Menlo Park Neighborhoods by Their Lots: Lot Sizes, Flood Zones and Fire Zones

Menlo Park’s public parcel records give an outline, a lot area and the zoning for every parcel in the city. We took the 6,556 parcels zoned single-family (R-1 or R-E) with lots of 1,500 square feet or more, placed each in the neighborhood guide whose outline contains its center, checked that center against FEMA’s flood map and checked each lot against CAL FIRE’s fire hazard severity zone maps. The city’s public records don’t list year built or house size, so this post is about the land: lot sizes, flood zones and fire zones. The figures come from City of Menlo Park parcel and zoning records, October 2026. There are no addresses or owner details here.

The short answer

• Citywide, the median lot zoned single-family (R-1 or R-E) is 7,940 sq ft.
• Largest lots (guides with at least 150 single-family lots): Sharon Heights (13,360 sq ft), Central Menlo Park (10,850 sq ft) and South of Seminary / Vintage Oaks (10,330 sq ft).
• Smallest: Belle Haven (5,750 sq ft), Suburban Park, Lorelei Manor & Flood Triangle (5,900 sq ft) and The Willows (6,970 sq ft).
• Flood zones: 1,103 of the 6,556 single-family lots (17%) have their parcel center in FEMA high-risk flood zones (1,089 in AE and 14 in A), 719 of them in The Willows and 301 in Belle Haven.
• Fire zones: only two single-family lots touch a CAL FIRE fire hazard severity zone, both Moderate and both outside our guides. None touch a High or Very High zone.

Neighborhood by neighborhood

Largest median lot first. “Single-family lots” counts parcels zoned R-1 or R-E inside each guide’s outline. Each name opens its guide. West Menlo Park (where the city layer has only 58 lots, along its edges) and Menlo Oaks are unincorporated San Mateo County, so the city’s records don’t cover them, and the townhouses in Park Forest are zoned R-3, not single-family, so those three guides are left out of the table. The citywide row also counts lots outside the guides.

What stands out

• Sharon Heights has the biggest lots: a median of 13,360 sq ft, about 1.7 times the citywide median.
• Flood zones concentrate in two neighborhoods. The Willows (59% of its lots) and Belle Haven (31%) hold 1,020 of the city’s 1,103 high-risk single-family lots (92%).
• Three guides have median lots under 6,000 sq ft: Downtown Menlo Park (5,630 sq ft), Belle Haven (5,750 sq ft) and Suburban Park, Lorelei Manor & Flood Triangle (5,900 sq ft).

Flood zones, neighborhood by neighborhood

Single-family lots in FEMA high-risk zones (A or AE) inside each guide’s outline, the share of the guide’s lots they make up, and the zones. The other six guides in the table above have none, and one of the city’s 1,103 high-risk lots is outside our guides.

Much of The Willows is mapped in a flood zone because of San Francisquito Creek, which runs along its south edge and forms the Palo Alto city line.

What the flood zones mean

• Zone A: a 1%-a-year chance of flooding, where FEMA hasn’t set a base flood elevation.
• Zone AE: the same 1%-a-year risk, with a base flood elevation set.
• Zone X: moderate to minimal risk, outside the 1%-a-year floodplain.
• Insurance: if the house itself is in an A or V zone, lenders on federally backed mortgages require flood insurance; a flood zone determination for the address settles it. In zone X it’s optional.

Reading it right

• Zoning isn’t use. We counted parcels zoned R-1 or R-E with lots of 1,500 square feet or more; a few may hold a second unit, and single-family houses in other districts aren’t counted.
• Lot sizes are the city’s recorded lot areas, so they can differ from a survey.
• We checked the center of each lot against FEMA’s National Flood Hazard Layer (zones A, AE, AH and AO). A lot can straddle two zones, and maps change, so check the current FEMA map for the exact address.
• The zone covers the land, not the house. A house can sit above the base flood elevation even in a high-risk zone. An elevation certificate settles it and can lower the insurance price.
• Zone X isn’t zero risk. Flooding can happen outside the high-risk zones.
• Fire zones are the highest CAL FIRE fire hazard severity zone touching any part of the lot, from CAL FIRE’s current maps, October 2026. The zone describes the land around a house, not how the house is built.
• No one-story overlay. Menlo Park has no single-story zoning overlay like Mountain View’s or Palo Alto’s; the S in its R-1-S district stands for suburban.
• A median isn’t a verdict. It describes the lots, not which neighborhood is right for you.

Go deeper

Menlo Park Housing Market by the Numbers covers prices and bidding, The Most Expensive Streets in Menlo Park & Atherton goes street by street, and our Menlo Park sales shows the homes we’ve sold there. Palo Alto Flood Zones by Neighborhood covers the city across the creek, and Flood & Fire Zones by Neighborhood compares every guide we write. The Menlo Park city guide links every neighborhood guide.

Buying, selling or rebuilding in a flood zone?

A Property Nerd can pull the zoning, the lot, the flood zone, any elevation certificate and the recent sales on your street before you write an offer, set a price or plan a rebuild. Call (408) 373-1660 or (650) 383-8606, or book a strategy call. Commissions are negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what’s included.