Conservation committee sets 2026 priorities, names subcommittee leads and clears volunteer broom pull

The Portola Valley Town Conservation Committee on Wednesday set its 2026 priorities, assigning subcommittee leads for multiple open‑space sites, agreeing to revive a backyard‑habitat program and confirming the annual volunteer broom pull could proceed after legal review.

Chair Marian Flander opened the meeting and led a roll call; the committee approved the prior meeting minutes as amended after a motion and second and with at least one abstention. Flander then outlined the committee’s recurring responsibilities for 2026 — review of building permits that include tree removals, discretionary review of some landscaping plans, and monitoring town code items such as erosion control and a 25% front‑yard rule that the committee has not yet seen as an application.

Why it matters: committee members said tasks without assigned leads rarely get done, so the meeting focused on pairing each major effort with volunteers and clarifying who will carry work forward. Judy Murphy accepted overall lead responsibility for open‑space oversight (framed by the committee as “open space management”), and…