Portola Valley ASCC reviews proposed mixed-use high-density zoning; raises concerns about minimums, setbacks and tree impacts

Sarah Horst, the town of Portola Valley’s planning and building director, presented a draft mixed-use high-density (MUHD) zoning and implementing materials tied to a housing element amendment that would reallocate housing units from Dorothy Ford Field to three sites: Village Square, Christchurch and Skyline Open Space. Horst said the amendment (submitted to the California Department of Housing and Community Development, HCD, on Jan. 23) would allow residential uses by right, permit commercial uses with a conditional use permit and require that residential occupy at least 50% of total floor area.

The commission’s primary concern centered on the draft district’s minimum density and how the zoning would be applied. A committee member told the commission the three sites are “quite different,” noting Skyline is about 13 acres served by septic, Christchurch relies on parking for religious gatherings, and Village Square contains an approximately…