Portola Valley Weekly Update October 27, 2022

This week's update:

• Town Council Meeting Summary - October 26, 2022
• Earthquake Preparedness
• Sheriff’s Contract Update – Share Your Thoughts
• Draft Safety Element Available for Review
• Wildfire Preparedness Committee Tip -Art Arises from Wildfire
• Sudden Oak Death Results Are In
• New After School Library Program
• The Bulk Rain Barrel Program is Back

Town Council Meeting Summary - October 26, 2022

A summary of the most recent meeting held on October 26 is now available. Get an overview of presentations given at the meeting, actions taken by the Town Council, and possible items for future council meetings. Past summaries and recordings of meetings can be found on the Town Council agenda page.

Earthquake Preparedness

On Tuesday, many people in Town felt the 5.1 earthquake. This earthquake came only 5 days after the Great Shakeout earthquake drills. While this earthquake was on the Calaveras Fault, we all live with the knowledge that Portola Valley sits on top of the San Andreas Fault. Here in Town, we have a local seismograph operating in the Historic Resources Room in the Portola Valley Library. You can see in the photo above what the seismograph recorded.

Do you and your family have a plan if a big earthquake happens? You can review resource booklets, the Portola Valley Emergency Preparedness page, and download the Myshake App to help you plan for earthquakes.

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 now 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

This week the relevant Town Committees (Sustainability, Geologic Safety, Wildfire Preparedness, and Emergency Preparedness) conducted their review, provide comments, and provide information on local context. The technical team presented the Draft Safety Element at a joint meeting of the Sustainability Committee, Wildfire Preparedness Committee, Emergency Preparedness Committee, and Geologic Safety Committee on Wednesday, October 26th at 2:00 pm. These committees will have opportunities to further discuss the Draft Safety Element at their individual committee meetings.

View the recording of the October 26 Joint Committee meeting with the Wildfire Preparedness, Emergency Preparedness, Sustainability, and Geologic Safety Committees

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.

Wildfire Preparedness Committee Tip - Art Arises from Wildfire

The Wildfire Preparedness Committee has created a series of tips to help the community prepare for wildfire season. You can see the current tip and download any past tips on the website.

Sudden Oak Death Results Are In

This spring many people in Portola Valley participated in a citizen science program to help track Sudden Oak Death (SOD) in our area. Sudden Oak Death, a serious exotic disease, is threatening the survival of tanoak and several oak species in California. Currently SOD is found in the wildlands of 14 coastal California counties, from Monterey to Humboldt. While patchy in distribution, with each passing year, the swath of infection continues to become more contiguous.

The results from the spring survey are in. Join the webinar on November 10th from 6-8 pm, Learn more and get the link to the webinar on the SOD Blitz Survey Project Landing Page

New After School Library Program

San Mateo County Libraries launched a new program called Power Up Afternoon at each of its 13 facilities to give school-aged students to connect and make friends while activating creativity, innovation and learning two hours a day, Monday-Friday.

Students can drop in any time during the two hours to participate in that weekday activity. Learn more.

The Bulk Rain Barrel Program is Back

Flows To Bay, in partnership with Rain Water Solutions, has launched a limited-time rain barrel program. With this program, San Mateo County residents and businesses can purchase up to two high-quality, 50-gallon rain barrels for $80 each plus tax. Qualifying applicants can also apply for the countywide rebate, which can cover up to 100% of the per-barrel price (pre-tax). These savings make rain barrels affordable and accessible to everyone in the county.

Learn more about purchasing a rain barrel here.