufov, owns the project and hired N17 to oversee planning, applications and potential legal action against the city.
“While its elected officials have talked a good game, Menlo Park is actually one of the most hostile cities to building new and affordable housing in the nation,” the founder of N17 Oisín Heneghan said in a press release.
“We regret having to bring this lawsuit, but we had no choice given the city has done nothing but throw roadblocks in our way to delay and deny the project, arrogantly breaking state housing laws,” he continued.
The Menlo Park City Council formally rejected the project Tuesday, despite California Attorney General Rob Bonta warning that the city was violating state housing laws by stalling the plans.
Menlo Park Mayor Betsy Nash, however, said the project would only pile onto problems already facing the affluent Silicon Valley community.
“This massive commercial development would severely compound infrastructure challenges in Menlo Park, endanger emergency services response times, and exacerbate the existing jobs/housing imbalance. The project does not deliver the housing that Menlo Park needs, contrary to the very purpose of the builder’s remedy law,” Nash said.
Menlo Park fired back at Bonta on Thursday, saying it remains “confident that it has processed the Application in accordance with all applicable state laws.”
The rejection comes after months of fierce opposition from residents who have revolted against plans to transform their relatively quiet suburb with a sprawling development featuring 665 residential units and 332,000 square feet of office space.
The plans also call for three towering buildings ranging from 301 to 458 feet tall, dramatically changing the skyline of the community.
A group called Menlo Forward, formed to oppose the project, warned that the “environmental impact of such an immense project right next to the San Francisquito Creek cannot be ignored.”
The development would normally violate Menlo Park’s building codes. But the city failed to submit its required housing plan, allowing Yusufov to invoke California’s Builder’s Remedy and push forward with the project despite local zoning restrictions.
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