Portola Valley Weekly Update January 12, 2023

This week's update:

• DATE EXTENDED - Apply to be an Architectural and Site Control Commissioner by Jan 27
• Town Council Summary for January 11, 2023
• Storm Information
• Coffee with the Mayor - Jan 19
• Complete the ADU/JADU Survey today!
• Wildfire Preparedness Committee Tip - A Winter Storm thank you to Public Works!
• Sheriff’s Contract Update – Share Your Thoughts
• Draft Safety Element Available for Review
• Event - Costs to Decarbonize Single-family Homes

DATE EXTENDED - Apply to be an Architectural and Site Control Commissioner by Jan 27

The Portola Valley Town Council is seeking two volunteers to serve on the Town's Architectural and Site Control Commission (ASCC). One of these term’s expires in December 2023 and the other expires 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.

To apply, please submit a letter of interest to the Town Council to towncenter@portolavalley.net by 5:00 pm on January 27, 2023. The Town Council will conduct interviews and appoint new members at a scheduled meeting on The week of January 30, 2023 This time is TBD 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 Council Summary for January 11, 2023

A summary of the most recent meeting held on January 11 is now available. Town Council appointed members to the Planning Commission and the ASCC. They also extended the recruitment period for ASCC to January 27th

Storm Information

A special thanks go out to Bob Boyle and the Public Works Committee for the countless hours and hard work they have put in being on the scene with our neighborhoods being affected by the storm and helping the Public Works staff prepare for the storm.

Sandbags. The sandbags are for residents' emergency use only. The self-serve sandbag station is located at Portola Valley Town Center along the southern driveway, across from the basketball courts. The station is accessible daily and will remain available through the end of the rainy season. Learn more about the sandbag station here. Some Town-provided shovels are available for your use, but you may want to bring your own shovel as they could be in use.

Storm drains. Please check your onsite drainage pipes, ditches, and drains to confirm they are clear of debris and fully operational.

Public Work crews work to clear its roadside storm drains and culverts. Staff and volunteers are making sure our streets were safe for residents and visitors. They will continue to monitor for flooding. Extra debris collects in drainage ditches and storm drains. The Town has found sports balls, cut wood, and items from people's properly floating down our drainage ditches. Please continue to monitor and clear out drains and ditches on your street.

Stay informed of current and forecast conditions. Monitor changes in the weather forecast. Get notifications for storm emergencies by signing up for the SMC Alert Emergency Notification System and look up your zone at the Emergency tracking system if you need updates on local road closures, warnings, evacuations, and more at community.zonehaven.com

Report damage. For issues such as flooding in the street, downed trees, or other storm-related damages please report them to the Portola Valley reporting system requests to the PV Connect

For other ways to be storm-ready, visit our website at Winter Storm Preparedness | Portola Valley, CA

Coffee with the Mayor - January 19th

Thursday, January 19 from 8 AM to 10 AM at Portola Valley Community Hall, Buckeye Room

Join us for the first Coffee with the Mayor event of 2023. Stop by before work or at the beginning of your day and join Mayor Jeff Aalfs in a conversation and learn about Town priorities.

Complete the ADU/JADU Survey today!

The ADU Team needs your help!

We want to hear from every property owner in Portola Valley:

• if you have plans for an ADU or JADU,
• if you already have an ADU or JADU, or
• if you have no plans for an ADU or JADU.

Please spend just 5 minutes to complete the ADU Survey by 1/18 (with one response per address). https://tinyurl.com/pvadusurvey

Do you want to age in place and need a caregiver to live on site? Do you have a recent college graduate who needs a place to live as they embark on their new career? Do you want to provide an affordable housing option for a local school teacher or police deputy?

These are all examples of needed housing that an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) or Junior Accessory Dwelling Unit (JADU) can fulfill in our Town.

California requires Portola Valley to create 253 housing units by 2031. ADUs and JADUs are among our best options for new housing, and they are a significant component of the Town's Housing Element plan.

The Portola Valley ADU/JADU survey is:

• Resident driven – A group of your neighbors put it together
• Town run – PV will use the results to support our Housing Element and to plan programs
• Commitment-free – You always have zero obligation to build or rent

Need more information?

More information about Portola Valley ADUs and JADUs can be found at www.portolavalley.net/ADUinfo.

For questions about the survey only, please email pvadusurvey@gmail.com.

Extra Amnesty Program Survey

For those who are also interested in helping the Town craft a useful housing Amnesty program, here is a second, optional, short, anonymous survey: https://tinyurl.com/pvamnesty

Thank you for completing the survey,

Volunteer ADU Team Members – Anne Ashmead, Karen Askey, Patty Dewes, Rebecca Flynn, Trish Heald, Ronny Krashinsky, Judith Murphy

Wildfire Preparedness Committee Tip - A Winter Storm thank you to Public Works!

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.

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.

Event - Costs to Decarbonize Single-family Homes

The County of San Mateo Office of Sustainability is hosting a discussion with consultants Josie Gaillard and Tom Kabat who developed case studies for decarbonizing 10 homes in San Mateo County. They will present customized strategies, contractor quotes, and cost results for the individual homes, plus share insights about how to decarbonize existing homes at scale.

Register here