2025 Update
The Housing Element is currently certified by the State Department of Housing and Community Development.
On June 23, 2025, the Town Council approved a contract with Urban Planning Partners to prepare an amendment to the Housing Element to replace the Dorothy Ford Housing Element Site with other housing sites.
The Housing Element Site Inventory include 2.48 acres of the Dorothy Ford Park and Open Space property. This site was identified as having the potential to be developed with up to 50 units of Very Low-Income housing units. As the consideration and analysis of the site proceeded with the implementation of the Housing Element, issues were identified that affected the feasibility of developing the site with housing. The primary reasons for this conclusion is the limited development area when creek and scenic setbacks were considered, the irregular shape of the remaining area, and the potential conflict with sports field uses. The entire property will remain as a park and open space area.
In order to be in substantial compliance with California Housing Element Law, any removal of a Housing Element Site would require that the housing production anticipated from that site would need to be replaced on another site or sites. Therefore, the Town Council created an Ad Hoc Housing Site Evaluation Committee to study potential replacement sites. The committee studied numerous sites and concluded that four potential sites warranted further analysis and consideration. The sites identified were:
- Village Square Site
- Fogarty Parcel
- Christ Church Property
- Hawthorns Historic Area
Staff has concluded that the Hawthorns site has significant impediments to development of affordable housing that may not result in housing being developed during the 2023-2031 Housing Element timeframe. Therefore, the site is not recommended for addition to the Housing Element at this time. The proposed amendment includes the three other sites. It will also include the creation of a new Mixed‐Use/High Density Zoning District. The updated Sites Inventory will involve the following sites:
1. Village Square Site (884 Portola Rd)
a. Rezone to Mixed Use/High Density Zoning District (20‐23 du/ac). Add 25‐35 units to the Sites Inventory.
2. Christ Church Episcopal Site (815 Portola Valley Rd)
a. Add 15‐20 units to the Sites Inventory.
3. Fogarty Winery Open Space (19501 Skyline Blvd)
a. Rezone to Multi‐family Residential 23 du/ac (20‐23 du/ac).1 Add 15‐20 units.
The amendment is currently underway. The Town will provide status updates later in 2025 and early 2026.
