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Ladera Community Church plans to build six affordable housing units in an open field to the left of the church. Although the project is still in the beginning stages, it has received support from the Town Council and residents to move forward.
“I’m certainly very enthusiastic about [Ladera Church’s] interest in their affordable housing as they envision it and really want to make sure we support that,” said Vice Mayor Judith Hasko during a town council meeting on May 22.
On June 30, the church’s Affordable Housing Task Force will hold a congregational meeting to vote on an amended resolution to start negotiations with the affordable housing nonprofit Habitat for Humanity, who will design and fund the development. The task force will need a 50% vote from all who attend the meeting to continue with the project.
“[The development is] designed to target and reach people who work in the area,” said Tim Clark, a member of the AHTF.
The idea for the project was sparked five years ago and aims to provide housing to individuals who work at Portola Valley schools, the Ladera shopping center, live at The Sequoias or have long commutes to work in town. Some workers in Portola Valley are traveling from as far as cities in the East Bay — a commute that can take over an hour, according to Karen Turner, a member of the AHTF.
Housing units in this development will be similar to condos, explained Clark, who said that residents will be able to own their houses and gain equity. Residents would be able to sell their units back to Habitat for Humanity. Each unit is estimated to be 1,000 to 1,200 square feet and will be built in an offsite factory. All units will be equipped with built-in appliances.
“We’re hoping we can be an example for the town and church,” Turner said.
Gov. Gavin Newson signed Senate Bill 4, the Affordable Housing on Faith Lands Act, in 2023. streamlined the process for churches and nonprofit colleges to build affordable multi-family housing on their land. SB 4 is also known as the “Yes in God’s Backyard” bill.
Turner hopes that other churches will be encouraged to utilize their open land for affordable housing as well.
During a May 29 Town Council meeting, the zoning ordinance was amended to include clearer language highlighting the town’s support for Ladera Church’s timely development of “up to and including six units on developable areas.” as well as revised definitions of “density” and addition of “net acre.”
Prior language on multi-family zoning included a required minimum of 20 units per acre, which did not align with the church’s development plans and site constraints of the preschool playground and three heritage oak trees.
“The definition of zoning density was adjusted to reflect that there are sometimes areas of properties that are not able to be developed,” said interim Planning and Building Director Terrence Grindall in an email to The Almanac, explaining the amendments.
Portola Valley currently has one affordable housing complex development, Willow Commons, for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, which will be the town’s first multi-family housing. The development is set to be completed in March 2025.
Clark said that part of the reason why the zoning process has been complicated is because Portola Valley is not accustomed to creating rules around construction and multi-family housing. With the decertification of the town’s housing element in March “the town is acting quickly” to get certified again.
The AHTF still has a long way to go with planning the logistics of the development but are progressing “step by step.” Clark said they are “hopeful despite having low confidence” and the most time consuming process was finding a developer that would take on a smaller development.
“I’ve wanted to do affordable housing for a long time and I’ve seen how it changes lives,” said Turner. “If we can solve housing we can solve a lot of other issues.”
