The Town of Portola Valley Housing Element identifies and analyzes existing and projected housing needs and contains the official policies for the preservation, conservation, rehabilitation, and production of housing in the Town of Portola Valley. The current Housing Element covers the Planning Period from January 2023 through January 2031. It was adopted in its current form by Town Council on January 24, 2024, and certified by the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) on January 30, 2024. It was re-certified on May 28, 2025 following Zoning Code amendments to implement the updated Housing Element. The Town has made good faith compliance progress on Housing Element implementation.
The Draft Housing Element Amendment (Draft Amendment) was developed in late 2025 and was available for public review beginning on Tuesday, December 23, 2025 through Wednesday, January 14, 2026. The Draft Amendment includes changes to the Sites Inventory to remove the Dorothy Ford Park and Open Space from the Sites Inventory and reallocating the same number of potential housing units on that site to three other sites.
The proposed revisions to the Sites Inventory consist of adding two sites. These include Village Square at 884 Portola Rd and Skyline Open Space (North of 19501 Skyline Blvd). Modifications to the unit count and income levels are proposed for the Christ Church at 815 Portola Valley Rd, which is already included in the Sites Inventory. The three sites are proposed to be zoned as Mixed‐Use High Density, which will be a new zoning district. The total number of units on the Sites Inventory, after removing the Dorothy Ford Park and Open Space and making the changes described above, has not changed and remains the same at 120 total units.
On December 4, 2025, the proposed Draft Amendment was presented for preliminary review at a special Town Council meeting to receive information and provide direction to staff. Public comment was also received during this meeting.
On December 23, 2025, the Draft Amendment was posted for public review and the public was invited to submit written comments on the Draft Amendment during the public review period from Tuesday, December 23, 2025 to Wednesday, January 14, 2026.
On January 7, 2026, at 7:00 PM, the proposed Draft Amendment was presented for preliminary review at a Planning Commission meeting to receive information. Public comment was also received during this meeting.
On January 14, 2026, at 7:00 PM, the proposed Draft Amendment was presented at a Town Council meeting and the public was invited to make comments. At this meeting, the Town Council authorized staff to send the Draft Amendment to HCD.
On January 23, 2026, the Town sent the Draft Amendment to HCD for review.
On March 25, 2026, the Town received a comment letter from HCD outlining its review of the Draft Amendment. The letter can be found here.
The agendas and staff reports are posted on the Town Calendar webpage.
There will be additional public meetings on the Draft Housing Element Amendment in 2026 before the Council considers taking final action to approve it. If you would like to receive future updates, please subscribe to the Town eNotice for Housing News.
Please submit public comments to Sarah Cawrse, Planning and Building Director, via email at scawrse@portolavalley.net or at 650-851-1700 x 210.
