The City of East Palo Alto, which is also going through its own General Plan update, recently invited Menlo Park staff to present on our general plan update progress. On January 26, 2015, Assistant Community Development Director Justin Murphy presented to the East Palo Alto Planning Commission an overview of the ConnectMenlo project. He highlighted the project objectives, the Guiding Principles, a summary of key findings thus far, activities to date, and upcoming milestones. In addition, the various land use alternatives that are contemplated as part of the recent M-2 land use survey were shared. The potential for change in the M-2 area was of particular interest to the EPA Planning Commission members whose questions and comments focused on traffic and transportation improvements around Marsh and Willow Road, and the overall topic of housing, including the number of new dwelling units, the types of units, and potential regulations to address affordable housing for the working class in an effort to release pressures on East Palo Alto’s housing market. As neighboring jurisdictions, the two cities have an opportunity to collaborate on regional efforts, including exploring the potential creation of a Priority Conservation Area (PCA) for open space areas near Bayfront Expressway and the Dumbarton Bridge that was the subject of a recent City Council information item.