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Portola Valley Town Council may decide parking dispute along upper Alpine Road

The matter of roadside public parking and how much of it there should be in front of 4860 Alpine Road is the first item of business for the Portola Valley Town Council at its Wednesday, Jan. 13, meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the Historic Schoolhouse at 765 Portola Road.

Should there be a driveway into the property at one end of the town-owned roadside area, thereby preserving the stretch of uninterrupted parking for some 20 vehicles, or should the driveway cross the parking area at some point and divide it?

Town staff denied an encroachment permit for the second option as proposed by residents Rick Friedman and Annette Achermann, who have appealed to the council to reverse the staff decision. The slope of a driveway where staff proposed would be too steep, the couple has said.

Two council members have been working with them on a compromise plan that the council will consider.

Also on the agenda for Wednesday: amended policies for the use of and rental of the community hall and the two activity rooms. A proposal would require room rental fees to include insurance costs, ban reheating of food outside the kitchen, and forbid anything but painter's tape to affix things to the walls.

The council will also discuss modifications to the outfield of the Town Center baseball diamond in light of a June 2009 incident in which a player injured his face after running over a collapsible fence and colliding with a tree.