Portola Valley: Village Square rental-housing project proposed Portola Valley: Village Square rental-housing project proposed (June 29, 2005)

By David Boyce

Almanac Staff Writer

The Portola Valley Planning Commission has received drawings for a rental-housing project that would require an amendment to the town's general plan, a zoning amendment and a use permit.

Hillsborough real estate broker Stanley Lo, who recently bought the Village Square shopping center at 884 Portola Road, is proposing to build two small single-story homes -- and refurbish two other small dwellings at the rear of the 2.25-acre property -- to be rented to people of "moderate" incomes.

In San Mateo County in 2005, $114,000 is a moderate income for a family of four, or $91,200 for a couple, according to the county's Human Services Agency.

Carter Warr, the project architect and a member of the town's Architecture & Site Control Commission, recently presented the plans to the Planning Commission, which is likely to reconsider them before fall, said Planning Manager Leslie Lambert.

The new homes would be 995 square feet, with two bedrooms, two baths, a walk-in closet and an outdoor patio. The two refurbished homes are 883 and 755 square feet. Six new residential parking spaces would be added.

The commissioners said they liked the small profile and reduced mass created by four separate dwellings, each with its own roof, said Ms. Lambert. Their recommendations included a greater setback from Sausal Creek and a common play area, she said.

To build affordable housing on a site currently zoned community-commercial would require a change in the general plan, said Town Planner George Mader in a memo to the commission.

The maximum density should probably be set at 5.8 units per acre, the same as that of the adjacent property, said Mr. Mader. That 1.4-acre site, owned by Sausal Creek Associates, may soon receive the Planning Commission's nod to allow the construction of five single-story houses for seniors and one below-market-rate home.

A public agency such as the Palo Alto Housing Corporation would need to be brought in to ensure that the BMR homes are rented to people with "moderate" incomes, said Mr. Mader.

Mr. Lo, an unabashed believer in providing affordable options where housing is expensive, has said he plans no major changes to the office and retail space at the shopping center. The hay shed at the very back of the site would be relocated to a spot across the parking lot from the feed store.
INFORMATION

For more information, call Portola Valley's Building, Planning and Engineering Department at 851-1701, ext. 16.

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