If only someone would post an article addressing this very predictable question! It is a shame no one has ever discussed this anywhere. I guess we may never know...

Elizabeth Burr, a Menlo Park resident who lives near the site, told the Chronicle she supports adding housing but opposes the project’s height and its hotel and office components.

“We want housing. But 665 homes don’t need a 39-story tower as tall as the Great Pyramid of Egypt — luxury offices and a five-star hotel do,” she said. “Build the housing, lose the rest.”

tl;dr: of course garden-variety California NIMBYism.