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The town of Woodside is taking its first step in updating its Town Center Plan — an effort to reimagine the future of the heart of town since 1970.
Woodside’s Town Center Plan was last amended in 1988 with the approval of Measure J. The ballot measure required “residentially zoned parcels in and adjoining the Town Center to remain in residential use unless commercial parking was established on those properties prior to June 1, 1988.” There was an attempt to update the plan in 2012, according to Town Manager Jason Ledbetter.
The original Town Center Plan was created to outline a clear vision for the town’s commercial and community hub. It aimed to shape the evolution of private properties and infrastructure improvements to sidewalks, trails and buildings.
Consultants from Good City Company, a Redwood City-based local government and land use consulting firm, will be working with the town on the update.
The purpose of an updated plan is to evaluate where and how Town Center can be improved to better serve the needs of the community. This can include amendments to town policies and guidelines concerning buildings, signage, lighting, parking and more. The update will occur in five phases, said Good City Project Manager Troy Reinhalter.
“We welcome you to participate through a number of avenues to share your feedback and opinions with us and with the council,” Reinhalter said. “We feel that it’s important that the concerns of this community be elevated over those of visitors.”
The major concerns raised by the community are traffic circulation, pedestrian safety and lack of parking. Consultants will also be looking into the different land use agreements in the Town Center area to explore potential housing, commercial developments and community gathering spaces.
“We want to explore new ideas while keeping the treasured rural character that the Town Center has that draws so many folks to live in this community,” Reinhalter added.
Updates to the area plan include an expansion of the Town Center boundary further down Woodside Road past Woodside Elementary School and an added parcel behind Cañada Corners for an expanded parking lot.
The Good City team plans on engaging with the community through local events to bring transparency on the plan’s updates. To ensure collaboration with the local residents, the consultants are planning to host pop-up events, community workshops, online surveys and produce informative videos.
Community Advisory Committee
Good City consultants recommended that the Community Advisory Committee be made up of 10 to 12 town committee chairs, property owners and stakeholders. To maintain equal power, there will be no chair for this committee.
Reinhalter said having a larger committee when working on an area plan can help balance diverse opinions and experiences. Consultants thought that this recommended size would still allow for focused conversations and meetings but any larger might lead to inefficiencies.
“Ultimately, the goal is not to have one mind out of the CAC but the goal is to seek a clear recommendation that can be brought forth to the council,” he said.
The nominated CAC members include Planning Commission Chair Lyle Weaver, Planning Commission Vice Chair Matt Garr, Architectural and Site Review Board Chair Don Lindsay and Circulation Committee Chair Ehsan Farkhondeh. The recommendations also listed previous Trails Committee Chair Barry Kuhl and Environment and Open Space Committee Chair Sue Sweeney Burrow.
Town property owners will be involved as CAC members including Lee Ann Gilbert, Richard Ersted, Patricia Del Gavio and Christine Roberts.
According to consultants, CAC meetings will be open to the public to encourage community participation and will allow for a maximum of three minutes per public comment. Meetings will be led by the Good City team to serve as a neutral party, said Reinhalter.
Some local residents stepped up to the mic during public comment to express their disappointment in the lack of a committee application process.
“The way the proposed committee was selected was really a missed opportunity to engage people who have done their decades of service on the Planning Commission, ASRB and have a particular interest in Town Center,” said local architect Steve Lubin.
Town resident John Hughes asked that, while the town prepares to update the Town Center plan, it also should highlight the issues around affordable housing. Hughes encouraged the council to build units downtown instead of on parcels such as the one on Raymundo Drive, which is only accessible on windy and narrow roads.
“We want to reduce the pressure that we’ll face in the next housing element for affordable housing,” he said. “It’s going to get more difficult. Let’s anticipate it. Let’s put it in the center of town where it belongs.”
Various residents came forward to nominate themselves to serve on the committee, including David Mittleman and Sue Poletti.
“It sounded like (the CAC list) might have excluded some people that have a long history with this and given the complexity of Woodside, I suggest that more scrutiny be given to the list of people who are on that committee,” said town resident Maggie Mah.
She advocated for architects and lifelong town residents Steve Lubin and Steve Patrick to be selected as committee members. Considering Woodside’s equestrian culture, she also suggested that at least one person have some involvement with the horse community.
Council deliberations
Council members agreed with residents about the circumstances around the committee and commented on various issues that the town might face with the staff’s recommendations.
“I don’t have a problem with the extent of the expansion, but to say that we want to have a broad expansion of downtown strikes me as not keeping to the concept of rural,” said Council member Dick Brown.
Jenn Wall pointed out that there is an issue with conflict of interest and recusal among CAC members who could potentially be involved in discussions that pertain to their own businesses and properties in Town Center. She said it’s important to clearly understand how that process would work before appointing specific members.
“What I wish we were looking at tonight was what an application for the Citizens Advisory Committee would look like,” said Wall. “In my mind, a balanced committee would have some members of our commercial property owners, volunteer committees and some residents (with) certain expertise.”
Mayor Pro Tem Paul Goeld and council member Hassan Aburish agreed with Wall that the committee should include more residents who are interested in serving. Goeld suggested that all five districts in Woodside be represented and a subcommittee be formed to review CAC applications.
Mayor Bryan Dombkowski agreed with the subcommittee process, which Wall and Goeld agreed they would lead. He also recommended an expansion of the Town Center boundaries to extend further east on Woodside Road to Highway 280.
Council members unanimously voted to approve a subcommittee to recruit town district representatives on the CAC as well as an expansion on the area boundaries.
“It’s just the start of a long 18-month process so we’ll look forward to your engagement,” said Dombkowski.
