Portola Valley Weekly Update March 23, 2023

This week's update:

• Tonight - March 23 - Community Gathering with the Sheriff's Office
• Annual Portola Valley Town Broom Pull - Sunday, March 26
• Town Council Continues Discussion of Housing Element – Council Subcommittee Presentation
• Spring Classes Open for Registration
• Conservation Committee Tip of the Month
• Wildfire Preparedness Committee Tip -Learning From Lick Observatory
• San Mateo County Large Animal Evacuation Group - Presentation
• Free Hands-On Rain Barrel Workshop
• Upcoming Events

Tonight - Community Gathering with the Sheriff's Office

Thursday, March 23, 5:30-7 PM in the Community Hall

The community is invited to an event with the San Mateo County Sheriff’s to meet members of the local public safety team and hear about how you can keep your home safer from burglaries. Time will be available for questions and conversation.

Annual Portola Valley Town Broom Pull - Sunday, March 26

Please join the Portola Valley Conservation Committee, community volunteers and Scout troops and spend a couple of hours pulling this invasive weed from public lands and rights-of-way.

Meet at 9:00 AM at the Historic Schoolhouse – we will be done by noon.

Bring friends and neighbors – it’s a fun way to contribute a little muscle power and tackle this problem as a team

Please bring water and gloves and wear long sleeves and close-toed shoes

Did you know that Broom is:

• Highly invasive and extremely flammable
• One mature plant can produce 10,000 seeds per season and can live up to 20 years
• The seeds can germinate even after 60+ years
• Seed pods can burst with enough force to fling seeds many feet away
• Outcompetes and chokes out native vegetation
• Poisonous to large domestic animals and makes pastures impenetrable
• Re-sprouts from the roots (pull it out by the roots, when the soil is wet and with a weed wrench)
• Impossible to easily remove once the soil is dry
• DO NOT mow, it will re-sprout and be even harder to remove by the roots

French Broom is one of our nastiest invasive local shrubs. It spreads quickly, choking out both natives and other desirable plants and it is very flammable. It is especially a problem in our Open Space Preserves.

Town Council Continues Discussion of Housing Element – Council Subcommittee Presentation

On March 22nd the Town Council received a presentation from Council Members Hasko and Taylor on the proposed Post-Adoption Implementation Plan to address community concerns that have come up through the process of reviewing the Draft Housing Element and associated Initial Study / Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND). The Town Council adopted a motion to support the actions in the Subcommittee presentation and implement them in the manner described at the meeting. Council Members Hasko and Taylor will continue to refine the preliminary plan into a more detailed version for Town Council final approval.

The next meeting on the Housing Element update is on March 29th. The Town Council will consider the adoption of the Housing Element, Conforming General Plan Amendments, and IS/MND at that meeting. Additional information can be found at www.portolavalley.net/housing.

Spring Classes Open for Registration

Registration for the Spring Community Classes are now available for residents. Class registration for non-residents open on March 21st. View the Spring Catalog here.

Conservation Committee Tip of the Month

Oxalis pes-capre - Sour grass or Bermuda buttercup

Oxalis is a native of South Africa that escaped the garden and is now a common weed in home gardens, pastures and public lands throughout California.

It has yellow flowers and clover-like leaves, and spreads through the formation of little bulblets in the soil which break off when you pull the plant.

Small scale infestations should be taken care of by hand, although it will take a few years to get them all. Pull just as the flowers are beginning to bloom, the bulblets that will be left behind are depleted of energy and not able to regrow as robustly the following year.

Large-scale infestations are difficult to manage. Oxalis can be poisonous to livestock so grazing isn’t an option. Under some conditions soil solarization or sheet mulching may provide some control but in practice, chemical control may be required, and diligence is mandatory.

For more information, see the following:

• https://wric.ucdavis.edu/information/natural%20areas/wr_O/Oxalis.pdf
• http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7444.html

Wildfire Preparedness Committee Tip - Learning From Lick Observatory

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.

San Mateo County Large Animal Evacuation Group - Presentation

Learn about PREPARING your facility and animals for emergencies such as fires, floods, and earthquakes, ... from the BEST!!

San Mateo County Large Animal Evacuation Group will share valuable information and guidelines with the larger Woodside Equestrian Community and anyone else interested in the topic. PLEASE JOIN US!!

Tuesday, April 4, 2023 at 6:30 pm (to 8:30 pm)

Woodside Independence Hall, 2955 Woodside Road, Woodside, CA 94062

In-person attendance OR ZOOM participation will be offered.

PLEASE REGISTER for the meeting and forward the invite freely to your organization's members and any other interested parties. Register in advance for this meeting:

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Offered by: San Mateo Large Animal Evacuation Group, Town of Woodside Livestock & Equestrian Heritage AND Trails Committees

Free Hands-On Rain Barrel Workshop

Join Each Green Corner and Flows to the Bay for a free workshop on Saturday March 25. Learn how you can capture rainwater at your school or home and conserve water and irrigation costs at the same time. Find out how you can install a rain barrel like an expert and harvest rain for your garden. Central Middle School is offering a great opportunity for students and community members to learn about the environmental issues in our area and water-wise solutions! Join Flows to Bay and Each Green Corner at a free event where we'll be installing Central Middle School's brand-new rain barrels on their campus. You'll learn how to set up a barrel for rain harvesting success as well as how to install a drip irrigation system. Snacks and educational materials will be provided. Register soon! Space is limited!