08-26-2026 Special Council Agenda Packet

TOWN OF PORTOLA VALLEY Special Meeting of the Town Council Wednesday, August 26, 2026 5:30 PM MAYOR: Craig Taylor VICE MAYOR: Mary Hufty COUNCILMEMBERS: Rebecca Flynn, Judith Hasko, Helen Wolter A G E N D A HISTORIC SCHOOLHOUSE - 765 Portola Road, Portola Valley, CA 94028 Remote Public Comments: Meeting participants are encouraged to submit public comments in writing in advance of the meeting. Please submit your public comments by using the online form, by 1:00 PM on the day of the meeting. Time permitting, your correspondence will be uploaded to the website. All received questions will be forwarded to the Portola Valley Town Council for consideration during the meeting and included in the public record. Members of the public may also provide comments in person at the meeting. The agenda and staff report will be posted on the Town’s website by approximately 5:00 PM the Friday prior to the meeting. Additionally, technology permitting, the public body will take questions using the Raise Hand button for those who attend the meeting online or by phone. The Mayor 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. In-Person Public Comments: Please fill out and submit a Public Comment card to the Town Clerk or Mayor prior to speaking. The Mayor will call your name at the appropriate time. Each speaker's time is limited to three (3) minutes. The Mayor reserves the right to limit speaker's time, depending upon the number of speakers or other circumstances. 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. VIRTUAL PARTICIPATION VIA ZOOM To access the meeting by computer: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85661031107?pwd=XBbPrv9WKnql1xOByNvR6a5i74XjuR.1 Webinar ID: 856 6103 1107 Passcode: 048294 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 1 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. ANNOUNCEMENT OF REMOTE ATTENDANCE / ROLL CALL 3. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS 4. ADJOURNMENT Public comment will only be taken on agenda items. The Mayor will also open up for public comment as the Council moves through each agenda item. Please submit a speaker's slip located at the front of the room to the Town Clerk of Mayor, prior to speaking. Each speaker's time is limited to three (3) minutes. REGULAR AGENDA Receive Information and Provide Direction on the Potential Future Town Work Plan for the Hawthorns Area Plan The next Regular Town Council meeting will be held on August 26, 2026 at 7:00 p.m. 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. 2 TOWN OF PORTOLA VALLEY STAFF REPORT TO: Mayor and Members of the Town Council FROM: Sarah Cawrse, Planning & Building Director DATE: August 26, 2026 RE: Receive Information and Provide Direction on the Potential Future Town Work Plan for the Hawthorns Area Plan RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the Town Council receive information and provide direction on the potential future town work plan for the Hawthorns Area Plan. BACKGROUND The 79-acre Hawthorns area of Windy Hill Open Space Preserve was gifted to the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (“Midpen”) in 2011. Since then, Midpen’s staff have been working to restore native grasslands, improve community wildland fire safety and protect historic features on the property. A multi-year public process began in 2021 to explore the feasibility of introducing ecologically sensitive public access to the undeveloped portion of the property. Midpen plans to protect and manage natural, scenic, cultural, and open space resources at the Hawthorns Area and provide ecologically sensitive public access consistent with Midpen’s mission and the allowable uses outlined in the property’s conservation easement. Midpen prepared an FAQ and engagement summary document provided as Attachment 1. Hawthorns Area Public Access Working Group On June 28th 2023, Hawthorns Area Public Access Working Group (PAWG) was officially formed. The Midpen Board of Directors appointed members to serve on the PAWG. Working group members collaborated at meetings in 2023 and 2024 with Midpen staff, District Ward Stakeholders, and elected official liaisons on a plan to introduce ecologically sensitive public access to the site in a manner consistent with Midpen vision and goals. The PAWG meeting agendas, agenda packets, and documents are available online . The Working Group evaluated the following public access components: Parking area and driveway location(s) Trailhead location(s) and internal trail system Trail connections with surrounding Town trails and pathways Opportunities for regional trail connections Proposed trail uses within the Hawthorns Area A Recommendations Report was published on November 1, 2024. Amongst other things, the Report focused on analyzing parking lot alternatives for public access, as well as opportunities for trail access. The Report reviewed numerous potential parking alternatives. For purposes of preparing a project description for review under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”), on May 6, 2026, 3 MROSD’s Board narrowed the proposed parking options to what was described in the Recommendations Report as Options 9 and 10. Both of these options envision a parking lot of twenty- five (25) to fifty (50) spaces located just off of Alpine Road, straddling Assessor’s Parcels 079-080-050 and 079-080-080. Assessor’s Parcel 079-080-050 appears to be recognized as “improved,” while Assessor’s Parcel 079-080-080 appears to be considered unimproved. Option 9 proposes taking access from a driveway across from Roberts Market. Option 10 proposes taking access directly across from the intersection with Portola Road. With the selection of these two alternatives, MROSD intends to hire a CEQA consultant to commence preparation of the environmental review. Based on the information available on MRODS’ website, MROSD anticipates completing the environmental review sometime in 2027, and then finalizing its designs and seeking any necessary permits from the Town. Midpen's role as the lead agency in the CEQA analysis of this project includes engaging with responsible agencies (CEQA Guidelines section 15096), including the Town of Portola Valley. The CEQA process affords the Town an opportunity to comment upon the potential environmental effects of the Plan, and ideally to collaborate on mitigations and alternatives to alleviate any negative effects. Basic information about the current Town’s General Plan land use classification and Zoning District as it relates to the Hawthorns property is provided as Attachment 2. Correspondence submitted by the Town Open Space Committee and Trails and Paths Committee is provided as Attachment 3. DISCUSSION This agenda items serves for the Town Council to receive information and provide direction on the Potential Future Town Work Plan for the Hawthorns Area Plan (the “Project”) and the Town land use and zoning regulations. Areas of work may include, but are not limited to, the following items: 1 . CEQA Project Engagement Work 2 . Town Open Space Element and Zoning Regulations 3 . Negotiated Agreement between the Town and MidPen 4 . Conservation Easement Enforcement CEQA Project Engagement Work The CEQA process affords the Town an opportunity to comment upon the potential environmental effects of the Project, and ideally to collaborate on mitigations and alternatives to alleviate any negative effects. The Town may retain an environmental consultant to support staff and legal counsel early in the process to identify potential negative environmental effects, and review proposed mitigations and alternatives. Key participation elements would include: Meetings with the MidPen staff and/or their CEQA consultants; Town comment letter on the Notice of Preparation; and Town comment letter on the Draft and/or Final EIR. Town Open Space Element and Zoning Regulations The Town may have authority to dictate some elements of the Project’s implementation through its General Plan and zoning ordinances. The Town could update the Open Space Element and/or adopt new or additional zoning regulations to regulate the Project. For example, the Town could develop parking lot standards, property access standards along scenic corridors, across trails, and along major roadways. The Town could also examine grading standards. Senate Bill 1425 requires every city and county to review and update its general plan Open Space Element by January 1, 2026 to include plans and action programs addressing equity, climate resilience, and rewilding. The Town of Portola Valley has not completed this update and is overdue to update the Open Space Element. The Town also has authority to enforce restrictions on the use of the Town’s property through 4 its encroachment ordinances. This authority can be used to limit access points to any parking lot, but not to prohibit access entirely. The Town also has the authority to dictate the type and location of any work within the Town right-of-way, including work to alter or reroute Town trails. The Town could also work on a parking management plan for Town and Midpen properties, including an examination of shared parking options. Negotiated Agreement between the Town and MidPen The Town Council may consider an approach which involves a negotiated agreement between the Town and MidPen for the Project. This was utilized for the Windy Hill Open Space Preserve in the 1980s, as presented in Attachment 4. Conceptually, staff has discussed this with Midpen staff, and both staff are open to exploring this agreement as an appropriate way to memorialize the respective agencies’ understanding and expectations. Council input is sought on this. For example, parking capacity at Windy Hill Preserve and the Hawthorns Area could be studied more holistically to consider options such as expanding parking at Windy Hill Preserve while reducing the planned parking at the Hawthorns Area. This suggestion was also included in the public comment provided in Attachment 5. Conservation Easement Enforcement The Hawthorns Area is subject to a preexisting Conservation Easement granted by the prior owners to the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) in 2005. Concerns have been raised in the community that the Project may not be consistent with this Easement. The Town can attempt to prevail upon POST to enforce the Conservation Easement under which POST is the grantee. The Conservation Easement does not prohibit the construction of a parking lot, but would limit the parking surface to gravel, and potentially require the lot’s relocation. Given that the Town is not a party to the Conservation Easement, though, the Town has no standing to directly enforce its terms, unless POST were to assign those rights to the Town. Conclusion Staff is seeking Town Council direction on the potential future Town work plan for the Hawthorns Area Plan. Based on direction