|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The California Department of Housing and Community Development sent the town of Portola Valley a new letter on Oct. 16 asking the town to revise its zoning ordinance and general plan to meet state requirements.
The letter is intended to provide the town with guidance on how to bring their housing element back into compliance with state requirements. It provides the town with technical assistance, which is the HCD’s first step to holding the town accountable for its decertified housing element, according to the HCD website. The Housing Accountability Unit also “holds jurisdictions accountable for meeting their housing element commitments and complying with state housing laws,” it says.
The housing element is required by the state for all local governments to develop a plan to meet housing demands across California every eight years. Portola Valley’s housing element was decertified on March 16 and the town has actively been working to revise its plans to bring their housing element back into compliance.
The HCD notes that the town’s zoning ordinance does not state whether the mixed-use sites will be residential. Interim Planning and Building Director Terrence Grindall told The Almanac that this will only require a simple rewording in the ordinance as the same language requested by the HCD is already included in the housing element. The change will need to be considered by the Planning Commission and Town Council, according to the town.
Additionally, the town included the Dorothy Ford Park site in the zoning ordinance which could potentially fit an apartment complex of about 50 units, said Grindall. However, due to ongoing concerns from the community to explore other sites for development, the town did not rezone the property. The HCD is now asking Portola Valley to zone the property as residential, but Grindall said this will require some discussion between Interim Town Manager Corie Stocker-Pedalino and staff to make recommendations to the council.
A town announcement clarifies that since the Dorothy Ford Park site is town-owned, the site cannot actually be developed unless the Town Council takes action to sell or lease the property.
“Failing to have a compliant housing element carries various consequences, including ineligibility for certain state funding programs and being subject to the “‘builder’s remedy,’” said HCD Communications Specialist Alicia Murillo. Builder’s remedy is a state provision that allows developers to streamline building application processes and bypass local land-use regulations if a city does not have a compliant housing element.
The town has until Nov. 26 to provide a written response to the HCD.
Read the letter below:
Redwood City attorney sues ‘First Amendment auditors’ after Menlo Park disputeApril 2, 2026 11:31 am
