Portola Valley Update September 7, 2023

This week's update:

• Letter from the New Portola Valley Town Manager
• Volunteers Needed for the Zotts to Tots Race - Sept 23rd
• Final Summer Concert of the Year - Next Week
• Conservation Committee What's Blooming Now
• Wildfire Preparedness Committee Tip - September is National Preparedness Month
• Opportunity to Provide Feedback to Woodside Fire on Draft Fire Ordinances
• Upcoming Portola Valley School District Events
• Make and Appointment for the Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Drop-off event in Portola Valley
• Town Hall Doors Closed on Fridays
• County of San Mateo Youth Climate Ambassador Leadership Program
• Eco-Friendly Weed Management: Workshop (Limited) and Webinar
• Upcoming Events

Sharif Etman, Portola Valley Town Manager

As I make the picturesque drive with my family along Alpine Road and Portola Road, I can feel the stressors of daily life fade away. I park my car at Windy Hill and start my hike and watch my two sons, Adam and Noah, run in front of me. They will run out of energy soon – I think to myself. My only focus now is on the beautiful trees and the sun peeking through the trail. Should I order something different for lunch when we stop at Robert’s Market and eat at the table outside? Why mess with a good thing? I’ll stick to my tri-tip sandwich on dutch crunch and bag of jalapeno chips! I then refocus on the trail ahead of me.

Fast forward many years – and fate and opportunity have now brought me to Portola Valley once again, this time as Town Manager. I am very grateful for this position and excited for the projects we will take on together with our Town Council, our staff, and dedicated residents.

As I make the drive once again along Alpine Road and Portola Road – I can’t help but notice how my thoughts have changed. Fire Prevention is forefront on my mind now, and I see how popular the Alpine Inn is during lunch. I think about our finances and the Sheriff’s contract. I think about the Housing Element and all the complicated details that it entails. We have some challenges ahead but I am confident that with these challenges also come some great opportunities.

I know with the help of our dedicated staff, our Town Council, and all our residents we can make great progress together. I plan to listen to and meet as many residents as possible. I then plan to connect and listen some more. I am excited to bring my expertise and ideas to such a wonderful town.

One thing I know will not change – my tri-tip sandwich on dutch crunch from Robert’s.

Volunteers Needed for the Zotts to Tots Race - Sept 23rd

The popular Zotts to Tots family fun run is happening again on September 23rd and we need volunteers to help keep the race safe for our runners and bikers. Volunteers will be working under the guidance of the Sheriff’s office to help keep the crossroads along this route safe for our runners and bikers.

The race route along Alpine and Portola Roads will be closed to cars and have a rolling open as soon as the last participant passes each section of the road.

Volunteering will take place from 9 AM until 11 AM (or until the race passes your location) We will gather for a short meeting with the Sheriff at 9 AM at Triangle Park along with getting safety vests ( if you have one please bring it with you) and assignments. We need volunteers to help block the intersections onto the race route, answer questions to drivers, and open their cross street as soon as the race passes.

Sign up to volunteer with Ed Holland by emailing at edward.holland1@btinternet.com

Learn more about the race here

Reminder there are ROAD CLOSURES for Zotts to Tots. View the map here.

Final Summer Concert of the Year - Next Week

Join us for the last in a 3 part summer concert series with an evening of music with New Monsoon on the Performance Lawn by the Library. Food Trucks will be at the Farmers Market. Please also feel free to bring blankets and lawn chairs and a picnic basket with your favorite snacks and beverages.

New Monsoon - a San Francisco rock quintet that is a jammy collaboration of musical masters who have toured nationwide for 25 years.

Conservation Committee - What’s Blooming Now?

Tarweeds

Two local (previously abundant) late summer bloomers are Elegant Tarweed (or Spring Madia), Madia elegans - https://calscape.org/Madia-elegans-(Spring-Madia) and Hayfield Tarweeds, Hemizonia congesta - https://calscape.org/Hemizonia-congesta-(Hayfield-Tarweed)

They are both annuals that love open grassy areas and are tolerant of disturbed and very dry conditions. Although from different genera they both have foliage with sticky hairs and a fragrance reminiscent of tar.

Both show a wide degree of variability – they can be yellow, but some Hayfield Tarweed are white. Elegant Tarweed has red markings around the disk of the flower, while Hayfield Tarweed does not, but may have purple stripes on the undersides of the petals.

These are both available as seed from several vendors.

Indigenous people of California ate flour ground from the seed of these and other types of tarweed.

Wildfire Preparedness Committee Tip - September is National Preparedness Month

It’s Fall, and the pace picks up as we tackle goals we want to finish before the end of the year. There are so many things to keep top-of-mind, that a lot of us don’t want to think about disaster preparedness. But between earthquakes and wildfires, our risk is ever-increasing.

So here are a couple of easy “#1 things you can do to prepare”

1. Believe that it might happen to you.
2. Subscribe to SMC Alert

• Only half of PV residents are on SMC Alert – join the better half and subscribe!
• Note that SMC Alert is running a test this Sunday, Sep-10-2023

And now that you’re ready to take the next steps:

• Make a plan using WPV-Ready’s suggestions
• Build a Kit of disaster supplies for sheltering in place
• Prepare a Go Bag for every person and pet in your home

Opportunity to Provide Feedback to Woodside Fire on Draft Fire Ordinances

The Portola Valley Wildfire Preparedness Committee [WPC] is taking resident feedback on four Woodside Fire Protection District draft fire ordinances. For more information, residents can also view the minutes on the WPC website or watch recordings of the WPC meetings..

Residents are encouraged to send their comments to wildfireprepcommittee@portolavalley.net or to attend a WPC meeting. To sign up to receive WPC updates and WPC agenda information, please go to https://www.portolavalley.net/business/subscribe-to-town-enotices and check the box for the WPC.

Draft ordinance 23-01

This ordinance is concerned with the Administrative Citation process and supplements ordinance 22-01 which was passed in November 2022.

Draft ordinance 23-02

This ordinance gives the WFPD the ability to abate any property “to remove or alleviate a nuisance, including but not limited to demolition, removal, repair, boarding and securing or replacement of property.” The costs for abating shall be paid by the homeowner. The bill will be sent “to the San Mateo County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder to be collected in the same time and manner as County taxes are paid.”

Draft ordinance 23-03

This ordinance (found in the WPC Agenda Packet) focuses on creating defensible space on private property including:

• Creating a zone 0 for new and existing homes [0-5 feet from structure] This includes no flammable materials such as wood fencing or non-irrigated planting.
• Gutters to be free of debris.
• Requirements for roadside vegetation mitigation. By December 31, 2023, residents need to remove all junipers and bamboo from 10 feet of the paved edge of access roads or driveways.
• Before close of escrow on the sale of any parcel, seller must have complied with 23-03

Draft ordinance 23-04

This ordinance (found in the WPC Agenda Packet) focuses on creating fuel breaks on private property:

• For parcels 1 acre or less, the whole property is a fuel break.
• For parcels greater than 1 acre, a fuel break of 50 feet around the perimeter is required.
• For parcels greater than 10 acres, a fuel break of 100 feet around the perimeter is required.

Fuel break definition: (A) Annual grasses cut to less than 3”. (B) Removal of all Hazardous Vegetation. (C) Removal of non-irrigated brush. (D) Removal of all Combustible Material. (E) Removal of dead, diseased, or dying trees. (F) Maintain trees to remove Ladder Fuels so that foliage, twigs, or branches are greater than 6 feet above the ground. Remove branches from no more than 1/3 the height of young trees making sure to maintain the appropriate 10 feet of spacing between crowns of trees at maturity.

Upcoming Portola Valley School District Events

Wildfire Prevention, Preparation, & School Evacuation Presentation at Ormondale Elementary School on September 20th. This presentation will be given by the Woodside Fire Protection District.

Learn More here.

Ribbon Cutting Event to celebrate PVSD’s new construction and modernization projects on October 20 From 4:00 - 5:00 pm at Ormondale Elementary and from 5:00 - 6:30 pm at Corte Madera

Please RSVP. Learn more here.

Make and Appointment for the Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Drop-off event in Portola Valley

The Town of Portola Valley is hosting a Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Drop-off event in Portola Valley on Saturday, October 14, 2023, 8:30am-12:15pm. Accepted items include cleaning products; fertilizers and garden chemicals; pesticides, herbicides and rodenticides; solvents; flammable liquids; fluorescent lights (compact and tubes), paint thinner, acids/bases, aerosol cans, and automotive supplies (car batteries, motor oil, oil filters, antifreeze, brake fluid). All waste collected is reused, recycled, or stabilized for proper disposal to achieve zero waste and prevent any items from going to the landfill and contaminating our water and soil. No electronic, radioactive, explosive, or medical waste is accepted. This event is open to all who live in San Mateo County.

To participate, you must schedule an appointment at San Mateo County’s HHW Program: smchealth.org/hhw-appt or by calling (650) 372-6200. The event location is disclosed once your appointment is confirmed. Limit 10 gallons or 50 pounds per appointment (per car load). If you have greater than 10 gallons, you must schedule an appointment for each 10 gallons of waste and make separate vehicle trips for each appointment. No commercial waste allowed.

OPTIONAL: Residents unable to attend this event can still dispose of household hazardous waste for free at San Mateo County’s permanent HHW facility Thursdays-Saturdays (except major holiday weekends). You must make an appointment at smchealth.org/hhw-appt or call (650) 372-6200. Recycling/safe disposal of paint, fluorescent lights, household batteries, and used motor oil/filters can be done at a local collection center – no appointment needed. Visit smchealth.org/hhw-most-wanted for local drop-off sites. For more information, visit smchealth.org/hhw

Town Hall Lobby Closed on Fridays

The Town Council approved physically closing Town Hall’s doors every Friday. Staff will still be working but the lobby will be closed to visitors. The Planning & Building Department has virtual appointments for services that include meetings with a planner, building/planning permit submittals, and more. The PV Connect system is available for submitting service requests. You can still reach staff by email and phone.

County of San Mateo Youth Climate Ambassador Leadership Program

The County of San Mateo Office of Sustainability and the Office of Education are proud to announce that we are now accepting applications for the fifth cohort of the Youth Climate Ambassador (YCA) Program! We could use your help reaching youth in your jurisdictions. Please read below or see the attached flyer and social media graphic for more details to share with your 9th-12th grade students here in San Mateo County. We are accepting applications now until Friday, September 15th at 11:59pm.

The County of San Mateo’s Office of Sustainability, in partnership with San Mateo County’s Office of Education, Peninsula Clean Energy, Acterra, and Citizens Environmental Council of Burlingame, launched a youth climate change leadership program for 9th-12th grade students who live or go to school in San Mateo County. This program is offered in a virtual setting for participants, with twice a month Thursday evening meetings on Zoom accompanied by three in person retreats on Saturdays throughout the program. You can review the participant schedule and apply online by visiting: https://tinyurl.com/YCACohort5Application

Eco-Friendly Weed Management: Workshop (Limited) and Webinar

September 10th at 1:00-2:30PM

Do you find yourself dealing with pesky weeds? Learn how to identify weeds and deal with them through actions that keep the health of our gardens, waterways, pets, and community in mind!

The FREE program will explore:

• Integrated Pest Management and its principles
• Weed identification tips
• Eco-friendly tips for managing common weeds
• Interactive Q&A with audience participation

Flows To Bay is excited to join the San Mateo Arboretum Society to host this educational event! Join the workshop in-person (limited) or virtually via Zoom. Whichever way you attend, you must register ahead of time on the San Mateo Arboretum Society’s website

Scroll down to the September 10 event to register here!

Expert instructor, Charlotte Canner, will lead the workshop/webinar. Charlotte is a local certified Integrated Pest Management Advocate in association with Our Water Our World.

You can learn about more ways to prevent stormwater pollution on our website, flowstobay.org.

Read about the San Mateo Arboretum Society and its upcoming events here.

REGISTER HERE