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Portola Valley’s Planning Commission discussed its biggest concerns for Stanford University’s Portola Terrace project as members prepared to make recommendations to the Town Council during a special meeting on Nov. 18. Commissioners and the public voiced their opinions on traffic safety, development setbacks and parking.
The proposed development will include 27 faculty homes with 39 residential units and 89 parking spaces to provide housing for entry-level faculty at Stanford University. Twelve units will be considered affordable housing and available to the general public.
The design of Portola Terrace aims to preserve 84% of the total site as open space, according to John Donahoe, Stanford’s senior director of planning and entitlement. The housing development will be concentrated along Alpine Road hidden by existing trees along the roadway and built at a setback of 25 feet.
Portola Valley committees have asked Stanford to increase the setback to 50 feet, but Donahoe explained that shifting the development would place the housing onto steeper ground, requiring design changes and removal of trees that the university is trying to preserve.
Wildfire prevention plan
The open space area of the development includes a proposed fire maintenance road and a trail loop.
According to Donahoe, the fire road was included as a part of Stanford’s Vegetation Management Plan, which was approved by the Woodside Fire Protection District. The road will allow access for mechanized equipment to remove debris that can fuel wildfires.
To further implement wildfire prevention, the proposed homes would be built with fire-resistant materials and design features, and vegetation would be managed as outlined in the plan.
The university also plans to lay PG&E powerlines underground across the front of the site.
Traffic concerns and parking
Portola Valley residents have voiced concerns about traffic safety on Alpine Road and impending congestion from future residents.
“There is currently an absence of any proposed design changes to Alpine Road,” said Ed Holland, chair of the Bicycle, Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee. “I would like to see that considered as part of the approval of the application and suggest to restrict turns into and out of the two driveways to formalize traffic patterns into what might be safest.”
Residents say that making left turns onto Alpine Road is unsafe and a left-turn lane is necessary on the road to prevent future traffic concerns when the development is finished.
Commissioner Ronny Krashinsky questioned whether it was possible for a condition to be made that Stanford be responsible for any payments toward Alpine Road improvements if there are proven traffic issues once the application is approved.
Interim Planning and Building Director Terrence Grindall clarified that it’s possible for the town engineer to conduct a traffic study to determine what improvements are necessary if Stanford agrees.
Planning Commission Chair Jon Goulden disagreed that road improvements should be the university’s responsibility. “I see this as our town’s issue. We created a subdevelopment zone that is residential,” he said.
To address concerns about increased traffic congestion, Stanford announced that it will be providing ride-sharing programs to future Portola Terrace residents to minimize traffic impacts to the community.
Parking issues were brought up by Krashinsky who suggested that driveways should be made wider and more parking spaces should be added to prevent informal parking in the area.
Residents have noted that similar issues with parking were seen in the past at Spring Down Equestrian Center where cars were parked in the setback. A fence was later built to prevent parking on the side of the roadway.
Recommendations to the Town Council
Commissioners were divided on the vote to recommend the council certify the project’s final environmental impact report, which was released in August, two years after the draft EIR was released. Planning Commissioner Lynda Brothers, who voted against this recommendation, said she found the time between the draft and final EIR along with the failure to update many of the studies in between the time gap “bothersome.”
Commissioners also voted unanimously to recommend the council approve the conditional use permit to establish a Planned Unit Development, subdivision map, architectural review for development construction and a permit for tree removal and grading.
This recommendation came with modifications to include an updated analysis of egress and ingress from the roadways and an added condition allowing an option for future development on undeveloped land controlled by the town.
The Town Council will be considering the Planning Commission’s recommendations in its review of the Portola Terrace application on Thursday, Dec. 5, at 6 p.m.
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