Menlo Park vs. Uncle Sam: Is New Battle Shaping Up

The U.S. Geological Survey, has up to now, been a good neighbor in Menlo Park. We have been proud to have it among the outstanding enterprises in this city’s administrative-professional zone.

Now, however, it looks as if the city may have to do battle with the government again, as we have done in the past over use of former Stanford Village land.

It came as a surprise to Menlo Park officials this week that the USGS had acquired title to the long-disputed acreage lying along Middlefield road south of the entrance to Stanford Research Institute’s present headquarters.

Everyone knew the USGS had taken over some six acres of property in the former Village area and has plans underway to build there. This was part of the original partition of the area agreed upon several years back. Suddenly, Tuesday night, we learned that the other parcel--some say five acres, some say half of that--has been added to it and that the Survey is planning further expansion on it as well.

Expansion of the Survey installation is fine. We’re not unduly worried, either, at the prospect of a little more land taken off the tax rolls for Uncle Sam’s exclusive use.

What now sounds like "a call to the barricades" is that the property in question straddles the proposed extension of Burgess drive--'Middle avenue’ if the underpass goes at that location--a planned future street that has been on Menlo Park’s master plan for more than a year.

A spokesman for the for the Survey Tuesday indicated opposition to such a street on the basis that it would cut through a proposed building site.

The street has been planned since long before the Survey got title to the land and has been talked about for years prior to that. Officials of the Survey knew about the street, yet without a word to anyone they went ahead, acquired title to the property and now appear to be standing astride the route saying, "You can’t come through here."

We hope the first appearance is deceiving, that cooperation and national discussion still will prevail.

If, on the other hand, the federal government intends to overlook this community’s rights and welfare, Menlo Park once more will fight through the hallowed halls of red tape in Washington.

We’ve done it before, and won. We can do it again.

Menlo Park Recorder
February 6, 1958

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