Portola Valley Weekly Update December 15, 2022

This week's update:

• Town Council Meeting Summary- December 14
• Apply By Dec 22nd to be an Architectural and Site Control Commissioner or Planning Commissioner
• Upcoming Housing Element-Related Meetings
• Councilmember Hufty Office Hours Next Wednesday
• Town Hall Closed December 26- January 2
• Equestrian Trails closed for the Season
• Registration Open for the 2023 Winter Class Session
• Reminder – New Building Code goes into effect January 1, 2023
• CAL FIRE Releases Updated Fire Hazard Severity Zone Map for Public Comment, Will Host 57 Public Hearings throughout California
• Preventing Respiratory Infections
• Sheriff’s Contract Update – Share Your Thoughts
• Draft Safety Element Available for Review

Town Council Meeting Summary- December 14

A summary of the most recent meeting held on December 14 is now available. The Town Council thanked outgoing Mayor Craig Hughes and Councilmembers Maryann Moise Derwin and John Richards for their longtime service to the Town. Welcome to the new councilmembers Judith Hasko, Mary Hufty, and Craig Taylor who were sworn in and participated in their first meeting as councilmembers.

Apply By Dec 22nd to be an Architectural and Site Control Commissioner or Planning Commissioner

The Portola Valley Town Council is seeking two volunteers to serve on the Town's Architectural and Site Control Commission (ASCC) and two volunteers to serve on the Town's Planning Commission. Terms on each commission expire in December 2023 and in December 2024.

The ASCC consists of five members appointed by the Town Council, and meetings are held on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month. The ASCC is charged with the review and approval of design review applications and site development permits, including applications for new homes, second units, larger additions, second-story additions, and commercial buildings. In addition, the ASCC provides comments on conditional use permits, subdivisions, variances, and other matters referred by the Town Council, the Planning Commission, or Town Staff.

The Planning Commission consists of five members appointed by the Town Council, and meetings are held on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month. The Planning Commission is responsible for addressing policy matters related to general land use and development in Town. The Commission provides recommendations to the Town Council on legislative actions such as amendments to the Zoning Code and the General Plan. In addition, the Commission reviews and acts on certain types of applications, such as conditional use permits, subdivisions, and variances, as well as reviewing appeals of ASCC and administrative staff decisions.

To apply, please submit a letter of interest to the Town Council to towncenter@portolavalley.net by 5:00 pm on Thursday, December 22, 2022. The Town Council will conduct interviews at a scheduled meeting on January 4, 2023 from 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. This time is subject to change, dependent on the number of interviews to be conducted. If you have questions or would like more information, please contact the Town Clerk, Melissa Thurman at towncenter@portolavalley.net.

Upcoming Housing Element-Related Meetings

The tentative public meeting schedule has changed – see the revised dates below:

• January 4, 2023 – Planning Commission consideration and formal recommendation of the entire Housing Element package including the Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (ISMND)
• Town Council will review the Housing Element package for adoption over the course of 2-3 meetings in January 2023

To stay up to date on the process, please sign up for Town eNotices and choose Housing (calendar) and Housing News.

Useful Links

• Town's Housing Element Update webpage
• Town's Ad Hoc Housing Element Committee's webpage

Councilmember Hufty Office Hours Next Wednesday

Newly seated town councilor , Mary Hufty MD, will be holding office hours in the Heritage Room at the Portola Valley Library every Wednesday between 10am and 12pm. Come by to look through documents with her- like, a hard copy of the general plan and the feedback on the DEIR, tell or write down your thoughts, worries, plans and suggestions - brain storm for a New Year in 2023 for our Valley.

I will be there studying every week for as long as it works! I will be there to listen and learn.

Seasons greetings, Doctor Mary

Town Hall Closed December 26- January 2

Town Hall will be closed for the winter holidays. Please come by Town Hall soon if you have requests or needs from Town staff before the holiday closure.

During this time, For emergencies, please call 911. If you have other needs please view a list of essential contact information.

While Town Hall is closed, you can still submit non-urgent requests to the PV Connect App.

Please note, per the Town's Noise Ordinance, no construction/landscaping activities are allowed on Christmas Day, Sunday, December 25, 2022, and New Year's Day, Sunday, January 1, 2023.

Equestrian Trails closed for the Season

Per the Town’s Trail & Path Committee, the Portola Valley Ranch, Blue Oaks and the Hayfields trails system consisting of Larry Lane and Targ trails are now closed to equestrians for the rainy season.

Registration Open for the 2023 Winter Class Session

We have a great line-up of classes this quarter!

Online registration for the Winter Session began on December 12th for Portola Valley residents. Registration for non-residents begins December 27th. Registration ends two weeks after the first class.

Reminder – New Building Code goes into effect January 1, 2023

The California Building Standard Codes (CBSC) change every 3 years and are mandated by law to be adopted locally by city and county jurisdictions. State laws authorize local governments to enact ordinances making amendments to the California Building Standards Code.

A summary of the 2022 Building Standards Code amendments adopted by the Town Council is included below. An FAQ and handouts that will be available next week on the Town website: www.portolavalley.net

Please email planbuild@portolavalley.net should you have any questions.

GREEN BUILDING STANDARDS AMENDMENTS FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION

Applies to:

1. New building from ground up.

2. Addition, remodel and/or alteration where permit scope of all permits issued in a 12-month period exceeds:

• 50% of existing floor area;
• 50% of existing wall area; or
• 50% of combination of floor and wall area

Requirements:

1. Required to be all-electric buildings.

• No natural gas or propane piping installed
• Uses electricity for cooking, clothes drying, space and water heating

2. Includes outdoor amenities such as:

• Outdoor, kitchens, grills, pool, spas, fireplaces, fire pits and outdoor heaters.

3. Electric vehicle (EV) ready space supplied by a minimum 40-ampere 208/240 branch circuit.

GREEN BUILDING STANDARDS AMENDEMENTS FOR EXISTING BUILDINGS - ADDITIONS, REMODELS & ALTERATIONS

Applies to:

1. All residential construction additions, alterations, remodels, repairs, and/or accessory dwelling unit conversions that do not meet the definition of newly constructed.

2. Where Scope of Work Includes:

• New, replacement, upgrade or relocation of an existing air conditioning condensing unit; and/or
• Replacement/upgrade to the main electric panel

Requirements:

1. If install a new, replacement, upgrade and/or relocate an existing air conditioning (A/C) condensing unit must be replaced with a reverse cycle an air conditioning heat pump.

2. If you replace/upgrade the main electric panel required to provide electrical capacity and reservation of breaker space to accommodate:

• Electric stove, clothes dryer, level 2 EV charger, photovoltaic panels, and heat pump water heater.
• A dedicated 30 amp, 240-volt branch circuit installed within three (3) feet from the existing water heater location.

NOT Required:

1. You are NOT required to replace any of your gas appliances with electric at the end of their life (known as “burnout”) or when/if you upgrade them

2. You are NOT required to replace any of your gas (or other) appliances when you do work on your electric panel

• A/C replacement is only triggered with work on A/C unit

3. You are NOT required to replace any EXISTING outdoor amenities with electric

WILDLAND URBAN INTERFACE (WUI) AMENDMENTS

Readopts the December 2021 WUI amendments except for:

1. Removed amendments that are now in State requirements (e.g., vents and roof eaves)

2. Decks

• No longer mandate noncombustible material decking.
• All decking material required to meet State minimum code of ignition resistant material.
• All decks being required to meet the code requirements regardless of distance to applicable building.

3. Detached accessory structure requirements

• All accessory structures subject to Building permit meet WUI requirements regardless of distance to applicable building. Includes ADUs and SB9 Units.
• Accessory structures not subject to Building permit but constructed closer than 30 feet to a property line meet WUI requirements.

4. Exterior columns supporting roof structures and trellises

• Constructed of noncombustible material or wrapped with noncombustible material.
• Not required when the trellis is detached, less than 120 square feet and more than 30 feet from a property line

CHANGES TO ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM (ESS) AMENDMENTS

1. Residential code establishes minimum safety requirements for ESS

2. Under certain circumstances in Residential Code, would be allowed in a habitable space

3. Removes that exception = no ESS in habitable space

4. Benefits

• Provides a higher level of safety for the occupants; and
• Retains the other safety requirements established in the code

ESS Amendment DOES NOT:

1. Does not discourage ESS installations

2. Does not add cost to project

3. Does not prevent stacking of ESS when tested to UL 9540A

4. Does prevent ESS from being installed in habitable spaces like bedrooms and living rooms

CAL FIRE Releases Updated Fire Hazard Severity Zone Map for Public Comment, Will Host 57 Public Hearings throughout California

CAL FIRE - Office of the State Fire Marshal this week will begin a public comment period for the regulatory adoption process to update the existing map that captures Fire Hazard Severity Zones (FHSZ), which is a comprehensive map that ranks California’s State Responsibility Area (SRA)—or rural, unincorporated areas—based on the likelihood different areas will experience wildfire.

Preventing Respiratory Infections

With COVID-19, RSV and flu circulating, take steps to prevent these respiratory infections by wearing a high-quality mask indoors, staying up to date on vaccinations, washing your hands, avoiding touching your face, covering coughs, opening doors and windows when possible, and cleaning surfaces.

County Health offers updated COVID-19 bivalent boosters, which are effective against both the original strain of the virus and the Omicron variants, at its community clinics. Advance appointments are available on MyTurn, though are not required.

Updated boosters are also available from primary health care providers, such as Kaiser and Sutter, as well as from pharmacies such as Walgreens, CVS, and others.

View the County Health’s guidance for these three diseases here.

Sheriff’s Contract Update – Share Your Thoughts

What are your public safety concerns? How would you like to see public safety enhanced in Portola Valley? What public safety efforts in Portola Valley are working well?

The 5-year public safety agreement between the Town of Portola Valley and the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office expires in June 2023. The Town needs input from Portola Valley community members as it enters into discussions with the Sheriff’s Office about a new public safety contract.

There are several opportunities for you to provide input on your feelings about public safety. This input will be used to inform discussions about a new contract:

Learn how you can participate in the process

Draft Safety Element Available for Review

The Public Review Draft of the Safety Element is available for review and public comment. The Town’s technical team, including staff and consultants, have developed this draft based on the content of the existing Safety Element, State law, guidance from the State and regional agencies, and best practices. This draft was guided by preliminary comments received from the Sustainability Committee, Geologic Safety Committee, and Emergency Preparedness Committee on early memos prepared by the technical team.

Town Committee Review of Draft Safety Element

View the recording of the October 26 Joint Committee meeting with the Wildfire Preparedness, Emergency Preparedness, Sustainability, and Geologic Safety Committees. The technical team presented the Draft Safety Element at the meeting. These committees will have opportunities to further discuss the Draft Safety Element at their individual committee meetings.

Opportunities to Provide Input on the Draft Safety Element

There are several opportunities for members of the public to provide input on the draft Safety Element:

Submit written comments

• Submit electronic comments using the form on the Town’s website at www.portolavalley.net/safetyelement.
• E-mail comments to safetyelement@portolavalley.net

Provide input at public meetings.

• TBD Emergency Preparedness Committee meeting
• TBD Geologic Safety Committee meeting
• TBD Sustainability Committee meeting
• TBD Wildfire Preparedness Committee meeting

Members of the public are encouraged to engage in these committee meetings and provide feedback at any stage in the process. Comments on the Draft Safety Element are requested by January 13, 2023.

In addition to the committee meetings, the Planning Commission and Town Council will review the Draft Safety Element. These meetings will provide additional opportunities for community members to provide input on the Draft Safety Element. Dates for these meetings will be added to the Safety Element webpage when available.

To receive updates on meetings and other Safety Element matters, you may sign up for eNotifications on the Town’s website by going to the “Community” page, navigating to “Stay Informed,” then “Subscribe to Town eNotices” and selecting Safety Element. You may directly access the “Subscribe to Town eNotices" page here.