From SVBC:

As you may have heard, Facebook is moving into its new headquarters in Menlo Park near the base of the Dumbarton Bridge. The new headquarters has impressive goals for environmental sustainability.

Facebook is planning to provide parking for only half of its employees, meaning that it expects half or more of its employees to get to work without driving alone. They will have a solar power facility generating electricity and hot water. The campus will have a LEED silver rating for “green building.” The drive for sustainability came in part from employees – in online polls and discussions about the new workplace, employees expressed their desire for a green headquarters.

How well does the Facebook headquarters stack up regarding environmental sustainability, climate change, cycling, and other alternative transportation? Are there opportunities for improvement?

The draft environmental impact report (EIR) was just published on December 8. You can find it athttp://www.menlopark.org/projects/comdev_fb_eir.htm. For those less familiar with the process, these reports identify environmental impacts from a development project and require that those impacts be mitigated. The response to the EIR also helps the City’s Development Agreement, where the city may define conditions that the project needs to meet in order to get city approval.

Menlo Park will hold a series of Commission and Council review meetings for public comment on the EIR. Some of the impacts of the project will be felt in East Palo Alto, so EPA is also participating in the review. Now is the time to learn about the project, and provide feedback for city review.

On Thursday, December 15, the Menlo Park Green Ribbon Citizens’ Committee is hosting a session to help us get up to speed about the project and the EIR. City staff and Facebook team members will help to answer questions. This session will help us get ready to engage with the feedback process.

The session will be held at Arrillaga Community Center in the Elm Room, 6:30 – 8:30 pm. Note to those less familiar with the Menlo Park City complex – the City Council Chambers and City Administration Building are two different buildings with the same street address.

Want to improve your EIR analytical skills? Click HERE.

Other dates in the review process:

• * December 8, 2011 – EIR published, community meeting at Belle Haven Senior Center, 100 Terminal Ave, 7:00 pm
• * December 12, 2011 – Menlo Park Bicycle Commission discussion, City Administration Building Fishbowl, 7:00 pm
• * December 13, East Palo Alto City Council, EPA City Hall, 7:30 pm
• * December 14, Menlo Park Transportation Commission discussion, City Council Chambers, 701 Laurel Street, 7:00 pm
• * January 4, 2012 – Menlo Park Environmental Quality Commission, Arrillaga Recreation Center Elm Room, 6:30 pm
• * January 9, 2012 – Menlo Park Planning Commission, City Council Chambers, 701 Laurel Street, 7:00 pm
• * January 11, Menlo Park Transportation Commission recommendations, City Council Chambers, 701 Laurel Street, 7:00 pm
• * January 31, 2012 – Menlo Park City Council study session, Council Chambers, 701 Laurel Street, 7:00 pm
• * February 14, 2012 – Menlo Park City Council Development Agreement Negotiation Direction, Council Chambers, 7:00 pm