Portola Valley Weekly Update July 14, 2022

Town Council Meeting Summary - July 13th

A summary of the most recent meeting held on July 13th is now available. The Town Council reviewed the Public Review Draft Housing Element and discussed the recommendations of the Ad Hoc Housing Element Committee and Planning Commission.

Wildfire Preparedness Committee Tip - Learn From the Past – The 1961 Bel Air Fire

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.

Wildfire Mitigation Work on Golden Oak Drive

The Towns Public Works Department in cooperation with Woodside Fire Protection crews will be performing tree and brush maintenance work related to wildfire preparedness within the Town's public right-of-way adjacent to properties along Golden Oak Drive.

The first notices went out to the residents who will have the work done first in the right of way by their property

The work will be in sections over the next year to remove flammable fuels, deadwood, brush and tree limbs that are below six feet in height. Residents will be informed as the crews reach their stretch of the road. This work will continue through July 2023. The Town is providing this additional notification due to the length of Golden Oak Drive.

Properties with extensive private plantings on the Towns right of way land should contact staff to evaluate ahead of time, as the property owner should be responsible for treatment and removal of private plantings and irrigation. We encourage you to investigate where approximately plantings are in relationship to your approximate property line.

If you need guidance on what the right away is and what is public vs private plantings please submit your questions on PV Connect and Town Public Works or Fire Protection Staff will reach out. More information about the program can be found on the Public Works Project Page.

COVID-19 Community Transmission High in San Mateo County

Local Health Officials Urge Vaccinations, Masks in Risky Settings

The COVID-19 situation in San Mateo County is influenced significantly by the BA.5 variant that is now dominant in California. As the variants outcompete their predecessors, they are even more transmissible and able to evade the immune response of both vaccination and prior infection, prolonging this period of high community transmission. County Health continues to reinforce the importance of remaining up to date with vaccinations, as they continue to offer significant protection against severe illness and death.

Read more from Health Chief Louise Rogers.

AT&T Infrastructure Project

AT&T has a project in the process of moving its communications infrastructure at the intersection of Alpine and Westridge Roads to help address service disruptions. As a result, there is construction activity and equipment staged at the location for an extended period.

They estimate the timeframe for completion of the project is around 2 to 3 months. It requires AT&T to move all of the working services off of the systems in the existing underground vault (CEV) and onto other systems and copper facilities in the area.

This project will not disturb the network for Portola Valley and coverage is expected to not be impacted due to this project.