08.05.2026-PC Meeting Agenda and Packet

TOWN OF PORTOLA VALLEY Planning Commission Meeting Wednesday, August 5, 2026 7:00 PM HYBRID MEETING A G E N D A Lynda Brothers, Chair Ronny Krashinsky, Vice Chair Karen Vahtra, Commissioner Doug Morss, Commissioner Nicholas Targ, Commissioner HISTORIC SCHOOLHOUSE - 765 Portola Road, Portola Valley, CA 94028 Remote Public Commen ts: Meeting participants are encouraged to submit public comments in writing in advance of the meeting. Please send an email to scawrse@portolavalley.net by 12:00 PM on the day of the meeting. All comments received by that time will be distributed to Commissioners prior to the meeting. All comments received are included in the public record. Time permitting, your correspondence will be uploaded to the website. Additionally, technology permitting, the public body will take questions using the Raise Hand button for those who attend the meeting online or by phone. Phone callers may provide comments by pressing *9 on their phone to "raise your hand" and *6 to mute/unmute themselves. The meeting Chair will call on people to speak by the phone number calling in. Remote participation is provided as a supplemental way to provide public comment, but this method does not always work. The public is encouraged to attend in person to ensure full participation. Assistance for People with Disabilities: In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in this meeting, please contact the Town Clerk at (650) 851-1700 or by email at towncenter@portolavalley.net. Notification 48 hours prior to the meeting will enable the Town to make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility to this meeting. 1. CALL TO ORDER / ROLL CALL Chair Brothers, Vice Chair Krashinsky, Commissioners Targ, Vahtra and Morss. SB 707 CONSIDERATI ONS: Announcements/Consideration of remote attendance by Councilmembers, pursuant to SB 707, Government Code 54953.8.3 (just cause circumstances). 2. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Persons wishing to address the Planning Commission on any subject not on the agenda may do so now. Please note, however, that the Planning Commission is not able to undertake extended discussion or action tonight on items not on the agenda. VIRTUAL PARTICIPATION VIA ZOOM To access the meeting by computer: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83006083336?pwd=FBWVoO62kJMz8xoINwRma6XU81QpEJ.1 Webinar ID: 830 0608 3336 Passcode: 443334 To access the meeting by phone: 1-669-444-9171 Mute/Unmute – Press *6 / Raise Hand – Press *9 Page 1 Page 1 Page 1 Town of Portola Valley – Planning Commission Meeting Agenda August 5, 2026 Page 2 Land Acknowledgement: The Town of Portola Valley acknowledges the colonial history of this land we dwell upon the unceded territory of the Ramaytush (rah-my-toosh) Ohlone, Tamien Nation, and Muwekma (mah-WEK- mah) Ohlone, who endured a human and cultural genocide that included removal from their lands and their sacred relationship to the land. Portola Valley recognizes that we profit from the commodification of land seized from indigenous peoples and now bear the ecological consequences. We seek to understand the impact of these legacies on all beings and to find ways to make repair. 3. PUBLIC HEARINGS a. Application of an occasional event permit in accordance with condition 19 of the existing Conditional Use Permit X7D-30 (as amended by Planning Commission Resolution No. 2025- 4) to host an evening community celebration on Friday, October 9, 2026 featuring youth and high school football games, associated food vendors, family activities, and entertainment. Applicant: Woodside Priory School; Address: 302 Portola Road, Portola Valley, CA 94028; File #: PLN_USE0002-2026 4. REGULAR AGENDA a. Consider Appointment of a Planning Commission Ad Hoc Subcommittee to Prepare a Draft Policy on Undergrounding PG&E Drop Lines to Residences. 5. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS a. None Scheduled 6. COMMISSIONER, STAFF, AND COMMITTEE REPORTS 7. MINUTES a. Adopt Draft Minutes of June 10, 2026 Planning Commission and Town Council Special Meeting b. Adopt Draft Minutes of June 17, 2026 Planning Commission Special Meeting c. Adopt Draft Minutes of June 17, 2026 Planning Commission & ASCC Joint Special Meeting 8. ADJOURNMENT AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION Any writing or documents provided to a majority of the Town Council or Commissions regarding any item on this agenda will be made available for public inspection at Town Hall located 765 Portola Road, Portola Valley, CA during normal business hours. Copies of all agenda reports and supporting data are available for viewing and inspection at Town Hall and at the Portola Valley Library located adjacent to Town Hall. PUBLIC HEARINGS Public Hearings provide the general public and interested parties an opportunity to provide testimony on these items. If you challenge any proposed action(s) in court, you may be limited to raising only issues you or someone else raised at the Public. Hearing(s) described in this agenda, or in written correspondence delivered to the Planning Commission at, or prior to, the Public Hearing(s). Page 2 Page 2 Page 2 TO: Members of the Planning Commission FROM: Nicholas Martell, Senior Planner DATE: August 5, 2026 RE: Application of an occasional event permit in accordance with condition 19 of the existing Conditional Use Permit X7D -30 (as amended by Planning Commission Resolution No. 2025 -04) to host an evening community celebration on Friday, October 9, 2026 featuring youth and high school football games, associated food vendors, family activities, and entertainment. Applicant: Woodside Priory School; Address: 302 Portola Road, Portola Valley, CA 94028; File #: PLN_USE0002- 2026. (Continued from July 15, 2026) RECOMMENDATION Staff recommend that the Planning Commission hold a public hearing and adopt a R esolution (Attachment 1) approving the Occasional Event permit in accordance with paragraph 19 of the conditions of approval of the existing Conditional Use Permit X7D -30, subject to the conditions below: • Per section 18.36.040.A.8.vii.b of the Portola Valley Municipal Code, no lighting shall be used for night use of uncovered game courts, including tennis, paddle tennis, basketball, riding rings, and similar outdoor recreation facilities and areas. • Per section 18.36.040.A.8.vii.g of the Portola Valley Municipal Code, no lighting shall be used where any permanent or temporary lighting in which any single light source exceeds one thousand one hundred twenty-five lumens. • Prior to the event, coordination with the Sheriff’s Office is completed, and the Priory shall implement appropriate safety measures, as required and approved by the Town Manager. • Prior to the event, coordination with Woodside Fire Protection District is completed, and the Priory shall implement appropriate safety measures, as required and approved by the Planning & Building Director. • Prior to the event, a traffic and parking management plan is coordinated with the Staff Report TOWN OF PORTOLA VALLEY Page 3 Page 3 Page 3 August 5, 2026 Page 2 appropriate agencies and the Town, and the Priory shall implement the plan as required and approved by the Planning & Building Director. BACKGROUND The Woodside Priory School (Applicant) submitted an application for review and approval of an occasional event permit in accordance with condition 19 of the existing Conditional Use Permit X7D-30 (as amended by Planning Commission Resolution No. 2025- 4) to host an evening community celebration (Attachment 3). The event would feature three football games (middle school flag football, high school girls flag football, and high school boys’ football) along with local food vendors, family activities, and entertainment. (Attachment 2, Exhibit A) The event would occur on Friday, October 9, 2026 from 4:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Football games are anticipated to occur between 5:00 PM and 9:00 PM and the games that would occur beyond sunset would utilize temporary, portable lighting supplied by Musco Sports Lighting with lights on no earlier than 6:00 PM and off promptly by 10:00 PM. All attendees would be required to vacate the campus by 10:30 PM. The applicant has proposed enforceable conditions addressing lighting performance, sound, traffic and parking management, and neighbor outreach including a pre- event neighbor meeting and post-event debrief with Town staff. The Woodside Priory School (Priory) is a private college preparatory school for grades six (6) through twelve (12) and was established in 1957, prior to the Town’s incorporation. The approximately 50-acre campus is designated for an “institution" land use in the General Plan and is within the Town’s Residential Estate (R-E) Zoning District. Private or parochial elementary or secondary schools are a conditional use in the R-E Zoning district. The existing use of the property is authorized under a Conditional Use Permit (CUP X7D- 30). Within the Conditional Use Permit, Special Condition 19, Oc casional Events, allows occasional school-related events that are outside the scope of the school's typical annual operations, upon Planning Commission approval (Attachment 3). Applications for an occasional event under the condition must describe the proposed event, including dates, duration, facilities to be used, attendance, parking, traffic management, noise control, and other operational measures, and must be considered at a duly noticed public hearing. Smaller events may be revi ewed administratively if delegated by the Planning Commission. The CUP anticipates that such events will not conflict with normal school operations or authorized community use of the campus. OCCASIONAL EVENT PERMIT DESCRIPTION The applicant, Woodside Priory School, requests approval of an Occasional Event permit for a single-evening community event on Friday, October 9, 2026, consisting of: • Middle School Flag Football Game • High School Girls Flag Football Game • High School Boys Football Game • Community celebration with local food vendors, family activities, contests, and entertainment Page 4 Page 4 Page 4 August 5, 2026 Page 3 To accommodate the event, the applicant proposes temporary measures related to field lighting, traffic and parking management, coordination with the Woodside Fire Protection District and San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, and noise control. Full application materials, including the lighting plan and site plan, are included as Attachment 2. STAFF ANALYSIS The applicant is requesting approval of an Occasional Event permit to host a community celebration on a single Friday evening, October 9, 2026. The proposal is for a standalone event; any future events would go through a separate approval process. Staff reviewed the application against the existing Conditional Use Permit (Attachment 3) and relevant provisions of the Portola Valley Municipal Code (PVMC), with the following analysis. Temporary Field Lighting The applicant proposes temporary, portable lighting provided by Musco Sports Lighting, aimed and shielded downward toward the field to reduce glare and spillage. Lights would operate no earlier than 6:00 PM and be shut off by 10:00 PM, including post-game cleanup. A lighting plan (Attachment 2, Exhibit B) and light spill analysis (Attachment 2, Exhibit D) were submitted as a part of the application. Staff find the proposed fixtures do not meet Town lighting standards under PVMC 18.36.040, which prohibits any single light source exceeding 1,125 lumens, as well as outdoor recreation/game court lighting and flood lighting generally. The proposed Musco TLC-LED-1200 fixture produces 125,120 lumens and the TLC-BT-575 produces 52,000 lumens. Each fixture exceeds the limit established in section 18.36.040. Condition 11 of the existing CUP provides that "there shall be no n