Portola Valley Weekly Update December 8, 2022

This week's update:

• Apply By Dec 22nd to be an Architectural and Site Control Commissioner or Planning Commissioner
• Town Hall Closed December 26- January 2
• 15 Minutes of Your Time. A Little Prevention Goes a Long Way During a Storm
• Preventing Respiratory Infections
• Upcoming Housing Element-Related Meetings
• Sheriff’s Contract Update – Share Your Thoughts
• Wildfire Preparedness Committee Tip
• Draft Safety Element Available for Review

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.

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.

15 Minutes of Your Time. A Little Prevention Goes a Long Way During a Storm

As you would clean your rain gutters of tree debris, you should also do the same with your storm drain pipe system on your property. It’s been a while since many have checked their systems due to the drought. Here are some suggestions that should be done annually and throughout the rain season.

1. Prepare with rain boots, gloves, flashlights, rakes, and shovels.
2. Walk around your home to determine where your rain gutters and area drains flow to. Make sure they have a clear path away from your home and off your property.
3. Rain gutters typically feed into drain pipes. Inspect all storm drain pipes, drains, grates, and remove tree debris so that they are completely clear. This includes removing the top of any grates to inspect the inside of the pipe which should be completely clear. Tree debris should be completely removed and disposed of or it will just flow back into the drain or downstream. Do not have your gardener dispose of debris in drainage swales and creeks. This will cause systems to back up.
4. Inspect drainage ditches going through your property to make sure they are clear on your property. This includes upstream and downstream. Discuss and inspect with your neighbors.
5. Inspect and clean up the storm drain pipe under your driveway. You should be able to see daylight at the other end.
6. If a storm drain pipe or drainage ditch is blocked by dirt, it may be necessary to hire a contractor to dig out the outlet to let it flush it out. In more serious instances, you may have to hydroflush the pipe out.
7. Although the Town cleans and inspects the roadside storm drains in front of your home, we ask for your assistance during this time. Inspect and remove tree debris as you see it.
8. To report Town maintenance issues, please use the PV Connect app at the link below.
9. Re-inspect and clean the above items again during a heavy storm as new tree debris and mud will flow into your storm drain system.

Spending 15 minutes now will save you time and potential flooding.

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.

Upcoming Housing Element-Related Meetings

The tentative public meeting schedule related to the Housing Element is as follows:

• December 13 – Planning Commission reviews all materials and makes a formal recommendation to Town Council
• January 2023 – Town Council review of Housing Element and all associated materials

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

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

Wildfire Preparedness Committee Tip

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.

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.