Woodside council expands town‑center study area, forms advisory process and a subcommittee to add members

The Woodside Town Council on June 10 approved a modest expansion of the town‑center area to be studied and confirmed the staff‑recommended Community Advisory Committee that will guide a two‑year town‑center area plan update.

The action, taken by unanimous roll call, also directed a council subcommittee — Council Member Wall and Mayor Pro Tem Gold — to review applications and return with up to five additional recommended CAC candidates for council appointment.

Why it matters: the town‑center area plan update is tied to the town’s sixth‑cycle housing element and will shape land‑use, circulation, parking and design guidance for the area that contains the town hall, businesses and other community uses. The process will include public workshops, pop‑ups, online surveys and environmental review that could evaluate alternatives ranging from no change to Measure J height limits up to scenarios with greater development potential.

Town staff described the CAC as a roughly 8–12 member advisory body intended to give detailed, iterative feedback to staff, the consultant team (Good City Company and technical subconsultants) and the council. Staff said the proposed membership includes the planning commission chair and vice chair, chairs of several volunteer commissions and four town center property owners. Troy Reinholter of Good City said the CAC will meet four times, be Brown Act compliant and act as a sounding board while the council retains final decision authority: "this is not a development project being led by the town. It's an update of a policy document." The presentation also listed a program of two rounds of pop‑ups, two community workshops, two online surveys and a draft environmental review to follow.

Council and staff focused substantial discussion on two procedural areas. First, Jean (Town Attorney) advised that an advisory committee appointed by council is generally subject to the Brown Act and recommended the committee be formed accordingly; she said recusal rules should apply when members have a financial interest in a specific parcel and that she would research FPPC guidance on the proper scope of recusals. Second, several council members and public speakers pushed for broader geographic coverage for circulation and ‘‘safe routes to school’’ considerations; Council Member Wall and others said they would support extending the study area east toward Highway 280 in addition to the staff’s recommended additions along Woodside Road.

Public commenters urged broader participation and stressed local priorities. Several long‑time residents and volunteers asked that frequent contributors to previous town‑center work — including some former committee members and local property owners — be considered for the CAC. David Middleman (ASRB) and Maggie Ma urged inclusion of District 5 representation and horse‑community considerations; Sue Paletti and other property owners volunteered interest in serving.

Council outcome and next steps: Council voted unanimously to confirm the staff recommendation as the initial CAC composition and to expand the study area to include the staff’s two recommended additions (the back half of the parcel behind the bakery/hardware store and the western portion of Woodside Road), to extend the study corridor further west to the little store and to include a corridor east toward the Siendas/280 area as a minimum. The council also appointed a two‑member subcommittee (Wall and Mayor Pro Tem Gold) to solicit and return up to five additional CAC nominees (application process to be distributed), with the goal of returning recommendations at the first or second July meeting; staff said the project timeline aims to complete the town‑center update and related environmental review through 2026.

The consultant told the council the environmental review will analyze a preferred alternative and lesser alternatives (including one with no change to Measure J) so the council can weigh tradeoffs between economic vitality, circulation, parking and preservation of rural character.

The CAC will be a Brown Act body, staff said, with expectations for attending meetings, reviewing materials in advance and declaring conflicts where necessary. The council asked the town attorney to provide written guidance on recusals and FPPC precedent before CAC meetings begin.