Bill and Jean Lane have established a conservation easement for their 10 acres of land in the Westridge neighborhood, effectively prohibiting any development beyond what is already there: a one-story main house, a guest house and a stable. The rest is field and woodland and must be allowed to remain that way into perpetuity; the town has been given oversight responsibility.

Members of the Town Council have expressed hope that other residents with large rural properties will follow the Lanes' lead.

As evidenced in Portola Valley's home design guidelines and its official stances on environmental issues, the town's ethic is nothing if not a dedication to a minimal human footprint upon the land and an unchanging sense of the good life, environmentally lived, in a rural setting.

Should other residents follow the Lanes and dedicate their properties, too?