Portola Valley planning commissioners review draft housing-element amendment that would drop Dorothy Ford Park as a housing site

The Portola Valley Planning Commission on an informational item on Jan. 2026 reviewed a staff-drafted amendment to the town's housing element that would remove Dorothy Ford Park from the sites inventory and relocate the 50 very-low-income units to three alternate locations.

Steve McCarris, the town's special planning and building projects manager, said the proposed amendment would rezone three sites to a new mixed-use high-density designation and move the 50 units to Village Square, Christ Church and a Skyline open-space parcel. "This item is for you to receive information on the proposed amendments to the existing housing element," McCarris said during his presentation.

Why it matters: The housing element is a state-required plan that identifies sites and policies to meet a community's share of regional housing needs. To meet state rules and HCD expectations, staff proposes a zoning change that would require residential uses to occupy at least 50% of total floor area on the mixed-use sites and set a minimum density consistent with state guidance for these sites.

How the sites change: Under the proposed amendment, the Village Square site would be shown as 20 very-low-income units and five area-median-income units; the Christ Church site's current listing (six area-median-income units) would be replaced with a proposed 14 very-low-income units plus one area-median unit (15 total); and the Skyline open-space parcel is shown as able to accommodate up to 16 very-low-income units on roughly 0.8 developable acres. McCarris said the amendment's purpose is narrowly focused on removing Dorothy Ford Park from the inventory and reallocating those units to sites the town determined could meet the state's density and zoning requirements.

Questions and constraints: Commissioners pressed staff on multiple technical points. They asked whether ranger housing or fire-station-associated residences would be treated as multi-family housing or would require conditional-use permits; whether professional-office uses serving nonresidents would be permitted in the new zone; and how the 50% residential floor-area requirement would be applied where existing commercial buildings remain on a site. McCarris said some uses could be permitted as multifamily residential depending on how the use was proposed, and that the 50% rule is aimed at ensuring new projects actually provide residential floor area in line with state law (staff cited Government Code section 65583.2(h)(2) during the discussion).

Setbacks, scenic protections and utilities also drew scrutiny. Commissioners noted existing scenic setbacks (one example cited was a 200-foot scenic setback along Skyline Boulevard) and asked which rules would prevail if a conflict arose; staff responded that the scenic setback would remain applicable and that general-plan and zoning amendments would be adjusted accordingly. Commissioners also asked about utilities at the Skyline parcel (staff said utilities are not currently on the parcel but could be extended) and whether the Village Square parking lot and creek would constrain buildable area.

Feasibility and process: Commissioners and staff agreed that more detailed, project-level feasibility and engineering work (including parking, impervious-area adjustments and slope constraints) would normally follow any site-specific project submittal rather than be completed as part of this narrow housing-element amendment. Staff said the zoning and general-plan amendments tied to the sites would return to the planning commission for formal recommendation and then to the town council; the draft was scheduled for council review next week with a planned submittal to the California Department of Housing and Community Development for its review.

Public concerns: During public comment several Village Square tenants and neighboring homeowners urged the commission not to rezone the property for high-density mixed use. "I strongly oppose the reszoning of the Village Square for this housing project into mixed use," said Dr. Max Moore, a longtime resident and chiropractor who practices at Village Square, who warned rezoning could threaten his practice and other small businesses in the district. Owners of Parkside Grill, which operates at Village Square, told the commission that the trees that define the site and ongoing restaurant operations would be imperiled by construction and extended closure: "If this happens, there is no way the restaurant can function," owner Bill Picopus said. Neighbors also raised concerns about privacy, parking overflow onto Portola Road, and step-down transitions between intense new development and existing low-intensity zones.

Next steps: Staff said the draft housing-element amendment and associated zoning and land-use amendments will return for additional review and formal recommendations. The town council is scheduled to accept public comment, provide feedback and consider authorizing staff to submit the draft to HCD. HCD's review period and any resulting changes will determine the timetable for formal adoption; staff cautioned the exact timeline will depend on HCD's responses and any council direction.

The planning commission did not take a vote on the housing-element amendment at the meeting; the item was presented for review and public comment and will move back through the town's review process for more detailed environmental and implementation work.