Portola Valley Weekly Update September 29, 2022

This week's update:

• Town Council Summary for September 28, 2022
• Star Party This Friday
• Help Support ADU Outreach, Education, and Town Wide Survey – Apply by Oct 7th
• Announcement from Portola Valley Candidates- Lawn Signs
• Today - 2022 Portola Valley Candidates Forum - Hosted by The Almanac
• Wildfire Preparedness Committee Tip - Get Trained in CERT Emergency Response
• Tennis/Pickleball Courts Closures for Maintenance
• Register for the Household Hazardous Waste Drop-off Day on Oct 8
• Apply for San Mateo County Poet Laureate
• Reimagine SamTrans – Implementation
• San Mateo County Evacuation and Planning- Upcoming Assessment
• Upcoming Events

Town Council Summary for September 28, 2022

A summary of the most recent meeting held on September 28th is now available. You can review the quick summary here or find the whole recording of the meeting here.

Star Party This Friday

Come by Town Center on September 30 at 8:00 pm for a Star Party! The date is special due to the visibility of Saturn's rings, the crescent moon, and the central Milky Way so you won’t want to miss it.

There will be telescopes set up on the Town Center soccer field for viewing the sky, and the Town’s Nature and Science Committee has purchased Star Finders for residents. These will be available in Alder Room and there will be someone there to help you use them.

The event is brought to you by the Nature and Science Committee. We thank Andrew Pierce and his colleagues for making this event possible.

Please note the front parking lot is closed due to the Neighborhood Cleanup event preparations. You may park by the library or the tennis courts.

Help Support ADU Outreach, Education, and Town Wide Survey – Apply by Oct 7th

The Town is currently accepting applications for up to four ADU Ambassadors to increase outreach on Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) and Junior Accessory Dwelling Units (JADUs) and conduct a community survey. This is an opportunity for resident volunteers to build on community participation in the Housing Element Update process and help collect useful information to promote ADUs. Volunteers are encouraged to provide input throughout the process, including the survey and educational materials.

The commitment for ADU Ambassadors is from approximately October 24, 2022 through December 7, 2022. The hours will vary during that period up to about 10 hours per week. The community survey will cover the following: verifying the Town’s existing list of units, gauging community interest in constructing new units, gathering data on unpermitted ADUs/JADUs that could be legalized, and determining the number of owners that may be interested in renting to lower income tenants. The ADU Ambassadors will help get the word out through direct outreach to other residents.

Applications are being accepted through October 7th. Apply today! Additional information and the application form can be found here.

If you are new to this discussion, here’s some background. As part of the Housing Element Update process, the Town’s Ad Hoc Housing Element Committee discussed ADUs and JADUs at length throughout the course of their meetings. Committee Members and residents expressed an interest in expanding ADU/JADU outreach as well as gathering additional information about how ADUs/JADUs could be best used to help satisfy the Town’s obligations under state law. On September 14th, the Town Council approved a new ADU Ambassador Program to implement this idea.

Announcement from Portola Valley Candidates - Lawn Signs

The 5 candidates for Town Council celebrate our fair democratic election and process, and the honor of service to the Town. As you have seen we have put up signs to raise awareness of this year's important election and enable Town residents to know who is running. In doing so, we have each obtained permission to place our signs and have made a good faith effort to not to put signs in a road right of way, or on Town property, a trail easement or other improper location.

We have a collective request:

If you believe that any signs are placed improperly, we ask you to reach out to the appropriate candidate to convey your concern, rather than directly removing them. Portola Valley prefers small and subtle signs, we all intend to remove signs after the election. If you see any signs remaining after November 8th, please send a quick e-mail to the candidate's website and we will retrieve and recycle them. We each welcome feedback on any issues, including the placement of signs and are committed to the rural appearance of the Town.

Thank you, and PLEASE VOTE!

Your Neighbors,

• Judith Hasko <judith.hasko2022@gmail.com>
• Mary Hufty <hufty@mac.com>
• Craig Hughes <craig@hughes-family.org>
• Dale Pfau <dale@dalepfau.com>
• Craig Taylor <ctaylor@2ct.com>

Today - 2022 Portola Valley Candidates Forum - Hosted by The Almanac

The Almanac invites everyone in Portola Valley to attend the Portola Valley Town Council Candidates Debate.

The five candidates for three seats on the Portola Valley Town Council will face off in a debate with questions from Almanac editor Andrea Gemmet, assistant editor Kevin Forestieri, staff writer Angela Swartz and our readers.

Thursday, September 29, 2022 07:00 PM PST

To register for the webinar:

AlmanacNews.com/pvtc

Wildfire Preparedness Committee Tip - Get Trained in CERT Emergency Response

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.

Tennis/Pickleball Courts Closures for Maintenance

The Town Tennis/Pickleball Courts will be closed:

Tuesday, October 4 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for power washing.

Friday. October 7 from 7:00 a..m. to 5:00 p.m. for the Pickleball Line Painting.

If you have reservations and/or plan to drop in on those days, please be advised that you will not be able to play.

Register for the Household Hazardous Waste Drop-off Day on Oct 8

The Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Program is hosting a drop-off event in Portola Valley on Saturday, October 8, 2022, 8:30 am-12:15 pm. Accepted items include cleaning products; fertilizers and garden chemicals; pesticides, herbicides, and rodenticides; solvents; flammable liquids; fluorescent lights (compact and tubes), paint & paint thinner, acids/bases, aerosol cans, and automotive supplies (car batteries, motor oil, oil filters, antifreeze, brake fluid). All waste collected is reused, recycled, or stabilized for proper disposal to achieve zero waste and prevent any items from going to the landfill and contaminating our water and soil. No electronic, radioactive, explosive, or medical waste is accepted. This event is open to all who live in San Mateo County.

To participate, you must schedule an appointment at San Mateo County’s HHW Program: smchealth.org/hhw-appt or by calling (650) 372-6200. The event location is disclosed once your appointment is confirmed. Limit 10 gallons or 50 pounds per appointment (per carload). If you have greater than 10 gallons you must schedule two appointments and make two (2) vehicle trips. No commercial waste is allowed.

Residents unable to attend this event can still dispose of household hazardous waste for free at San Mateo County’s permanent HHW facility Thursdays-Saturdays (except major holiday weekends). You must make an appointment at smchealth.org/hhw-appt or call (650) 372-6200. Recycling/safe disposal of paint, fluorescent lights, household batteries, and used motor oil/filters can be done at a local collection center – no appointment needed. Visit smchealth.org/post/hhw-most-wanted for local drop-off sites. For more information, visit smchealth.org/hhw

Apply for San Mateo County Poet Laureate

On April 23, 2013, The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors approved the establishment of the post of San Mateo County Poet Laureate to elevate poetry into the consciousness of San Mateo County residents and to help celebrate the literary arts.

The Poet Laureate will be a two-year position which includes a $5000 yearly stipend. During that term, the Poet Laureate will act as ambassador and advocate for poetry, literature and the arts. It is expected that the Poet Laureate will contribute to San Mateo County’s poetry and literary legacy through public readings and participation in civic events. The Poet Laureate will also propose and lead a community project.

Application Period - September 26 2022 - October 16, 2022, 5:00 PM

Learn more about the program and how to apply here.

Reimagine SamTrans – Implementation

Reimagine SamTrans is a comprehensive operational analysis (COA) project to evaluate and refresh the entire SamTrans bus system that began in the Summer of 2019. The project team conducted three rounds of public outreach, as well as existing conditions evaluation and market research. Implementation of the final network has begun and for Portola Valley that meant morning service on school-oriented Routes, 85 and 87 has been discontinued. However, afternoon service will continue. You can learn more about their process and changes here.

San Mateo County Evacuation and Planning- Upcoming Assessment

The San Mateo County Emergency Services Council, at its recent meeting, authorized the Director of the Department of Emergency Management to develop a request for proposals from qualified firms to conduct an Emergency Evacuation Assessment of San Mateo County. The purpose of the assessment will be to identify evacuation routes and their capacity, safety and viability, and evacuation locations under a range of emergency scenarios. This assessment will identify as a minimum the following risk factors:

• Roads and roadway conditions
• Fire Risk conditions
• Traffic conditions
• The presence of vulnerable populations
• Public Transportation
• Locations and suitability of Temporary Refuge Areas
• Any other factors that contributed to civilian fatalities and casualties during recent fire events in the Western United States.
• Any additional risk factors as determined in the course of this comprehensive assessment and planning process.

The Town will share more information from the County about the process progresses.