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Portola Valley safety committee approves text edits to draft safety element but withholds map approval pending expert review
Summary
The committee voted to transmit three rewritten sections and other editorial comments on the draft safety element to town staff while withholding final sign-off on the draft maps; members requested a second review of updated maps and agreed to invite USGS and town staff for an expert briefing on fault categories and ordinance interpretation.
The Portola Valley Safety Committee on July 13 approved a set of textual edits to the towns draft safety element while explicitly withholding approval of the draft maps pending further technical review.
The committees subcommittee had rewritten three sections (identified in meeting materials as pages 15, 18 and 23) and collected numerous margin comments across the approximately 80-page draft. Chair Nan and Simon presented a four-page handout summarizing the rewritten sections and the subcommittees recommendations. Simon moved that the committee adopt the four-page handout and transmit those pages and the subcommittees comments to Sarah, the towns planning and building director; the motion passed.
On maps: multiple members raised concerns that maps in the draft appeared to be placeholders, contained legend entries not present in the map area, and in some cases showed misregistrations (for example, Alquist-Priolo zones offset from the fault trace). The committee made a formal exception: it approved the textual comments and edited sections but agreed it must review the final map iteration before giving its professional blessing. As Nan summarized, the committee will transmit its comments "with the exception of the maps, which they feel require a separate second review."
Policy wording: Members also voted to clarify policy S 3.3 by changing a sentence that previously began "also any proposed new living space within a fault setback" to read instead "any proposed new living space within an existing fault setback," to avoid confusion about whether the sentence applied to new construction or to additions to existing buildings.
Follow-up and expert briefing: The committee asked for preparatory materials from three sources (a "cheat sheet" from USGS expert Russ Grama, a summary from the planning director Sarah, and a short note from the town attorney) and agreed to invite experts for a focused educational session about Alquist-Priolo zoning, town ordinance specifics, and how high-resolution shake-map data might inform local mapping choices.
Why it matters: The safety element informs local policy and public guidance on hazards including seismic shaking, ground-failure potential and flood-related risks; maps and precise ordinance language determine when geotechnical investigations or setbacks are required for new construction or additions.
The committee adjourned after assigning follow-up tasks: circulate minutes promptly, request the cheat sheets, and schedule the expert briefing prior to final comment on maps.
