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Portola Valley saw many ups and downs this year as the town struggled with finances, a non-compliant housing element and high staff turnover.
In March, Portola Valley announced that its housing element was decertified by the state after it failed to submit zoning code amendments within two days after its certification. The town is still in the process of revising the zoning language to meet the state’s requirements.
In April, former Town Manager Sharif Etman presented the Town Council with a plan to reorganize the town and its finances amidst staffing shortages and increasing costs for services from the Sheriff’s Office. As financial audits from past years were slowly being completed, it became clear that the town was facing a larger deficit than expected. With the help of the town’s new Finance Director Tony McFarlane, the council approved a new budget in November that would help sustain the town’s finances for a couple of years.
The town is actively looking into new ways to raise revenue, including a lease-leaseback and becoming a charter town. While the town is still lacking a permanent town manager, planning and building director, town clerk and town engineer, the town will be saving money on staffing as it focuses on investing in other town functions.
In June, the town bid farewell to its former Public Works Director Howard Young, who worked in Portola Valley for 22 years. Town residents were devastated by the news as the reasons for his departure were unclear. Community members hosted a party celebrating Young and his accomplishments in his last weeks. Following Young, Etman unexpectedly resigned from his role in September after a tenure of just over a year.
During the election in November, four candidates ran for two open seats on the Town Council. Residents elected PV Forum founder Rebecca Flynn and town resident Helen Wolter. Local architect Carter Warr and town resident Ellen Vernazza fell short of votes needed to win. Flynn and Wolter were sworn into office on Dec. 11.
In November, Portola Valley also approved Stanford’s Portola Terrace project, a housing development for university staff and affordable housing that has been in the works for over two years. Throughout October and November, the project was reviewed by town committees, Planning Commission and Town Council. Upon the project’s approval, Stanford will now work with the town to obtain building permits to begin construction.
