08-20-2026 WPC Agenda Packet

TOWN OF PORTOLA VALLEY Wildfire Preparedness Committee Meeting Thursday August 20, 2026 10:00-11:30 AM MJ Lee, Chair Wanda Ginner, Member Patty Dewes, Member Vivek Ragavan, Member Kimberley Cashin, Member Vacant, Member Chris Morace, Conservation Committee Liaison and member VIRTUAL PARTICIPATION VIA ZOOM To access the meeting by computer: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87264593721?pwd=Rda9T44qkILgTqFR8BODxrN1PSvD5P.1 Webinar ID: 872 6459 3721 Passcode: 925772 To access the meeting by phone: 1-669-900-6833 or 1-888-788-0099 (toll-free) Mute/Unmute – Press *6 / Raise Hand – Press *9 HISTORIC SCHOOLHOUSE– 775 PORTOLA RD. – PORTOLA VALLEY, CA REMOTE MEETING ADVISORY: On March 1, 2023, all committees in Portola Valley will return to conducting in-person meetings. A Zoom link will be provided for members of the public to participate remotely; however, the Town cannot guarantee there will be no technical issues with the software during the meeting. For best public participation results, attending the meeting in- person is advised. 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 2. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS FOR ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA Speakers' time is limited to three minutes 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: a. Jul 16, 2026 4. NEW BUSINESS: a. Fire Marshal Update – FM Kim Giuliacci b. 100% Firewise update – Patty Dewes c. OneShoreline update – Chris Morace d. Outreach opportunities – MJ Lee - Sep-11 WFPD evac drill - Sep-19 Town picnic - Oct-4 to 10 National Fire Prevention Week e. WPC webpages – MJ Lee 5. SUBCOMMITTEE AND COMMITTEE LIAISON UPDATES: a. Conservation Committee update b. EPC update 6. OTHER BUSINESS/STANDING ITEMS a. Agenda for next meeting b. Quorum Check for meeting 7. ADJOURNMENT The next regularly scheduled meeting date is Thursday Sep-17-2026 @ 10:00 AM 1 REV 1 – FINAL TOWN OF PORTOLA VALLEY Wildfire Preparedness Committee Thursday July 16, 2026 – 10:00 AM Hybrid on Zoom 765 Portola Road, Portola Valley, CA 94028 ACTION MINUTES A recording of the meeting is here The meeting Agenda Packet is here Call to Order at 10:02 AM: Chair MJ Lee 1. Roll Call Present: Wanda Ginner, MJ Lee, Patty Dewes, Vivek Ragavan, Chris Morace, Council Liaison Rebecca Flynn Absent: Kimberley Cashin Guests: Len Materman and Stephanie Lau of OneShoreline, Carolyn Kousky of Insurance for Good, Fire Marshal Kim Giuliacci, Helen Wolter 2. Oral Communications for items not on the agenda There was no public comment. 3. Approve Minutes of previous meeting The minutes of Jun-18-2026 were approved (Chris Morace had been absent that meeting) M/S Dewes / Ginner NEW BUSINESS 4. OneShoreline insurability initiative – Len Waterman & Carolyn Kousky OneShoreline’s presentation was slated to take just 10-15 minutes, but we ended up discussing for ~50 minutes. In a nutshell, in 2025 OneShoreline launched an initiative to improve flood resiliency, thereby adding a layer of insurability. Now they are starting a wildfire pilot project as small as 25 homes in a neighborhood that is struggling with insurance. OneShoreline is also working with Hillsborough and a coastal community. Insurers have more freedom in rate-setting if they write more policies in high-risk areas. Therefore, insurers are motivated to identify lower-risk (i.e. mitigated) homes they can take off the FAIR plan. For the pilot, the WPC would need to find PV neighborhoods that have a concentration of FAIR plan policies. 2 Mercury Insurance is interested in the pilot, and OneShoreline in collaboration with Carolyn Kousky are working to bring other insurers, possibly even non- admitted/surplus carriers, to the table for the pilot. This pilot is about doing something different and working with insurers to find a solution to the insurance crisis. The committee expressed concerns about messaging – not to bombard residents with conflicting messages when we are also working to achieve 100% Firewise coverage. Also, do not over-promise about getting off the FAIR plan. Improving affordability might be more realistic. Motion: The committee will take the next step to engage OneShoreline to investigate implementing a pilot program in Portola Valley, headed by Chris Morace. M/S Patty Dewes / Vivek Ragavan. Approved unanimously 5. WPC Subsidiary Body teleconferencing policy – MJ Lee The committee discussed the Subsidiary Body teleconferencing policy, which allows members to attend the WPC meetings by zoom. Must be approved by the WPC every 6 months. Motion: Approve the teleconferencing policy. M/S Dewes / Morace. Approved unanimously 6. Fire Marshal Update – Fire Marshal Kim Giuliacci Now that grasses and weeds are drying out, WFPD is serving nuisance notices if mowing is necessary. However, if a service provider says to clear-cut, get WFPD involved to confirm such action is really necessary. WFPD will conduct an evacuation exercise in Ladera on Sep-11-2026. The exercise will use Hi-Lo sirens to notify the public of an immediate need to evacuate, simulate flow, and educate on structure triage. More residents are chipping, utilizing WFPD’s reservation system. June saw 54 piles in PV Ranch, 22 piles in Alpine Hills, and 271 piles across the entire district. In the last year, WFPD has responded to 2 vehicle fires along Hwy 280 that produced embers that jumped across the 8 lanes of 280 on a non-windy day. 7. 100% Firewise update – Patty Dewes Making good progress. Vivek Ragavan has recruited 7 of his desired 10 volunteers for 250 homes in the Golden Oak area, expects them to meet soon. Lower PV Hills has done their neighborhood assessment. Blue Oaks had a neighborhood meeting. Wanda Ginner is working on Nathhorst and Willowbrook. Patty hopes to hold a meeting of all PV Firewise leaders in the Fall. 8. PVForum dashboard – Chris Morace Chris Morace demoed his pioneering work on analyzing trends in PVForum posts on wildfire and insurance issues. His goal was to assess community interest and 3 WPC impact. Due to a lack of time for discussion, he will send links to his findings to the WPC members. 9. WPC webpage Update – MJ Lee No update SUBCOMMITTEE AND STAFF/LIAISON UPDATES 10. Conservation Committee Update – Chris Morace Compared to 2025, fewer landscaping plans are being submitted. As a result, flammables such as English Laurel hedges are being planted, and redwood trees are being planted in areas where they will struggle. Conservation design guidelines need to be updated for wildfire issues. 11. EPC Update – Kimberley Cashin Kim Cashin was absent 12. Meeting adjourned at 11:37 AM. Next meeting Thursday Aug-20-2026 at 10:00 AM /s/ MJ Lee July 16, 2026 Home Protection and Insurability Initiative meeting in Portola Valley OneShoreline: CEO Len Materman, Advisor Stephanie Lau Insurance for Good: Executive Director Carolyn Kousky ➢Increasing risks and damages strains insurance markets and family budgets. Ultimately, this reduces property values, which harms municipal budgets at the same time the costs to build resilience and finance those projects increase. OneShoreline’s first Home Protection and Insurability p ilot provides flood risk reduction in San Bruno ➢Intense engagement facilitated by local “community leads” and a FEMA grant to develop a suite of resilience projects ➢Flood protection supplies reimbursement to 26 homes in 1st year based on a menu developed with Stanford researchers and FEMA guidance ➢Excluding flood & earthquake insurance, the cost of homeowners insurance increased 55% between 2018 and 2024. ➢Costly flood insurance and under-insurance: 4,676 policies with annual premiums exceeding $5.5 million ➢The number of CA FAIR Plan policies was almost 9 times greater in 2026 compared to 2020. Why work on climate change’s impact on insurability in San Mateo County? Why is OneShoreline working on wildfire insurance issues? ➢Our mission is to build climate resilience, which we view broadly to include economic resilience for homeowners and jurisdictions. ➢For several years, OneShoreline and our Stanford graduate student fellows have analyzed the threat to insurability. ➢OneShoreline was 1 of 8 agencies statewide included in a 2023 CA Dept. of Insurance bill to develop pilot projects. ➢Like wildfires (and floods), OneShoreline is not constrained by city boundaries, and we are nimble to take on emerging challenges and work with the private sector to leverage outside resources. Why start in Portola Valley? ➢OneShoreline and Portola Valley leadership have long-standing connections ➢Portola Valley has a high risk of wildfire and its residents have established a growing Firewise community ➢The percent of residential structures in zip code 94028 on the FAIR Plan has increased from 7.9% in December 2024 to 14.6% in March 2026. Why develop an insurability pilot while the community is working to expand Firewise? ➢Insurability is more likely if those actions are guided by insurance industry models & maps rather than government data. ➢OneShoreline’s initiative is different from existing efforts in that we are focused from the very beginning on both home protection and insurability. The alternative to working with the insurance industry on mitigation planning is the status quo of higher premiums unrelated to risk reduction actions and more properties forced to the CA Fair Plan. ➢Potentially in coordination with a similar effort in Santa Clara County, OneShoreline’s plan is to establish one or more pilot projects in San Mateo County that include a partnership of the government (OneShoreline), non-profit (Insurance for Good), and private (major insurers) sectors. ➢Insurance products are more affordable if they take into account property and community scale risk reduction actions. Pilot Program Anticipated Steps and Timeline Fall 2026 Complete detailed wildfire risk modeling for the community Undertake community wildfire mitigation measures and home retrofits that reduce the likelihood of wildfire spread Early 2027 Community meeting with insurer(s) to review modeling results and property- specific and community mitigation recommendations Summer 2026 Identify pilot neighborhoods with all partners Spring- Summer 2027 Summer 2027 Develop financing strategies for home hardening Share information on upgrades with insurer(s) for new offers and pricing Other California Projects Insurance Lead for SB 254 study Supporting CEA on legislatively mandated natural catastrophe resiliency study. Education and Innovation with HCD and CDI Providing education and capacity building for communities in six California counties. Resilience Delta Grant Program Playbook Guidebook for a grant program to pay the additional costs to rebuild to the highest levels of wildfire-resistance. Resilience Funding and Financing Workgroup with CA FWD Developing sustainable funding and financing mechanisms for climate risk reduction at both the community and household levels. Blue Ribbon Commission on Climate Action and Fire-Safe Recovery Recommendations Provided policy recommendations on how to create resilient communities and inclusive insurance markets. San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative Partnership Partnering on insurance innovation in San Diego. Carolyn Kousky, Insurance for GoodExecutive Director Wildfire modeling Some models focus on the hazard, but insurers focus on potential property damage. The fires of greatest concern are those that become urban conflagrationswith house- to-house fire spread. We will work with one of th