Portola Valley City Council
March 9, 2022

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SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA
Remote Meeting Covid-19 Advisory: On September 16, the Governor signed AB 361, amending the Ralph M. Brown Act (Brown Act) to allow legislative bodies to continue to meet virtually during the present public health emergency. AB 361 is an urgency bill which goes into effect on October 1, 2021. The bill extends the teleconference procedures authorized in Executive Order N-29-20, which expired on September 30, 2021, during the current COVID-19 pandemic and allows future teleconference procedures under limited circumstances defined in the bill. Portola Valley Town Council and commission and committee public meetings are being conducted electronically to prevent imminent risks to the health or safety of attendees. The meeting is not available for in-person attendance. Members of the public may attend the meeting by video or phone linked in this agenda.

Remote Public Comments: Meeting participants are encouraged to submit public comments in writing in advance of the meeting. Please send an email to [email protected] by 3:00 PM on the day of the meeting. Time permitting, your correspondence will be uploaded to the website. All received questions will be forwarded to Council, Commission or Committee members for consideration during the meeting and will be included in the public record. Additionally, the public body will take questions using the Q&A button for those who attend the meeting online or by phone. Finally, if you call in, you may provide comments by pressing *9 on your phone to "raise your hand" and *6 to mute/unmute yourself.

The meeting Chair will call on people to speak by the phone number that is calling in.

We encourage anyone who has the ability to join the meeting online to do so. You will have access to any presentations that will be shown on your screen and can easily ask questions using the “raise your hand” feature when the Chair calls for them.

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7:00 PM - CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL

Councilmember Derwin, Councilmember Aalfs, Councilmember Richards, Vice Mayor Wernikoff, and Mayor Hughes

ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Persons wishing to address the Town Council on any subject may do so now. Please note, however, that the Council is not able to undertake extended discussion or action tonight on items, not on the agenda. ‘Speakers' time is limited to three minutes.

TOWN OF PORTOLA VALLEY
7:00 PM – Special Meeting of the Town Council
Wednesday, March 9, 2022

THIS SPECIAL MEETING IS BEING HELD VIA

VIDEOCONFERENCE ONLY

Agenda - Town Council Meeting
March 9, 2022

CONSENT AGENDA
The following items are voted on at once by the body, unless a member of the body requests an item be considered separately. Members of the public are permitted to comment on any item on the consent calendar before the body votes on the consent agenda.

1. Approval of Minutes – Action and Detailed Summary Minutes for February 23, 2022 (3)

2. Approval of Warrant List – March 9, 2022 (21)

3. Appointment by Mayor – Member to the Trails & Paths Committee (27)

4. Update by Town Manager – COVID Business Assistance Grant (CBAG) Program (29)

5. Recommendation by Town Attorney – Adoption of a Resolution Confirming the State of Emergency and (30) Need to Continue Conducting Town Public Meetings Remotely (a) A Resolution of the Town Council of the Town of Portola Valley Confirming Existing State of Emergency and Authorizing Continued Remote Public Meetings Under AB 361 (Resolution No. __)

REGULAR AGENDA

6. STUDY SESSION – Fiscal Year 2022-23 Council Priorities Study Session 2 – Adoption of Priorities (34)

7. Report by Planning and Building Director – Planning and Building Department Workload Update (62)

8. COUNCIL LIAISON COMMITTEE AND REGIONAL AGENCIES REPORTS (71) Oral reports arising out of liaison appointments to both in-town and regional committees and initiatives. There are no written materials and the Town Council does not take action under this agenda item.

9. TOWN MANAGER REPORT (72)

WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS

10. Town Council Digest – February 24, 2022 (73)

11. Town Council Digest – March 3, 2022 (84)

ADJOURN TO CLOSED SESSION

12. Public Employee Performance Evaluation (111)
Government Code Section §54957(b)(1)
Title – Town Manager

REPORT OUT OF CLOSED SESSION

ADJOURNMENT

ASSISTANCE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in this meeting, please contact the Town Clerk at (650) 851-1700. Notification 48 hours prior to the meeting will enable the Town to make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility to this meeting.

AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION
Copies of all agenda reports and supporting data are available for viewing and inspection at Town Hall and at the Portola Valley Library located adjacent to Town Hall. In accordance with SB343, Town Council agenda materials released less than 72 hours prior to the meeting, are available to the public at Town Hall, 765 Portola Road, Portola Valley, CA 94028.

SUBMITTAL OF AGENDA ITEMS
The deadline for submittal of agenda items is 12:00 Noon WEDNESDAY of the week prior to the meeting. By law no action can be taken on matters not listed on the printed agenda unless the Town Council determines that emergency action is required.

Non-emergency matters brought up by the public under Communications may be referred to the administrative staff for appropriate action.

PUBLIC HEARINGS
Public Hearings provide the general public and interested parties an opportunity to provide testimony on these items. If you challenge any proposed action(s) in court, you may be limited to raising only issues you or someone else raised at the Public Hearing(s) described in this agenda, or in written correspondence delivered to the Town Council at, or prior to, the Public Hearing(s).

______________________________________________________________________________________

MINUTES
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2022, 7:00 P.M.

Remote Meeting Covid-19 Advisory: On March 17, 2020, the Governor of California issued Executive Order N-29-20, suspending certain provisions of the Ralph M. Brown Act in order to allow for local legislative bodies to conduct their meetings telephonically or by other electronic means. Pursuant to the statewide Shelter-In-Place Order issued by the Governor in Executive Order N-33-20 on March 19, 2020, and the CDC's social distancing guidelines that discourage large public gatherings, Portola Valley Town Council meetings are conducted electronically via ZOOM.

Convene Special Meeting
Mayor Hughes called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M.

Roll Call

Present: Councilmember Richards, Vice Mayor Wernikoff, and Mayor Hughes Open Communications
The following members of the public addressed the Town Council:
• Rita Comes
• Rusty Day
• Charles Zaffaroni
• Kristi Corley
• David Cardinal
• Nan Shostak
• Mida Jones
• Valerie Baldwin
• Caroline Vertongen
Consent Agenda

1. Approval of Minutes – Action and Detailed Summary Minutes for February 9, 2022

2. Approval of Warrant List – February 23, 2022

TOWN OF PORTOLA VALLEY
7:00 PM – Special Meeting of the Town Council
Wednesday, February 23, 2022

THIS SPECIAL MEETING WAS HELD VIA

VIDEOCONFERENCE ONLY

TOWN OF PORTOLA VALLEY

ACTION MINUTES

3. Report – Annual Automated License Plate Reader System Audit

4. Recommendation by Town Manager – COVID Hazard Pay for Public Works Staff

5. Appointment by Mayor – Member to the Cultural Arts Committee

6. Recommendation by Part Time Assistant to the Town Manager – Adopt a Resolution Authorizing Submittal of Application(s) for All CalRecycle Grants for which the Town is Eligible
(a) A Resolution of the Town Council of the Town of Portola Valley Authorizing Submittal of Applications(s) for all CalRecycle Grants for which the Town of Portola Valley is Eligible (Resolution No. 2880-2022)

7. Recommendation by Town Attorney - Adoption of a Resolution Confirming the State of Emergency and Need to Continue Conducting Town Public Meetings Remotely (a) A Resolution of the Town Council of the Town of Portola Valley Confirming Existing State of Emergency and Authorizing Continued Remote Public Meetings Under AB 361 (Resolution No. 2881-2022)
Motion
Vice Mayor Wernikoff moved to adopt the Consent Agenda. Seconded by Councilmember Richards, the motion carried unanimously, by roll call vote.

Regular Agenda

8. Report by Planning and Building Director – Safety Element Update The Council heard an update on the ongoing Safety Element Update process.

9. Oral Report by Finance Director – Finance Department Presentation The Council Heard a presentation from the Finance Department on their operations, and upcoming activities.

10. Colleagues Memo from Mayor Hughes – Revisit the Committee Handbook Policies on Harassment.

Mayor Hughes presented a suggestion regarding re-phrasing or adding to existing policies in the Committees Handbook to encourage more cordiality and a more positive approach to the work the committees do and the work that volunteers put into the committees.

MOTION
Vice Mayor Wernikoff moved to appoint Mayor Hughes and Councilmember Richards as a subcommittee to develop changes to the Committee Handbook section regarding

harassment. Seconded by Councilmember Richards, the motion passed, 3-0, by roll call vote.

11. Council Liaison Committee and Regional Agencies Report All five Council members provided reports on the last two week’s regional meetings, local committee meetings, subcommittee meetings, and other items of note.

12. Town Manager Report
The Town Manager provided his regular report.

Written Communications
The Council reviewed written communications for the body over the last two weeks.

Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 P.M.

1 PORTOLA VALLEY TOWN COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING NO. xxx, February 23, 2022

CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
Mayor Derwin called the Town Council’s Special Teleconference-only meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Ms.

Hanlon called the roll.

Present: Councilmember John Richards; Vice Mayor Sarah Wernikoff; and Mayor Craig Hughes

Absent: Councilmember Derwin and Councilmember Aalfs
Others: Jeremy Dennis, Town Manager
Laura Russell, Planning & Building Director
Cindy Rodas, Finance Director
Sharon Hanlon, Town Clerk
Attendees: Rita Comes
Nan Shostak
Rusty Day
Valerie Baldwin
Kristi Corley
Mida Jones
David Cardinal
Caroline Vertongen
Charles Zaffaroni

ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Nan Shostak said, as a geologist on the Town’s Geologic Safety Committee, she was astonished to see that geologic hazards are being “simplified” out of existence during the housing planning process. At the Ad Hoc Housing Element only the San Andres fault was considered a seismic fault hazard. The other potentially active faults running through the town have been eliminated from the map they are using in planning for future dense housing. She said furthermore, liquification – when soil turns to jelly and buildings built in it sink during an earthquake – is one of the seismic hazards recognized by the State of California and the federal government, and it was not even mentioned at the meeting. Parcels with soil susceptible to liquefaction and listed as such on the Town’s Ground Movement Potential map were suggested as prime properties for the most dense new development. Other seismic hazards such as slope failure triggered by earthquakes has happened in the town, in 1906, with earthquake-triggered landslides and amplification of ground shaking. Deep unconsolidated soils were not considered. Ms.

Shostak asserted that these hazards can and should be modeled and mapped. Only the Planning Commission can recommend to the Council changes to the Town’s Geologic and Ground Movement Potential maps, and only after a publicly-noticed meeting, at which evidence for the changes is presented and discussed. The process, even if inconvenient, must be adhered to for public safety. She said the information on the maps is there for a purpose and must not be ignored. She looked forward to working with the Town on the Safety Element and hoped the Geologic Safety Committee would be included in early discussions with Urban Planning Partners.

Charles Zaffaroni, representative of the Westridge Committee, said the Committee represents the interests of over 250 property owners throughout Westridge. He stated their understanding that the Town staff is recommending that the Ad Hoc Housing Element Committee consider a proposal to rezone certain areas of the town to allow up to 20 housing units per acre and that the Housing Element Committee will meet next week to act on those recommendation. Mr. Zaffaroni said the Westridge Committee would like to know why this is being considered before they have all the information needed to assess the risks of the proposal. He said Cal Fire is actively working on updating wildfire hazard maps for the Town, and the Woodside Fire Protection District is also completing hazard mapping for the Town. The Wildfire Safety Committee and Emergency Preparedness Committee are actively working on assessment of the

SUMMARY MINUTES

2 evacuation capacity for the town. The Safety Element Update to identify the highest hazard areas of town as required by state law is still pending. Mr. Zaffaroni said they understand that adequate lot size and building setbacks, maximum building area and adequate separation between buildings are all critically important factors for fire prevention and seismic safety, but they wonder why there is a rush to change or eliminate safeguards in certain areas of the town before the experts have fully weighed in on the hazards of doing so. Mr. Zaffaroni said he has lived in the town almost all of his life, and residents of the town have made life decisions with an understanding that Portola Valley, as established by its founders, respects open space and cares deeply for the safety of its residents. He said the actions the Town may be poised to take do not reflect the values of the Town’s long-term commitment to thoughtful planning for community safety that made Portola Valley their choice of town for their families. He urged the Council on behalf of the Westridge Committee and many of fellow residents of Portola Valley, to await the findings of the fire safety and evacuation experts before taking significant actions with potentially devastating and life-threatening consequences.

Mayor Hughes remarked that there would be a presentation later in the meeting addressing the timeline of the Safety Element and Housing Element, which may respond to Mr. Zaffaroni’s comments.

CONSENT AGENDA
(1) Approval of Minutes – Action and Detailed Summary Minutes for February 9, 2022 (2) Approval of Warrant List –February 23, 2022
(3) Report – Annual Automated License Plate Reader System Audit (4) Recommendation by Town Manager – COVID Hazard Pay for Public Works Staff (5) Appointment by Mayor – Member to the Cultural Arts Committee (6) Recommendation by Part Time Assistant to the Town Manager – Adopt a Resolution Authorizing Submittal of Application(s) for All CalRecycle Grants for which the Town is Eligible (a) A Resolution of the Town Council of the Town of Portola Valley Authorizing Submittal of Applications(s) for all CalRecycle Grants for which the Town of Portola Valley is Eligible (Resolution No. 2880-2022)
(7) Recommendation by Town Attorney – Adoption of a Resolution Confirming the State of Emergency and Need to Continue Conducting Town Public Meeting Remotely. (a) A Resolution of the Town Council of the Town of Portola Valley Confirming Existing State of Emergency and Authorizing Continued Remote Public Meetings Under AB 361 (Resolution No. 2881-2022)
Mayor Hughes invited public comments regarding The Consent Agenda. Hearing none, he invited Councilmembers to pull any item on the Consent Agenda.

Vice Mayor Wernikoff moved to adopt the Consent Agenda. Seconded by Councilmember Richards, the motion carried unanimously, by roll call vote.

REGULAR AGENDA
(8) Report by Planning and Building Director – Safety Element Update Planning and Building Director Russell presented an update to the Council on the Safety Element process. In her overview of the Safety Element, she explained that it is a part of the General Plan, and could be thought of as a chapter of the General Plan. The goal, which comes from state law, is to reduce

3 the potential short- and long-term risks of death, injuries, property damage, economic and social dislocation resulting from fires, floods, droughts, earthquakes, landslides, climate change and other hazards. Safety Elements include goals and policies aimed at reducing those risks and include analysis, and integration of mapping and data to create policies and programs. Programs have a specific meaning within a Housing Element, including the future activities taken in order to further address this. Elements of a General Plan may not necessarily include all of the analysis that could be done, but they are the starting point for future for analysis that may be undertaken.

Director Russell further explained the Town’s process, starting in August of 2021, when the Council reviewed a proposal from staff including a work program and a contract with a consultant, Urban Planning Partners, the same consultant team that is working on the Town’s Housing Element. Director Russell said the Safety Element and the Housing Element must both be updated every eight years, on the same cycle.

Since the Council decided to start the process before many other communities did, there were many unknowns early in the process. One of the goals was countywide collaboration. They expected there to be a collaborative effort led by the County that the Town would be able to participate in. There were delays related to that, and it wasn’t clear how the County’s program would go forward, so the Council decided to go ahead and get started. Director Russell noted that the countywide collaboration is just now starting, and an RFP has not even been issued yet. It is unclear how that will go forward, but it would be well behind the Town’s progress, so it was fortunate that the Town started when they did.

Director Russell said when they started the process in August timelines for other agencies were also unknown. Cal Fire is currently updating its fire maps and there were other agencies working on mapping and data, so Town staff and consultants monitored these processes to see what data might be available.

She said that many of those tools will not be available this year in time to bring them into the Safety Element process, so they have had to find other sources of information through the consultants and subconsultants. Understanding how to interpret new laws and guidelines created more unknowns, but as they are farther into the process, they have gained a better understanding of how to interpret and implement the new guidelines.

Director Russell gave a high level overview of the work that has happened so far. Tasks were prioritized so that the those that would inform the Housing Element Update process would be addressed first. She noted that the Housing Element Update process is on a very strict timeline set by state law, and the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) has made the timeline tighter by increasing the amount of time that the agency itself is allowed to review their housing elements, but not giving the towns more time to develop them. To meet the Housing Element Update schedule, some tasks had to be frontloaded. The Safety Element work needed to be done first in order to inform the Housing Element process. Tasks related to fire safety have included the services of the sub-consultant, Zeke Lunder, with Deer Creek Resources, who spoke at two meetings of the Ad Hoc Housing Element Committee. Mr.

Lunder is contracted to work on both the Housing Element and the Safety Element and has done a twoday tour of the community in which he has driven every road in town and taken numerous pictures. He has also done preliminary mapping to understand areas that have a combination of slopes and vegetation coverage and given feedback on preliminary recommendations for more appropriate and less appropriate areas in which to consider additional housing development. Mr. Lunder has also been in communication with Fire Marshal Don Bullard, discussing additional mapping needs that are needed, and they are in agreement on the type of mapping that would be appropriate for the town in the future. The Fire District will be hiring their own qualified consultants to do additional mapping work. The process is going quickly, and the hope is that it will be available in the summer. In the meantime, Mr. Lunder is under contract with the Town to continue to provide preliminary recommendations for the Safety Element process.

Director Russell discussed two coordinated evacuation studies currently underway. The first is an evacuation study led by Fehr and Peers, a premier transportation consulting firm. Fehr and Peers is also a subconsultant for the Housing Element and Safety Element. Another subconsultant, Atlas Planning, is working on a specific type of evacuation planning required under state law for Safety Elements. In particular, they have analyzed which areas of town that have only one point of ingress and egress. All of the parcels that have only one way in or out have been mapped. There will also be a memo and report to

4 combine this with other hazards that may be present in the community, to try to assess where the hazards lie for evacuation safety. Director Russell noted that the Ad Hoc Housing Element Committee had the benefit of the evacuation maps from Atlas Planning at their meeting the previous night for consideration. The two studies will continue to be coordinated, and as the additional studies and memos are completed, they will be released to the public for comment.

Related to geologic safety, Director Russell said they have excellent mapping from many years of studying the faults and the stability of the soils in the community. She pointed out that Cotton Shires has acted as the Town Geologist for many years. The Town Geologist has been working with staff and has coordinated with Urban Planning in supplying maps to them. The Town Geologist will continue to be involved with the consultant team moving forward.

In terms of community participation and engagement, Director Russell noted that three committees have a primary role in providing input in the process. Since the town has three standing committees, a special Ad Hoc committee for the Safety Element process was not formed, but staff would draw instead from the experience and knowledge of the town’s existing committees. The Wildfire Preparedness, the Emergency Preparedness and the Geologic Safety Committees will all have a primary role in the Safety Element, and they anticipate them doing two rounds of review during the process. The first would be anticipated in April, and it would be to review some of the analysis and materials gathered. Then, a draft of the Safety Element would be brought to them probably in late May or early June. Director Russell noted that there may be a role for the Sustainability Committee with consideration of some of the climate and drought aspects. The details of their role are still under consideration.

Director Russell spoke further on community engagement, announcing plans for a community-wide outreach meeting hopefully in April or May. Details are being worked out as far as the size and format of the meeting, with the goal of maximizing community feedback on safety topics. Following that, she said that any updates to the General Plan must to go through the Planning Commission, so there would also be public hearings to receive and bring the information together. The Planning Commission has the important role of hearing the different priorities of the different parties, thinking about them from a policy perspective, and trying to balance those priorities. The Planning Commission will make a recommendation to the Town Council, who has the ultimate role in thinking through the policy language, the decision-making, and balancing the priorities.

Regarding communications, Director Russell shared that there is a website, www.portolavalley.net/SafetyElement, that provides a form for submitting comments, similar to the one the Council has been using recently, where residents can put in their name and email address. Physical addresses will not be shared publicly, but comments can be posted, providing an easy way to track them so that everyone knows that the comments have been gathered in one place and will be available in the public record. There is also a link to sign up for eNotices, which is the best way to stay up-to-date with individual initiatives that residents are interested in. There is a special e-Notice for the Safety Element towards the bottom of the page. The Housing Element Update e-Notice has over 400 people signed up, so Director Russell hoped they would get to a few hundred on the Safety Element as well. Director Russell said there would be more information coming on the webpage as they develop more specifics.

The timeline for the Safety Element will be similar to the Housing Element in that a majority of the work needs to be done in the early to middle part of 2022. There will then be a review required by Cal Fire as well as Woodside Fire Protection District. There will be a time during the summer and into the fall as they work through the Cal Fire Review process, similar to the Housing Element, which will be in for review with Housing and Community Development. The Housing Element will be worked on first, followed by the Safety Element. Staff is working to balance the needs and stay on the critical path of both major initiatives, so that both are being finished in a timely fashion towards the end of the year. Director Russell advised that information would be posted on the Town news and social media.

Director Russell turned her presentation to the Safety Element budget. She reiterated that the process was started before all of the information was available from all of the other agencies because of its high importance and the need to get the Housing Element going and inform that process. Customizing the

5 process to the Town’s needs has made it much more timely and much more specific. While this resulted in a potentially higher cost, Director Russell felt that a countywide effort to work together on the Safety Element would not have been nearly specific enough and would have been insufficient to meet the Town’s needs, given the multiple priorities that exist around safety in the community. In working with consultants and outside agencies, and looking at timelines, the resources have become much more clear since starting in August of 2021. She said staff is proposing budget increases for a couple of key items and would like to get feedback from the Council on how the process is going and their thoughts about the proposed budget increases.

The budget increases would be based in part on the fact that a key staff member would be going out on leave for approximately six months this year. Staff also proposed increasing the time for the subconsultant, Atlas Planning. Since this type of work is their specialty, staff feels they are qualified and well-coordinated with Urban Planning Partners. Their additional work would provide flexibility for the team at Urban Planning Partners to work on things that internal staff would have been doing and would result in an increase in the Atlas Planning time and coordination and meeting participation in order to do that.

Director Russell said that they will want additional expert consultant attendance and participation at some of the public meetings, and more time to prepare for them. She said that the further staff gets into the process, the more they realize how complex it is and how complex the coordination with the Housing Element is, so they feel additional consultant time is necessary.

Director Russell explained that with more information, staff realized that the consultation with Cal Fire would take a significant amount of staff time and resources, so part of the budget increase would be to have their consultants work directly with Cal Fire on the Town’s behalf. In this arrangement, they would have experts speaking to other experts to make sure that their Safety Element can be approved by Cal Fire. The combination of the two increases would be approximately $35,000. Staff is still working with the consultant on exact numbers and how the details would be worked out, but Director Russell wanted to inform the Council where they are at in the process and hoped to get their feedback on this approach and on the Safety Element process in general.

Councilmember Richards asked for a reminder of what the state deadline is for submittal to HCD. Director Russell advised that it was a complicated answer, and that staff would be bringing more information back to the Council as an update, because HCD has increased their review time. Realistically, she thought it will likely have to go into the grace period in early 2023 because HCD is taking so long to review. In theory, both the Housing element and the Safety Element would be approved in December of 2022, or possibly January of 2023, but it might be a little later than that. They are working through the situation and its implications with the consultants and the attorneys.

Vice Mayor Wernikoff said these are state-mandated timelines that they are working towards, and they have no control over them. Director Russell agreed and said there are significant consequences for not meeting the timelines. She said the Town Attorney has put out information on the consequences of not meeting the timelines. The information is included in some of the earlier meetings of the Ad Hoc Housing Element Committee. They will continue to share that information so that the community can be familiar with it. She reiterated that the consequences can be significant for a community like Portola Valley in the way that they do discretionary review and process projects. There are very significant penalties that could be imposed on communities that don’t comply.

Vice Mayor Wernikoff asked for clarification about how far along the Evacuation Study is and whether it would dovetail into the Safety Element in a timely fashion. Director Russell responded that the one with the maps for the one point of ingress and egress have already been brought into the Housing Element process. Town Manager Dennis informed the Council that the evacuation study the Council approved last year has been underway for about four months. They are expecting a product from the consultant probably mid-spring. He is hoping for an April timeframe, but it could be a little later. The consultant has been working to gather a suite of data sets in order to run the scenarios that have been decided upon.

They have essentially concluded the data collection and will probably start running the scenarios and providing information to staff and the subcommittee of the Wildfire Preparedness Committee that is also involved in reviewing that draft when it comes out.

6 Vice Mayor Wernikoff noted that that will be within the timeline of the Safety Element. She asked Director Russell to clarify how the Woodside Fire Protection District mapping project will dovetail with this. Director Russell said their understanding was that Woodside Fire Protection District will be doing extensive mapping, similar to what Cal Fire does in terms of designating very high fire severity zones as well as a comprehensive hazard and risk assessment. They hope to have an initial product from that in the summertime. Staff recognizes that it is important information, so when it becomes available, they will integrate that information at whatever point they are at in the Housing Element and the Safety Element. If they have to pivot to make adjustments based on the new information, they will do so. This could result ultimately in revisions of the Safety Element or the Housing Element. Ideally, it could come at a perfect time, when they are in the middle of the analysis and environmental review and can slot it right in, but they will remain flexible, knowing that they are going to have to integrate that information, and it could require consideration by the full Council, depending on where they are at and what direction they need to go. Staff will continue to collaborate with the Fire District to understand their timing and try to anticipate when the mapping would be coming to try to integrate the pieces in the best possible way.

Director Russell said, while everyone is asking them to wait for the mapping information to come out, the answer is they cannot, because in order to have the Housing Element and Safety Element completed by the deadline, they must continue moving forward on the path for both of those documents, plus the environmental review required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). They are forced to continue to march forward, knowing that they may have to course correct if necessary. She felt the analysis they have done so far, particularly related to fire safety, is sufficient for the Housing Element Committee to continue what they are currently working on, and it is sufficient for the Safety Element group to be moving forward, so she felt that they have the right pieces at the right time to continue their path.

Vice Mayor Wernikoff asked about the review points for the Safety Element process relating to the three committees . One was to review analysis and she couldn’t remember what the other one was. Director Russell the other was to review the draft Safety Element. She elaborated that staff wants the committees to review early in the process. She said consultants often present memos with their initial analysis, including any preliminary recommendations or preliminary conclusions. Those will be grouped together and included in the early analysis that the three committees will consider. Then, the consultants will draft the Safety Element, and the committees will review the draft. She explained that a lot of the Safety Element is very prescribed by the State, with guidelines on how Safety Elements are completed. There are also guidelines that are specific for communities that have higher fire hazard. There is not as much room for different policy and interpretation as there is for a Housing Element, but rather is more formulaic.

Staff will receive the early feedback, then will follow the formula, and then check back in with the committees to see how well they were able to capture their local knowledge.

Vice Mayor Wernikoff wondered if, after the separate committee-level meetings, the committees will have a role to play within their normal committee meeting times. Director Russell said they will have to see how the committee chairs want to handle it. They may handle it at their normal scheduled meeting time, or they may wish to schedule a special meeting either for this topic or for their other regular topics, so that they can cover everything they want to cover with them. Staff would work with the Chair of each of the committees, talking about how the meeting would be structured, including, for example, presentation by staff and consultants, packet materials to review in advance, or question and comment periods.

Mayor Hughes asked about the budget amendment, whether it would be for the work through June, or if it covered the whole remainder of the process, continuing into next year. Director Russell said it is what they expect for the increase for the whole process. Some of it would be for the current budget year because they are preparing for a staff member to be on leave, which crosses over both years. She would have to think about the exact details, but it would likely result in some during the current budget year and some in next year’s budget.

Mayor Hughes commented on the fact that they may need to redo things once the fire draft maps come out and asked how much extra work might be involved with that or if they might need another adjustment at that point. Director Russell thought these budget increases would not cover those costs unless it was perfect timing. Mayor Hughes said, given it will probably be after July 1st when they get the maps from

7 Woodside Fire, and at some point early in the next fiscal year they may need to assess the extra work that would be needed, they may need to revise things a little more. Director Russell recommended that staff work with the Fire Marshal, monitor the process, and then probably schedule an item before the Council to advise where they are at on the Housing and Safety Elements and what impact they think the Fire District’s process might have on them, and then present options for going forward, including budget implications of those options.

Mayor Hughes wondered if they would have an issue with capacity for the consultants where they’ve allocated everybody because everybody in the state is trying to get their Safety and Housing Elements finalized, and don’t have capacity, or if they have enough extra room to squeeze in more work for the Town if needed. Director Russell thought that capacity could be an issue, and they are probably fortunate to get additional capacity from the consultants to cover the staff member on leave. She said it will be one thing staff will have to evaluate and bring back to the Council. They will be working with the consultants throughout the process and updating them every Thursday morning on what is going on. If they anticipate needing their time, they will get on the consultants’ calendars to at least get priority.

Mayor Hughes invited comments from the public.

Rita Comes said there has been a lot of participation by the residents on different committee and commission meetings, and letters sent to the Town about the Safety Element over the past couple of years. She hoped those voices would be incorporated into the reports of the consultants. She wondered if the comments and letters were being held and collated. somewhere to ensure that they are included. She felt when people have taken time out of their lives to participate in these issues of safety it would be a waste if their voices were not included in the outcome, and it shouldn’t be solely the voices and education of the consultants prioritized over the residents.

Rusty Day asked if the development or revision of the Safety Element will include elucidation or a definition of the town’s safety goals and safety policies and objectives. He asked who will be developing it and what role the three committees will play in delineating and defining what the goals, policies and objectives are. He commented that under the government code, in addition to elaborating goals, policies, objectives and programs, it also calls upon the Town to establish a set of feasible implementation measures, including avoiding or minimizing wildfire hazards associated with new uses of land, locating certain public facilities, when feasible, outside of high fire risk areas, and identifying methods to minimize damage if they are located in high fire hazard severity areas; designing adequate infrastructure for any new development located in a very high fire hazard severity area, including safe access and egress for emergency response vehicles; et cetera. Mr. Day asked who is developing those implementation measures for the Safety Element and what role the committees will play in reviewing, assessing and defining those before the Safety Element is drafted. He also asked what the target deadline is for submitting the proposed draft Safety Element to Cal Fire and Woodside Fire Protection District, so that they can review it in time for the Town to approve it by the end of the year.

Valerie Baldwin said she was at the Housing Element meeting the previous evening. She commented that the Housing Element is coalescing around using the Nathhorst Triangle Area, and she was concerned about whether they are considering the impact on the neighboring homes if it were to be approved. She lives on Echo Lane, behind Ron Ramie’s garage, and a four-story apartment building looming over the back of her yard by her house would be a major impact on their life there, and she was concerned that nobody seems to be considering the impact on the neighbors. She was also concerned that the maps they had at the meeting showing where the Housing Element sites were going to be recommended did not have all of the information on them. It was not stated whether they would continue to flesh out the maps, but there is a map from Cotton and Associates showing a major ground eruption at the corner of Alpine and Portola during the 1906 quake. Regarding the comment that little faults weren’t put on the map because they weren’t active, Ms. Baldwin said she thought it sounded active to her, and she was worried that they might be ignoring things so that they can put everything in the Nathhorst Triangle to avoid putting the rezoning in other areas of the town. She also mentioned that there is a major underground river that goes under her house, which normally follows fault lines, and which is not on the map either, so

8 she wondered if they would be fleshing the maps out further for a better understanding of what was going on.

Nan Shostak questioned what the plan is for an earthquake followed by wildfire in the Safety Element, a fire that perhaps would start in town with not enough time for proper evacuation, and if this is one of the scenarios being considered by the consultant. If not, she felt it needed to be. She commented on the fault described by Ms. Baldwin at the corner of Alpine and Portola in front of the Café Deli and Ramie’s Garage, possibly extending in front of the Fire Department. She said that it was a rupture in 1906, but it was not considered in the Housing Element Committee meeting, and was brushed aside as not being important. She felt that the faults are very important and present a potential hazard that has to be considered, even if inconvenient for the housing process and RHNA numbers.

Kristi Corley wondered about Mr. Lunder’s role and the comment that he drove the town’s streets for two days. She wondered how many extra hours per week he is putting into the work he is doing in Portola Valley.

Mina [phonetic] Jones commented on the committee that was going to consult with Cal Fire, presumably about fire risk and hazard. She said she would like to see Woodside Fire Protection District mentioned alongside Cal Fire. She thought it should be both of them, because her understanding was that it would be five or six months later than the projected due date of July 26th for the Woodside Fire District report.

Seeing no further public comments, Mayor Hughes closed the comment period and invited Planning and Building Director Russell to answer questions.

Director Russell responded to as many of the questions as she could. Regarding Ms. Comes’ question about comments collected in the past, she explained that they have been keeping track of many of the comments, but a challenge is that much of the communication has been about a variety of topics along with encouraging the Town to undertake the Safety Element process, which they are. She said they will do their best to gather the comments and try to understand which ones they can use to inform the process. She encouraged residents if they want to ensure that their comments are integrated to use the form on the Safety Element website, to which documents can be attached. It is an easy process and an approach residents may want to take. Regarding the question about goals, policies and objectives and how they would be developed, she said that they would be developed by the expert consultant team and then reviewed by the Town’s Committees, where staff would look at them with the committees and evaluate whether they are appropriate. She added that the Planning Commission has an important role in that as well. To the question of who is developing the specific measures required by the state law, she said that would be the consultant team. The team has extensive experience working with communities that have increased fire danger, so they feel they do have the right folks onboard to be working on that.

Director Russell said the committees would be reviewing the language as well as Planning Commission and Council.

In terms of the target deadline to submit the document to Cal Fire and Woodside Fire, she said they are still working on the exact scheduling, but expect it to be in the summer or into very early fall. On the questions and comments related to geologic mapping, Director Russell appreciated the questions and notations and said they will review them with the Town Geologist and the experts to make sure they have captured everything. In terms of an earthquake followed by a wildfire, she said those types of scenarios are not necessarily considered to that level of detail with the Safety Element, but they could be identified as “further study needed,” and potentially be a program of the Safety Element, in which they would come back and do additional analysis in the future. Regarding Mr. Lunder’s role and extra hours, Director Russell said that currently part of the $35,000 staff is proposing includes 18 additional hours from Mr.

Lunder beyond the current scope, to do additional work. The comment regarding review by Cal Fire with no mention of Woodside Fire, she said was because that slide was about increased budget numbers.

They think there will be increased cost to coordinate with Cal Fire, but there is not a cost associated with coordinating with Woodside Fire Protection District, so both agencies would be reviewing the document at the same time.

9 Mayor Hughes brought the item to the Council for discussion.

Councilmember Richards appreciated Planning and Building Director Russell’s excellent presentation. He did not have major questions and thought they were doing a fabulous job of “threading the moving needle,” and it sounds like they are set up for success. He was happy with moving ahead, and the additional expense seemed very reasonable.

Vice Mayor Wernikoff was also supportive of the plan as laid out and previously discussed in the Housing Element Committee meetings. She was comfortable with the budget increase and appreciated the budget report.

Mayor Hughes echoed thanks for Director Russell’s report and commented that her job seems like watching the Olympics events with “people doing backflips with weights on their feet while in a blizzard.” He congratulated her on consistently being able to make clear presentations. He also supported the budget amendment to intended to help produce the best Safety Element they can. (9) Oral Report by Finance Director – Finance Department Presentation Cindy Rodas, Finance Director, gave a presentation on the Town’s Finance Department, its role and responsibilities, recent changes experienced, and the future outlook of the department. She introduced Nicole Tanori, Finance Analyst, who came onboard in April of 2021. Ms. Rodas was very happy to have her on the team. The Finance Department is staffed with two FTEs with additional support from fiscal consultant, Jim Sako, who works on projects such as the annual budget, September revision, and the audit.

Ms. Rodas explained that the Finance Department is responsible for preserving, enhancing and supporting the Towns finances by creating an annual budget for Town Council adoption, monitoring the Town’s fiscal health, supporting Department needs, and providing accounting, human resources and auditing services that ensure the Town’s limited funds are expended in a transparent and accountable fashion. The Town’s Finance Department’s goal is to assist in fulfilling the Council’s budgetary priorities and maintaining the Town’s fiscal health. Additional duties include human resource functions such as payroll, benefits, worker’s compensation, and risk management. Human resources and risk management are typically separate departments in both public and private sectors.

Ms. Rodas shared examples of the regular reports and processes handled by the Department annually, biannually, quarterly and monthly. Along with the town wide audit, in preparation of the Town’s basic financial statements, they also have an annual audit report which reports on the Town’s recreation class and facility rental programs held in the Community Hall Building. They prepare the Annual Street Report submitted to the State Controller’s Office, which reports on state funds received for road-related expenditures, originally including the gas tax, also known as the Highway User’s Tax Funds, and Measures A and M. This report also now includes new, road-related restricted funds, such as Measure W, Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation, also known as RMR Funds. The Department prepares the budget annually, now including a September Revision which allows them to provide updated information which may not have been available at the time of the budget adoption in June.

Ms. Rodas shared the Department’s quarterly tasks, including interest/investment processing, for new investments where previously they only had LEAF processed on a quarterly basis. Schwab investments are now included as well. They also prepare a quarterly budget update, using the Stories [phonetic] platform.

Ms. Rodas advised the Council on recent changes, including software implementation, most notably the implementation of a new finance system. Ms. Rodas said this was a huge learning experience for her, with a set of challenges, aside from kicking off the project just a few weeks before the pandemic began.

Another change is addition of new funds with specific guidelines, reporting requirements and compliance.

10 Looking to the future of the Finance Department, Ms. Rodas said they would look at evaluating current staffing and resources. With the many new systems implemented they have become aware of an increase in administrative work, such as scanning, new records management procedures, and capabilities for having digital records available. Another item with increased maintenance demands is the bi-monthly warrant list. The Department is looking into making this tedious bi-monthly process more efficient and looking into making it an easier process internally for staff within different departments as well as within the Finance Department. They would also like to focus on strengthening the Department responsibilities related to Human Resources, Risk Management and Finance Policies and Procedures.

With all of the new systems implemented, primarily the new finance system, come with need to update all of the policies and procedures, so looking into restructuring that and having all of these items up to date.

Town Manager Dennis expressed his pride in the Finance team and offered a reminder that Ms. Rodas started with the Town at the front desk, working on admin functions and answering phones. She went back to school, got her degree in accounting, and moved into the Finance Department about the time he started and has been the Town’s permanent Finance Director for the last few years. He said it is a wonderful thing to be able to do in their town, and he was delighted with her work. He hoped her presentation provided some additional insight into how much they do and how much the organization has changed, many changes happening after he joined the organization. He invited questions and comments regarding the Finance Department.

Mayor Hughes invited questions regarding the presentation from the Councilmembers. Hearing none, he invited public comments.

Rita Comes asked where she could find a copy of the last audit. Also, she noticed that the Finance Committee has not met since October of 2021, and their minutes are not listed on the Town website since May of 2021. She wondered if this would be changing and where to find the last audit.

Caroline Vertongen said, as a taxpayer and a community member, she felt disappointed that when OpenGov was presented, they were told it would save staff time and would be transparent and a great idea, but none of their questions are answered. She said for example, if asking for a list of all the government agencies they are funding, which with a simple QuickBooks account could be done, unfortunately with the OpenGov system it is not available. She said there are many new funds, such as COVID fund now to do a study for the communication for the cable infrastructure in town. It is not what they are used to, and she hoped they would clarify all of their questions.

Mayor Hughes said both comments would be best answered through emails, sending links to sources of the materials they were seeking. Town Manager Dennis added that regarding the audit, he emailed a link to the audit to Ms. Comes. He said the meeting minutes are developed by the committees themselves, so the most recent meeting won’t have minutes associated with it, because they are approved at the next meeting. In the past some committees have struggled with preparing minutes, so there might be some holes there. The Finance Committee is expected to meet later this year on the items it normally works on.

It is a committee that doesn’t necessarily have set times, but rather has seasons of activity, depending on the product.

Kristi Corley remembered that there were going to be quarterly meetings, or financial reports. She asked if they were still aiming for that. She thought some other residents may want to hear the answer to Ms.

Comes’ question on the audit. Town Manager Dennis responded that for those interested in seeing the Town’s budgets and audit, they can be found at portolavalley.net/town-government/town-finance. From the departments page, click on Town Finance and they are all listed there.

Hearing no further public comments, Mayor Hughes brought the item back to the Council.

Vice Mayor Wernikoff wondered, it being several months into the full implementation of OpenGov, how Ms. Rodas was finding it on a day-to-day basis. She recalled that they were initially excited and overwhelmed about all of the new functionality. She was curious about her general thoughts on how it is going. Ms. Rodas responded that it is going well, although there is still a learning curve on a few items

11 recently, with the first time processing 1099’s using the new system. They continue to learn, and Nicole has joined the team since April of 2021, so they have gone through a lot of training and continued development. They reach out to OpenGov on a continuous basis, providing feedback and letting them know where they can continue to tweak some items within the system. She said, overall, it is going very well. They are looking at strengthening functionality within the system, continued training and having the resources available, updating Finance procedures and getting caught up and up to date with those.

Town Manager Dennis added that one challenge in modern relationships with the types of firms they work with is turnover. OpenGov, like many firms, sees a lot of turnover, so they have cycled through a number of success managers. Also, there is a customer service portal which staff uses extensively internally to work out a variety of issues, such as vacation, sick time, et cetera. They also use it for a business license program and are looking to expand it even more. He said it is a great system and if they do an admin update, they can talk about how they use the system there.

Vice Mayor Wernikoff thanked Nicole for her attendance and said it was nice to meet her. Ms. Tanori greeted the Councilmembers in return. Councilmember Richards also thanked Ms. Rodas and Ms. Tanori for the presentation. He said he is struck by the increased complexity of their town and demands on their staff, from state laws as well as a very involved citizenry. Mayor Hughes agreed there have been many changes, and Ms. Rodas has been involved in the biggest changes, and although there have been some hiccups it has overall been a smooth and successful process. He looked forward to changes yet to come.

There may be challenges ahead in the coming cycle, as they all knew, and they would have to do a lot more housing construction as required by the State. This means they will probably have to add staff to be able to support this increase. There will be some scaling of the organization’s needs and figuring out how to handle that will be the next challenge. He also mentioned electronic check signing was something he was excited about and looking forward to that.
(10) Colleague’s Memo from Mayor Hughes – Revisit the Committee Handbook Policies on Harassment
Mayor Hughes referred to the various challenges from various committees through COVID and before, and probably continuing after, including membership issues, managing committees, and managing interactions between committee members who may have opposing views on things, or Councilmembers who may have opposing views to committee members, et cetera, looking through the Committee Handbook whenever an issue has come up and looking at how other organizations manage similar kinds of issues, especially with people volunteering their time, but also with paid organizations where they are trying to create an environment in which people can be free to discuss their ideas. He said the Town updated their Committee Handbook to talk about non-discrimination and non-harassment, et cetera, a year-and-a-half or two years ago. They put some language in place that is fairly good in talking about what you should not do and what kinds of things are discouraged. However, in looking over the last several years at other organizations he said one thing that struck him in reading their handbooks is that the Town’s frames everything as a certain negative – what you should not do, what kind of behaviors are unacceptable – rather than including language about more positive things, encouraging everybody to take an open-minded approach, to encourage discussion and welcome comments from other people. He said his memo was about raising the question of whether they might want to go a little beyond what their current policies are in the Committee Handbook around committee membership and committee participation, and to encourage rather than to prescribe, rephrasing or adding to existing policies to encourage more cordiality, a more positive approach to the work the committees do and the work that volunteers put into the committees. He said he didn’t have a very good concrete idea, although he listed some samples from other organizations in his memo. He thought perhaps the Race and Equity Committee might be usefully involved, or possibly a Council subcommittee could be formed to draft something and bring it back to the full Council, for updating the Committee Handbook.

Mayor Hughes invited questions from the Council. Hearing none, he invited comments from the public.

12 David Cardinal thought this was a great idea and encouraged it. He felt that making things part of a paper document was not enough based on his experience leading teams. He suggested that some kind of team building or training with the committees might be effective.

With no further public comments, Mayor Hughes brought the item back to the Council.

Vice Mayor Wernikoff supported Mayor Hughes for bringing up the issue and felt it is very important. She thought they could do a better job in this area. As a new Councilmember with fresh eyes on the Handbook in general, she thought maybe there are other areas of the Handbook as well where some fresh eyes could be beneficial in the near future. She supported the idea of a subcommittee of the Council and suggested that looking at best practices should be leveraged as the initial step. She agreed with Mr.

Cardinal’s idea of training in addition to the policy on paper. She mentioned different committees operating differently, with differences in the liaison role in each, so some training there would be wise.

Councilmember Richards agreed that it was good to take a look at this and putting a more positive spin on things is always good. He agreed with Mr. Cardinal that getting some kind of active implementation makes sense. He suggested perhaps rolling it into the yearly meeting of the committee chairs, perhaps bringing in a facilitator to help with it. He agreed with Vice Chair Hughes that looking at the entirety of the Handbook would be a good idea as well going through the year, as occasionally committee participation does present some difficult choices for people, none of them easily addressed.

Mayor Hughes agreed also with Mr. Cardinal’s comments about training committee members. He noted another issue regarding better communicating between committees and the Council the work that Council needs them to do, versus work originated from them, and understanding how that balance works. In the past there have been committees that wanted to work on something, and it has been difficult to understand from the Council precisely what that is and allocating staff time to support those activities, versus the work the Council is specifically asking them to do. So perhaps a workload management piece or workload coordination piece would also be helpful, although his memo was more narrowly focused.

Town Manager Dennis added that as issues become more controversial and complicated, he felt it important to ensure a smooth flow of communication from Council to committees, and opportunities to make sure it is the most positive experience for residents to participate in. He noted that when new committee members come onboard, he meets with them briefly to talk about it. He hears stories about what brought them to volunteerism in Portola Valley. The majority of the time people just want to serve, so he wanted to ensure that they are always honoring that through clearly defined processes, and that if there are any issues, they can be dealt with.

Vice Mayor Wernikoff underscored that, as a volunteer in a variety of capacities over the years, she felt strongly that volunteering should be a positive experience and that people should feel good about what they are doing. She felt the goal of the memo was to assure that the town continues to get great volunteers who feel comfortable and respected sharing their points of view. She wholeheartedly agreed that they should double down on exactly the issues addressed in the memo as a first step and then address other issues over the course of the year.

The Council discussed nomination of Councilmember Aalfs and Councilmember Derwin to the subcommittee. Mayor Hughes volunteered to take the place of one of them if they declined, being the author of the memo and having looked at some of the sources for best practices, et cetera. Vice Mayor Wernikoff offered to be a backup, although with the Housing Element and Wildfire Committee she was currently quite busy. Mayor Hughes added that he was happy to be the lead member of the subcommittee and do most of the work, with a second member to confer with. Councilmember Richards was willing to be the second person.

Vice Mayor Wernikoff moved to appoint Mayor Hughes and Councilmember Richards as a subcommittee to develop changes to the Committee Handbook section regarding harassment. Seconded by Councilmember Richards, the motion passed, 3-0, by roll call vote.

13 (12) COUNCIL LIAISON COMMITTEE AND REGIONAL AGENCIES REPORTS Vice Mayor Wernikoff said she was not able to attend the Cultural Arts Committee meeting, but said they are focused on the PV Palooza. She attended the Housing Element Committee meeting, which was Part 1 of 2, in which they are reviewing various options for the RHNA allocation. The meeting started with a presentation from Woodside Fire Protection District about their plans for fire mapping. They had a two- to three-hour discussion about the constraints of maps, taking into account such things as slope, evacuation routes, seismic issues, et cetera, and reviewed a series of maps, which helped narrow down the areas of safe, accessible opportunities for meeting the RHNA allocation. They discussed, between the committee and the community in attendance, feedback on scenarios, seeking to expand their options, both within the option areas and across town as well. They had also requested to see some potential visuals of what this type of zoning might look like, to give a more tangible sense of what zoning of up to 20 units per acres might look like, versus a townhouse, versus a cluster of smaller units. Planning and Building Director Russell will be bringing those things, as well as the results of the Housing Element Survey, to the next meeting. They are holding these back-to-back meetings to ensure that this intense content stays top-ofmind for everyone. Part 2 of the discussion would be on the coming Monday, and she encouraged everyone to attend. There were 40 to 45 members of the public at the previous meeting, and she hoped for more participation at the next meeting.

Councilmember Richards attended a Conservation Committee meeting, where there was general discussion on an upcoming proposal by MIG, a landscape and environmental firm, to redo the Frog Pond for potential cleanup of Harding grass and other cleanup and maintenance. The Committee is hoping that they can do some of the work to possibly reduce the overall cost of the consultant. The Committee looked at the Sequoias Trail maintenance issues and what it means in terms of a proposal to address the harsh fire safety work that was done and re-establish it in a more sustainable manner. He said there was some discussion about the Open Space Committee, which was related to putting together standardized templates for a vision statement for each of the Town-owned parcels. They are also working on wording for potential checklists for ADU ministerial review for Conservation. He said there was an interesting find of a dead fox that was in perfect condition and is now being analyzed at a local lab for potential poisoning by rodenticides. The Committee discussed PV Donates, with one suggestion of getting the wildlife camera at Spring Down Pond going, and whether there was need for additional infrastructure that might be covered by PV Donates.

Mayor Hughes attended a Trails Committee meeting. One item they discussed was organization of a horse fair this year. Being outdoors, they hoped they would be able to hold this safely in regard to the pandemic status. They are working at finding the best date for that.

Mayor Hughes reported that the trails mapping subcommittee of the Trails Committee is re-doing the trails maps, adding some detail and updating and modernizing them. The subcommittee gave an example of what they have been working on to get feedback. They shared a couple trails in the Willowbrook area, how they’ve been tracking on Google maps, dropping pins where they have questions, taking photos of places that may need a sign or modification of an existing sign, gathering information about all of the trails and consolidating it in one place and into Google maps. They will come back to the main Committee with some templates and will hopefully have a finalized, updated, official Portola Valley Trails map sometime later this year.

Mayor Hughes said he has had three PV Donuts meetings, two in person on back patios, and one virtual meeting by Zoom. He said all three have been extremely successful, with comments that they were helpful and informative and that they had set minds at ease and had given better understanding of the timelines and Town processes around housing and safety. Other issues, such as building materials and budget issues and many other issues in town, were able to be discussed. These small group meetings have been running an hour-and-a-half to two hours each and have been great conversations. After experiencing such positive feedback on them, he expected there will be many more opportunities for these. He said he and Vice Mayor Wernikoff discussed holding these in a more organized manner, for example, to figure out which Councilmember might be available at which time, if they are willing to do this, and setting up a Calendly listing everyone’s availability. Residents could access the calendar and

14 choose an open slot, with the ability to choose a slot for a specific Councilmember if they so desire. He said for the next stage, he and Vice Mayor Wernikoff would try to set this up and figure out how it works with two of them. If the other three Councilmembers wish to join on this, they could be added to the Calendly as well. He said the meetings have been everything he had hoped for in terms of getting back to sitting down with neighbors and talking about what’s going on and why things are working the way they are, what issues and concerns are, et cetera. He recommended Councilmembers participate once they get Calendly set up to manage it.

Mayor Hughes invited comments from the public.

Caroline Vertongen felt the PV Donuts meetings were a very good idea, but they don’t have a phone number. She said she has sent Mayor Hughes and Vice Mayor Wernikoff an email and did not get a response, but they would love to meet with them, and she could set up a meeting with several people.

Mayor Hughes said he had been traveling the past week and apologized for not responding to her email yet but would get back to her as soon as possible.
(13) TOWN MANAGER REPORT
Town Manager Dennis started with news that Town Hall had been reopened to visitors and staff on Valentine’s Day. He said there was very light traffic in Town Center with visitors, but they are delighted to see visitors and each other after the Omicron surge, which was longer than expected, but it certainly helped contain infections. He said the Town Council will be holding a special meeting on March 24th at 6:00 p.m., as a community update on wildfire adaptation and resiliency efforts. The meeting will be moderated by the Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center. More information will be sent out as developed in coming days.

Town Manager Dennis reiterated Vice Mayor Wernikoff’s announcement regarding an important Housing Element Committee meeting on Monday, the 28th, and two additional Housing Element Update meetings.

One will be with the Council in a joint session with the Planning Commission, on March 23rd. There will be a community meeting similar to previous ones the week of March 14th, probably on that Wednesday.

Town Manager Dennis said they have a new Sheriff’s Office Sergeant, Patrick Taylor, who succeeds Andy Hui. Andy was promoted within the Sherriff’s Office. Sergeant Taylor began his career as a deputy in Portola Valley, so he knows the community quite well. The Town will likely host a “Meet the Sheriff’s Office Staff” in late April or early May.

Vice Mayor Wernikoff asked about the schoolhouse.

Town Manager Dennis responded that they are looking to install hardware related to hybrid meetings in the Historic Schoolhouse in mid-March. If everything is working well, starting in April they will be back to having regular meetings in that facility, depending on COVID.

Town Manager Dennis announced the retirement of Sharon Hanlon, Town Clerk, who has been with the Town for 21 years and who has been Clerk for most of that time. He thanked Ms. Hanlon for everything she has done for the Town. He said that they are in recruitment for the Town Clerk position, which will close next week.

Mayor Hughes also offered his “Thank You” to Clerk Hanlon and invited public comments.

Caroline Vertongen said they will miss Clerk Hanlon, who is one of the few real connections with the residents, and every time they sent a message to her, Clerk Hanlon made sure all committee members received their emails. She was very sad to see her Clerk Hanlon go and asked the Council to work on fixing the communication error happening in the town.

15 Rusty Day echoed Ms. Vertongen’s comments regarding Clerk Hanlon. He said she is a wonderful, gracious interface for the Town, and they are fortunate to have her. He said Ms. Hanlon has always fulfilled her job with grace and impartiality, always following up and always with a friendly face.

Mr. Cardinal wanted to follow up on Ms. Comes’ question about the audit report. He followed the Town Manager’s link and noticed that the last audit report was for fiscal year ending June 30, 2019, and there are no reports for 2020 or 2021. He thought this was what Ms. Comes was asking about, so he wanted to renew the question of the audited financials for 2020 and 2021.

Kristi Corley also thanked Clerk Hanon for her interactions with the public, sharing that she is thorough and that they will miss her and wish her a happy retirement. She said the meeting next Monday is very important, the summary of the Housing Element which includes three locations that were described the previous night, and she wondered if they could be described further for those present who were not at the previous night’s meeting. The Nathhorst Triangle or Portola Road and Alpine are being considered, as well as the Deli area, the Parkside Grille area, and the area of Westridge and Alpine Road. She asked for a description of those areas and why they were chosen.

Rita Comes echoed comments that Clerk Hanlon has been a joy to work with in the Town for years. She said Ms. Hanlon’s follow-through and kindness in serving residents has been a huge help. She wished for Clerk Hanlon to come back to town after her retirement to invite her to tea and perhaps walk a trail. She wished her happiness and good luck in her retirement. Ms. Comes followed up on the audit question, that the latest one posted is from 2019. At Finance Committee meetings she attended last year, and talk in the Town Council meetings, there was talk about working with the auditors. She was waiting for that information and was surprised that it is not available. She said that she, also, would like to have the information on the 2020 and 2021 audits.

David Cardinal also echoed thanks to Clerk Hanlon. He pointed out that they should not only express praise for people when they are leaving, but it is also important to remember this while they are there. He said there can be so much criticism and that staff are people. If they are doing a good job, they should hear that while they are there, and not just when they are leaving. He would like to see more balanced feedback for those who take a lot of flack from residents who are well-served by them, and that more positive feedback before the day they resign would be helpful.

WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
(13) Town Council Digest – February 10, 2022
(15) Town Council Digest – February 17, 2022
Town Manager Dennis commented on the item on red page 77, regarding a concern about an item in the home hardening that the Council passed as an Urgency Ordinance in December. The concerns related to the opportunity to use certain materials that are not deemed non-combustible but do have considerable benefit above regular material for decks. It is something they will be taking a look at and will likely start with the Wildfire Preparedness Committee, asking them to look at this and whether or not they want to see materials that are good but do not meet a particular standard of non-combustible, whether or not they should be included in an update.

Mayor Hughes adjourned the meeting to Closed Session, for discussion with Legal Counsel regarding anticipated litigation, with a significant exposure to litigation pursuant to Section 54956.9(b).

ADJOURNMENT [ 9:00 p.m.]
_____________________________ _________________________ Mayor Town Clerk

apachreg Town of Portola Valley ntanori 03/03/2022 11:06 Page 1 Check Register
Check Vendor Vendor Name Check Check BW CheckNumber Number Amount Date TypeChecks for Cash Account: 910-11011-000 1964 78 CALIFORNIA WATER SERVICE CO 4,823.45 03/09/221965 113 CITY OF REDWOOD CITY 2,431.00 03/09/221966 124 COMCAST 449.19 03/09/221967 125 CONNIE STACK 673.60 03/09/221968 129 COTTON SHIRES & ASSOC. INC. 23,190.56 03/09/221969 132 CRAIG HUGHES 100.35 03/09/221970 135 CSG CONSULTANTS INC 82,912.00 03/09/221971 176 EXCEL LD 23.12 03/09/221972 195 GOOD CITY COMPANY 21,800.00 03/09/221973 201 GRANITE ROCK COMPANY 483.47 03/09/221974 213 HILLYARD INC 831.25 03/09/221975 228 INTERNATIONAL CODE COUNCIL INC 348.00 03/09/221976 262 JORGENSON SIEGEL MCCLURE & FLE 15,493.50 03/09/221977 276 KUTZMANN & ASSOCIATES 6,991.83 03/09/221978 293 LYNGSO GARDEN MATERIALS INC 536.48 03/09/221979 323 MIG-TRA 2,123.75 03/09/221980 334 NOLTE ASSOCIATES INC 11,455.84 03/09/221981 337 O. NELSON & SON INC. 753.93 03/09/221982 343 OPENGOV INC. 49,449.00 03/09/221983 351 PARAGON CUSTOM BUILDERS 4,400.00 03/09/221984 364 PERS HEALTH 12,438.59 03/09/221985 372 PINNACLE BUILDING & DESIGN 1,000.00 03/09/221986 375 PLATINUM FACILITY SERVICES 4,936.68 03/09/221987 380 PURCHASE POWER 69.97 03/09/221988 445 STANDARD INSURANCE CO. 572.52 03/09/221989 485 US POSTMASTER 265.00 03/09/221990 509 YVONNE HARROSH 10,000.00 03/09/221991 518 GOT GOPHERS? 525.00 03/09/221992 525 CAROUSEL SADDLERY 10,000.00 03/09/221993 527 PARKSIDE GRILLE 10,000.00 03/09/221994 553 COUNTY OF SAN MATEO-PSC 17,028.25 03/09/221995 706 SCOTT SMITHERS 5,876.13 03/09/221996 713 COSMOS ROOFING 1,000.00 03/09/221997 740 ALESSANDRO MORUZZI 456.00 03/09/221998 752 FEHR & PEERS 14,030.63 03/09/221999 796 JEREMY DENNIS 1,185.60 03/09/222000 797 BUILT FORM DESIGN 1,000.00 03/09/222001 798 DAVID YAN 5,000.00 03/09/222002 799 AZIN INC. DBA DYNASTY CLEANERS 10,000.00 03/09/222003 800 LYON RESTORATION INC 1,000.00 03/09/22

apachreg Town of Portola Valley ntanori 03/03/2022 11:06 Page 2 Check Register
Check Vendor Vendor Name Check Check BW CheckNumber Number Amount Date Type Check totals: 335,654.69ACH totals:EFTPS totals:Wire transfer totals:Payment Manager totals:GRAND TOTALS 335,654.69Check totals: 335,654.69ACH totals:EFTPS totals:Wire transfer totals:Payment Manager totals:GRAND TOTALS 335,654.69

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apapdinv2 ntanori Town of Portola Valley Page 1
11:06 03/03/22 Paid Invoices by Date
From: 03/09/2022 to 03/09/2022
Check Check Special Information Net Check Total Invoice Number Date Number Amount Invoices
Paid
Vendor: 78 CALIFORNIA WATER SERVICE CO
03/09/22 1964 Water Service 01/12/22 - 02/09/22 4,823.45 4,823.45 JAN-2022 Vendor: 113 CITY OF REDWOOD CITY
1965 January IT Support 2,431.00 2,431.00 33001
Vendor: 124 COMCAST
1966 WIFI 02.16.22 - 03.15.22 449.19 261.03 7290-FEB22
WIFI 02.21.22 - 03.20.22 188.16 1945-MAR22
Vendor: 125 CONNIE STACK
1967 Winter 2022 Classes 673.60 673.60 WINTER-2022
Vendor: 129 COTTON SHIRES & ASSOC. INC.
1968 January/February Applicant Charges 23,190.56 23,190.56 2022-JAN/FEB Vendor: 132 CRAIG HUGHES
1969 Reimbursement - Calendly Subscription, C. Hughes/S. Werniko 100.35 100.35 FRRM-22-1 Vendor: 135 CSG CONSULTANTS INC
1970 October Applicant Charges 82,912.00 24,283.25 OCT-2021 November Applicant Charges 17,005.25 NOV-2021December Applicant Charges 20,034.75 DEC-2021January Applicant Charges 21,588.75 JAN-2022 Vendor: 176 EXCEL LD
1971 February Telephone LD Service 23.12 23.12 1191624187 Vendor: 195 GOOD CITY COMPANY
1972 Planning Consultant Svcs - January 21,800.00 21,800.00 2602 Vendor: 201 GRANITE ROCK COMPANY
1973 Road Surface Maintenance 483.47 483.47 1350067
Vendor: 213 HILLYARD INC
1974 Janitorial Supplies 831.25 831.25 604640241
Vendor: 228 INTERNATIONAL CODE COUNCIL INC
1975 3-Year Membership Renewal, C.Borck 348.00 348.00 3327118 Vendor: 262 JORGENSON SIEGEL MCCLURE & FLE
1976 January Statement 15,493.50 15,493.50 JAN-2022
Vendor: 276 KUTZMANN & ASSOCIATES

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apapdinv2 ntanori Town of Portola Valley Page 2
11:06 03/03/22 Paid Invoices by Date
From: 03/09/2022 to 03/09/2022
Check Check Special Information Net Check Total Invoice NumberDate Number Amount Invoices Paid
03/09/22 1977 January Plan Checks 6,991.83 6,991.83 76349 Vendor: 293 LYNGSO GARDEN MATERIALS INC
1978 Playground Sand 536.48 536.48 4668
Vendor: 323 MIG-TRA
1979 Consulting Svcs - Oct. - Dec. 2021, Springdown Maintenance 2,123.75 2,123.75 0073627 Vendor: 334 NOLTE ASSOCIATES INC
1980 December Applicant Charges & PW Support 11,455.84 11,455.84 DEC_2021 Vendor: 337 O. NELSON & SON INC.
1981 Sand Bag Delivery to Town Center 753.93 753.93 228 Vendor: 343 OPENGOV INC.
1982 Contractor License Verification, 02/08/22 - 02/07/23 49,449.00 825.00 INV00006651 OGFS/Mgmt. Reports/PLCF Svcs, 01/15/22-01/14/2023 48,624.00 INV00006445 Vendor: 351 PARAGON CUSTOM BUILDERS
1983 Deposit Refund, 107 Degas 4,400.00 4,400.00 BLDRM0008-2021 Vendor: 364 PERS HEALTH
1984 March Health 12,438.59 12,438.59 100000016714886
Vendor: 372 PINNACLE BUILDING & DESIGN
1985 Deposit Refund, 501 Portola #8J 1,000.00 1,000.00 BLDR0165-2021 Vendor: 375 PLATINUM FACILITY SERVICES
1986 February Friday Disinfection Svcs COVID-19 4,936.68 448.01 43191 February Janitorial Svcs 4,488.67 43190
Vendor: 380 PURCHASE POWER
1987 Postage Meter Late Fees 69.97 69.97 7931_FEB22
Vendor: 445 STANDARD INSURANCE CO.
1988 LTD/Life Premium 572.52 572.52 2022-FEB
Vendor: 485 US POSTMASTER
1989 Annual Bulk Mail Permit Renewal 2022 265.00 265.00 PERMIT#581_2022 Vendor: 509 YVONNE HARROSH
1990 Deposit Refund, 155 Cherokee 10,000.00 10,000.00 BLDR0227-2018-2 Vendor: 518 GOT GOPHERS?

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apapdinv2 ntanori Town of Portola Valley Page 3
11:06 03/03/22 Paid Invoices by Date
From: 03/09/2022 to 03/09/2022
Check Check Special Information Net Check Total Invoice NumberDate Number Amount Invoices Paid
03/09/22 1991 Town Fields Gopher Trapping - February 2022 525.00 525.00 24647 Vendor: 525 CAROUSEL SADDLERY
1992 COVID Business Assistance Grant Program 10,000.00 10,000.00 CBAG_2022 Vendor: 527 PARKSIDE GRILLE
1993 COVID Business Assistance Grant Program 10,000.00 10,000.00 CBAG_2022 Vendor: 553 COUNTY OF SAN MATEO-PSC
1994 PD Dispatching Services - 10/2021 - 12/2021 17,028.25 17,028.25 PVPD 22-02 Vendor: 706 SCOTT SMITHERS
1995 Deposit Refund, 193 Meadowood 5,876.13 5,876.13 PLN_ARCH0013-20 Vendor: 713 COSMOS ROOFING
1996 Deposit Refund, 1 Woodfern 1,000.00 1,000.00 BLDR0194-2021 Vendor: 740 ALESSANDRO MORUZZI
1997 Winter 2022 Classes 456.00 456.00 WINTER-2022-2
Vendor: 752 FEHR & PEERS
1998 PV Evacuation Study 01/01/22 - 01/28/22 14,030.63 14,030.63 152529 Vendor: 796 JEREMY DENNIS
1999 Reimbursement - Covid-19 Test Kits 1,185.60 1,185.60 REIMB_CV19TESTS Vendor: 797 BUILT FORM DESIGN
2000 Deposit Refund, 250 Nathhorst 1,000.00 1,000.00 BLDR0106-2021 Vendor: 798 DAVID YAN
2001 Deposit Refund, 17 Redberry Ridge 5,000.00 5,000.00 PERMIT_15794 Vendor: 799 AZIN INC. DBA DYNASTY CLEANERS
2002 COVID Business Assistance Grant Program 10,000.00 10,000.00 CBAG_2022 Vendor: 800 LYON RESTORATION INC
2003 Deposit Refund, 99 Stonegate 1,000.00 1,000.00 BLDR0142-2021 Check Date Totals 335,654.69
Grand Total 335,654.69

TOWN OF PORTOLA VALLEY
Warrant Disbursement Journal
March 09, 2022
Claims totaling $335,654.69 having been duly examined by me and found to be correct are hereby approved and verified by me as due bills against the Town of Portola Valley.

Date _____________________________ ________________________________ Jeremy Dennis, Treasurer
Motion having been duly made and seconded, the above claims are hereby approved and allowed for payment.

Signed and sealed this (Date) _____________________
_______________________________ _________________________________ Sharon Hanlon, Town Clerk Mayor

1 Sharon Hanlon
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, March 1, 2022 11:28 AM
To: Town Center <[email protected]>
Subject: Committee Application|
A new entry to a form/survey has been submitted.

Form Name: Committee Application
Date & Time: 03/01/2022 11:27 AM
Response #: 154
Submitter ID: 6181
IP address:

Time to complete: 3 min. , 43 sec.

Survey Details

Name of committee which I am interested in serving on (please note that only committees currently seeking volunteers are listed):
(○) Trails & Paths
Applicant Information
Full Name Jacquelyn Davis
Email Address
Street Address Adair Ln
City/Zip Portola Valley, CA 94028
Number of years in
Portola Valley
5 Cell Phone
Home Phone
Other Phone Not answered
Emergency Preparedness Not answered
Preferred Phone Contact Number
(○) Cell
Please state why you have an interest in this committee, and state any background or experience you may have that may be useful in your service to this committee.

My family chose to move to Portola Valley because of the connection to nature and the trails. I think the trail system that winds through town makes for an incredibly unique community; and given what it means to me, and what a defining part of our town I feel the trails are, I would like to give back and volunteer on the trails committee. My kids have almost never gone in the car to school, walking or biking (Sausal Trail/Georgia Lane) almost everyday, and I personally am a hiker, biker and walk our dog on the trails. While I am not an equestrian, I love seeing the horses on our trails and understand and greatly appreciate their history with our town and trails. I feel it is important to recognize all the stakeholders of our trails, prioritizing those in our community, and I have always been good at having empathy for different viewpoints. I have held a wide range of business roles over 15 years and have a MBA. Currently I am home raising my children and volunteering.

2 Do you have any personal or financial interest that could be perceived by others as a conflict of interest relative to your service on the committee? If so, please describe.

No
TIME COMMITMENT: Generally committees meet monthly and require a significant time commitment and participation at regular meetings. Please consider this level of commitment when evaluating your interest in serving on one of the Town's Committees.

New Text Information

______________________________________________________________________________________ TO: Mayor and Members of the Town Council
FROM: Jeremy Dennis, Town Manager
DATE: March 9, 2022
RE: Update, COVID Business Support

RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Town Council receive this update on the COVID Business Assistance Grant program to support local businesses impacted by COVID

BACKGROUND
On April 29, 2020, the Town Council budgeted up to $100,000 for the SMC Strong program to support local businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic (Attachment 1). Only three businesses ultimately accessed funds through the grant program. As $10,000 was available through the existing fund within the SMC Strong program, only $20,000 was utilized from the $100,000 Town allocation.

The Town Council then approved in the summer of 2020 the COVID Business Assistance Grant (CBAG). The General Fund using remaining unallocated SMC Strong program funds funded the CBAG. Seven businesses participated in the CBAG.

At your February 9th meeting, the Council approved an amendment to the CBAG program utilizing $100,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act to further support retail businesses affected by COVID-19.

DISCUSSION
As of the publication of this report, five Town businesses have requested funds from the CBAG program:
• Antonio Cremona Salon
• Carousel Saddlery
• Dynasty Cleaners
• Parkside Grill
• Portola Deli
$50,000 remains available through the CBAG.

TOWN OF PORTOLA VALLEY

STAFF REPORT

TOWN OF PORTOLA VALLEY

______________________________________________________________________________________ TO: Mayor and Members of the Town Council
FROM: Cara Silver, Town Attorney
DATE: March 9, 2022
RE: Adoption of Resolution Confirming the State of Emergency and Need to Continue Conducting Town Public Meetings Remotely

RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Town Council adopt the attached Resolution Confirming the State of Emergency and Need to Continue Conducting Town Public Meetings Remotely.

BACKGROUND
On September 16, the Governor signed AB 361, amending the Ralph M. Brown Act (Brown Act) to allow legislative bodies to continue to meet virtually during the present public health emergency. AB 361 is an urgency bill which went into effect on October 1, 2021 and expires on January 1, 2024 (portions of the bill applying to the State legislature and school districts expire earlier). The bill extends the teleconference procedures authorized in Executive Order N-29-20 (which expired on September 30, 2021) during the current COVID-19 pandemic and allows future teleconference procedures under limited circumstances defined in the bill.

Effective October 1, 2021, cities must comply with AB 361 if they want to conduct entirely remote meetings.

AB 361 varies from Executive Order N-29-20 in several key areas, including:
· Scope: AB 361 applies to meetings during a proclaimed state of emergency and state or local officials have imposed or recommended measures to promote social distancing. (“State of emergency” is defined as a state of emergency declared by the Governor under Government Code Section 8625.) It also applies to other states of emergency proclaimed by the Governor where holding in person meetings would “present imminent risks to the health or safety of attendees”. An example of this is an ongoing wildfire in the area. The legislative body must make an initial finding that meeting in person would "present an imminent risk to the health or safety of attendees".

TOWN OF PORTOLA VALLEY

STAFF REPORT

TOWN OF PORTOLA VALLEY

Resolution Confirming Need to Conduct Remote Public Meetings March 9, 2022

· Requirements during meeting: AB 361 requires several procedural safeguards, such as giving the public ability to address the legislative body directly, providing information on how to address the body, providing either a call-in or internet-based service option, requirement to stop meeting if call-in or internet-based option fails, comments may not be required to be submitted in advance, and pre-registrations (except as required by call-in or internet platform) are prohibited.
· Comment periods: Public members must be given a reasonable time to register to provide public comment and agencies that provide a timed public comment period shall not close the public comment period until that timed period has expired. · Renewal of emergency findings: If the legislative body desires to continue using the teleconference exception, it must confirm the circumstances of the state of emergency 30 days after the first teleconference meeting and every 30 days thereafter.

DISCUSSION
Staff is planning on returning to in person meetings soon. However, some members of the Council, its commissions/committees, staff and the public may want to continue attending remotely. To accomplish this, staff has been working with a vendor to install equipment in the Schoolhouse to accommodate hybrid remote meetings. Until that service is installed, staff recommends that all public meetings continue to be remote.

SB 361 requires the Council to make a regular finding confirming the state of emergency and the need for continued remote hearings. Staff will therefore be agendizing this finding on every Council meeting agenda until a decision to transition to in person meetings has been made. Council will also be requested to make these findings on behalf of its commissions and committees as well, so there is a uniform policy on public meetings.

FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with continued remote meetings. There will be a cost associated with the new hybrid meeting platform and staff will be bringing forward a separate funding request for that contract.

ATTACHMENT

1. Resolution

1 RESOLUTION NO. ____

RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF PORTOLA

VALLEY CONFIRMING EXISTING STATE EMERGENCY AND AUTHORIZING CONTINUED REMOTE PUBLIC MEETINGS UNDER AB 361
The Town Council of the Town of Portola Valley does RESOLVE as follows:

WHEREAS, on March 4, 2020, the Governor of the State of California declared a state of emergency, as defined under the California Emergency Services Act, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the State of Emergency remains in effect; WHEREAS, beginning in March 2020, the Governor’s Executive Order N-29-20 suspended Brown Act requirements related to teleconferencing during the COVID-19 pandemic provided that notice, accessibility, and other requirements were met, and the public was allowed to observe and address the legislative body at the meeting; WHEREAS, Executive Order N-08-21 extended the previous order until September 30, 2021;
WHEREAS, the Town Council and the Town’s boards, commissions, and committees have conducted their meetings virtually, as authorized by the Executive Order, since March 17, 2020;
WHEREAS, on September 16, 2021, the Governor signed into law AB 361, an urgency measure effective upon adoption, that provides flexibility to government bodies, allowing them to meet virtually without conforming to the Brown Act teleconferencing rules during a declared state of emergency if: (i) State or local officials have imposed or recommended measures to promote social distancing; (ii) the legislative body is meeting to determine whether, as a result of the emergency, meeting in person presents imminent risks to the health or safety of attendees; or (iii) the legislative body has determined that meeting in person would present imminent risks to the health or safety of attendees; WHEREAS, Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”) require certain employers to implement social distancing requirements in the work place during the current COVID-19 pandemic; the Santa Clara County Public Health Department currently requires face masks in combination with other safety precautions when activities occur in shared indoor spaces to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 transmission; effective February 16, 2021, the San Mateo County Public Health Officer will lift the face covering mandate for vaccinated individuals, but still require face coverings for unvaccinated individuals with a recommendation that even vaccinated people should wear a mask in indoor public settings as well as crowded settings is still a good idea and something we strongly recommended to be worn; and effective February 14, 2022, the Town Manager issued updated work place guidelines imposing safety protocols on persons attending Town Hall facilities;
ATTACHMENT #1

2 WHEREAS, in the last few months, while hospitalizations and severe illnesses have gone down, new COVID-19 variants have emerged and continued to impact the County’s hospital capacity;
WHEREAS, these variants are believed by medical experts to be even more contagious as previous variants, and data has shown the variant has increased transmissibility even among some vaccinated people;
WHEREAS, due to uncertainty and concerns about the continuing presence of COVID-19 variants, many workplaces that had announced a return to regular in-person operations have pushed back the full return date until later in the year or next year; WHEREAS, virtual meetings have not diminished the public’s ability to observe and participate and have expanded opportunities to do so for some communities; and WHEREAS, given the heightened risks of the predominant variant of COVID-19 in the community, holding meetings with all members of the legislative body, staff, and the public in attendance in person in a shared indoor meeting space would pose an unnecessary and immediate risk to the attendees.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Portola Valley that:

1. The Town Council adopts the recitals set forth above as findings of fact.

2. The Town Council hereby determines that, as a result of the emergency, meeting in person presents imminent risks to the health or safety of attendees.

3. In accordance with AB 361, based on the findings and determinations herein, meetings of the Town Council and Town commissions and committees will be held virtually, with Brown Act teleconferencing rules suspended.

4. This resolution shall be effective upon adoption and remain in effect so long as the Council confirms the continuing state of emergency and need for remote meetings as required under AB 361.

PASSED AND ADOPTED this 9
th day of March 2022.

By: _________________________
Craig Hughes, Mayor
ATTEST:
____________________________
Sharon Hanlon, Town Clerk

___________________________________________________________________________________ TO: Mayor and Members of the Town Council
FROM: Jeremy Dennis, Town Manager
Melvin E. Gaines, Assistant Town Manager
DATE: March 9, 2022
RE: FY 2022-23 Council Priority Study Session 2 – Adoption of Priorities

RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Town Council adopt Priorities for FY 2022-23 in this second of two study sessions.

BACKGROUND
On an annual basis, the Town Council has adopted “Council Priorities” that are used to develop the annual budget. Council Priorities set the foundation for the Council’s major initiatives in the upcoming fiscal year, are the basis for major projects to support the initiatives, and are a tool that residents can use to understand the Council’s focus and track progress on meeting those goals.

On January 26, 2022, the Town Council held a workshop with the Town’s Commissions and Committees, to hear their recommended projects and initiatives for the coming fiscal year (Attachment 1). On February 9, the Council held its first study session (Attachments 2 and 3).

Revised Fiscal Year 2022-23 Budget Process
The FY 2022-23 Budget process presented on February 9 has been revised to move up the March 23, 2022, Fiscal Year 2022-23 Council Priority Study Session Two to March 9, 2022. The revised budget process includes the following public meetings:
• January 26, 2022, Annual Council/Committee and Commission Workshop • February 9, 2022, Fiscal Year 2022-23 Council Priority Study Session One • March 9, 2022, Fiscal Year 2022-23 Council Priority Study Session Two • May 11, 2022, Not for Profit Agency Funding Requests
• June 8, 2022, Proposed Fiscal Year 2022-23 Budget Hearing

TOWN OF PORTOLA VALLEY

STAFF REPORT
F P

• June 22, 2022, Fiscal Year 2022-23 Budget Adoption
• September 14, 2022, Proposed FY 2022-23 Budget Revision Hearing • September 28, 2022, Fiscal Year 2022-23 Budget Revision Adoption This March 9 Study Session is the second Council priority setting session. In this session, the Council will discuss and adopt priorities for Fiscal Year 2022-23.

DISCUSSION
Draft FY 2022-23 Council Priorities
Staff is recommending, based on Council and resident input at the January 26 and February 9 meetings, that the Town Council adopt the Draft Fiscal Year 2022-23 Council Priorities (Attachment 4).

Committee/Commission Requests
On January 26, 2022, the Town Council held its annual workshop with Committee and Commission chairs. The Chairs shared their ideas for programming in the upcoming budget discussion (Attachment 5). A summary of those requests are below:

Most of the items discussed at the workshop are appropriate for inclusion in committee budgets in lieu of the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for FY 2022-23. Staff seeks input and guidance from the Council on which committee/commission projects should be supported in the FY 2022-23 budget.

FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with acceptance of this report and holding a study session on this topic. There will be substantial resource allocations made because of the completion of the Council Priorities.

ATTACHMENTS

1. January 26 Council Meeting Minutes

2. February 9 Council Priorities Study Session 1 Staff Report

3. February 9 Council Draft Meeting Minutes

4. Draft FY 2022-23 Council Priorities

5. January 26 Council/Commission/Committee Workshop Summary

Volume XLVII

January 26, 2022
3258
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service now requires a streambed alteration permit, so although they are not altering the streambed in their removal of logs, trimming, and things they have historically done, they are being held up by regulators. He said recently OneShoreline, which focuses on flood control, he has been communicating with their District Manager to determine whether, as a means of reducing flood control and standing water, OneShoreline, can hold the permit and allow them to do the work under that permit.

He said they have more than 30 creeks in the county, and it requires an enormous amount of work. He remarked that their staff enjoys that type of work. He encouraged Ms. Hufty to give the District a call and show them the location, and they will do everything they can.

Mayor Hughes thanked Mr. Weber for his presentation, adding that he has used their yellowjacket removal services. When a gardener finds a nest, removing is unpleasant if they are not properly equipped, and having the District be able to come out and do this is a very useful service, as well as all their other services. Mayor Hughes thanked Ray also for all his work within the town. (9) Annual Council/Committee and Commission Workshop
Town Manager Dennis said this is the third year that this item has been on the Council’s agenda. It is the formal kickoff of the FY 22-23 budget development. He said starting with the committees and commissions is an important and integral portion of the budget development process. The workshop allows the Council to hear from committee chairs or representatives on the issues they have discussing or plan to discuss in coming months, and which of them they would like to see included as part of the Council’s budget priorities. The Council priority process is the next piece of the development of the budget. This will happen at the Council’s next meeting on February 9th, where there is discussion, partly based on the current night’s discussion, partly on staff input, and partly based on other information, starting to hone in on what the Council would like to set as priorities for the coming year. These two components guide the staff as they put together the budget for review by the Finance Committee and the Council in June of 2022. Discussion will include how Council Liaisons fit into this process. The Liaison serves as a resource as needed in all the committee and commission meetings. Councilmembers attend those meetings and when they have provided direction to any individual committee, it is typically a goal to transmit that information via the Liaison. Committees make a variety of recommendations to the Council, both through this process and other programs they wish to see implemented.

Town Manager Dennis invited chairs, or representatives thereof, to share what their committees have been thinking about and discussing.

Bonnie Crater, representing the Nature and Science Committee, thanked Councilmember Aalfs for coming to their meetings as Council Liaison. She said most of their programs in previous years had been in-person, either indoor education programs at Town Center or outside. In 2021, due to the pandemic, they switched to on-line meetings and were grateful for the support from the Town, particularly Kari, who set up their Zoom meetings and helped them advertise their programs. In 2021, they ran nine online events. Hundreds of Portola Valley residents attended. They held five wildflower talks from Dan Quinn, a local photographer. Other residents spoke about ticks and Lyme disease, earthquakes, climate change in the arctic, and galls. The talks are all posted on the Nature and Science page, with links to the events from 2021. She said for 2022, they are hoping as the weather warms to do some outdoor educational events around nature and science for Portola Valley. They are planning four events. A star party will include local astronomers and looking at some sort of celestial event through telescopes provided by the astronomers. They hope to do an event called, “Our Watery World,” talking about all the water elements of nature, an event particularly suited to children. They would like to do an event around pollinators and wildflower seeds, to try to promote the natural environment. Lastly, they hope to do a compost day as an educational event, teaching how to do composting with a do-it-yourself composter, or they may have some sort of offer to allow folks to purchase a composter. The events will be relatively inexpensive to run, but they are requesting $1,500, which is about their usual request, for various banner advertising and other event costs.

ATTACHMENT #1

Volume XLVII

January 26, 2022
3259
Kim Marinucci, Chair of Race and Equity Committee appreciated Councilmember Derwin and Councilmember Richards serving as their Liaisons. She shared on what it was like to start a new committee. She spoke about stages of group development – it is formed; it begins to storm; then you start to norm; and then you hit your stride and start performing. She said she would put their committee at the norm and perform stages and added that they did not skip the storm stage, as there was a lot of storming.

She said two members left the committee. Another person joined, and they have one opening. They are getting their bearings on what they are about and what they are doing. They have a mission statement and objectives for the committee and are doing some standard things such as looking at Town policies and determining where their bias may be. Because they have a committee member on the Housing Committee, they have a housing subcommittee within their group, which is important, intensive work, and they have not gotten into the depths of it yet. There is another subcommittee looking at how to attract more people of color to Portola Valley. Additionally, some who went to the Town Picnic may have interacted with them when they put up the Town seal and asked people what they thought, what it represented to them, how they felt about it, and what other kinds of symbols would represent Portola Valley today. They found it to be a great way to engage people in conversations leading to other related topics. They now have a subcommittee, including almost everyone on the committee, that is looking at using the Town seal, not as the most important issue, but as something tangible that is not necessarily high stakes as a way to engage people in the skill of dialog about Portola Valley’s problematic history and what to do about it. She said in the end, they will make a recommendation to the Town Council about what the committee thinks should be done about the Town seal. Their intent is to use the process as a way to practice listening to each other and discovering how to, not just cancel, but finding the middle ground. They were asked to put together a budget just as they were forming. She said they have a small budget of $1,750, which she thought, as they discover more of who they are and what they will be doing, that may change.

Dale Pfau, Chair of Emergency Preparedness Committee, spoke of a few of the things impacting the budgeting process. They are pursuing an upgrade to the Emergency Communications radios, which are primarily amateur band radios, from analog to digital radios. Through Ham bands they can get on the internet and have access to worldwide communications between people who have availability to repeaters. They will be upgrading, which will allow them to coordinate better with CERT partners and probably with the virtual EOC. He said this could cost $7,000 to $8,000 over the course of the year. Mr.

Pfau reported that, in concert with CERT, much of what they have historically done for medical supplies is now transitioning to CERT. They now have a CERT trailer onsite. The EPC also has medical supplies in the Buckeye Room. They will be going through them to consolidate them. They will retain some medical supplies in the Buckeye Room but will probably need about $2,000 to update and refresh the emergency medical supplies. The Committee supports a number of outreach events through the year. One is the Emergency Communications and Safety Day in June, the Town Picnic, and they generally have another event with Woodside Fire, for which they generally need about $2,000. He said there are two new members joining this year, so they hope to increase their outreach efforts.

Ed Holland, Chairman, Bicycle, Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee, thanked Mayor Hughes for his help as Council Liaison. He presented the significant actions of the Committee in 2021, particularly pursuing the outcome of the Pedestrian Safety Study and starting to see the implementation of those things come into shovel-ready projects, including striping and changes at various intersections, particularly crosswalks, to improve safety. The Committee is taking an interest in the Housing Element participation, with regard to how changing uses, ADUs and properties, and an increase of population in the town might influence pedestrian safety, on street parking, school safety, and safety during emergencies. They hope to have input on these things within the Housing Element process. Another significant area of consideration has been continued interest and concerns over parking related to recreational visitors in town, particularly associated with Windy Hill. They started with a study raised by concerns of residents of Willowbrook Drive and also drawing into that a more holistic view, taking into account a review of the parking on Portola Valley and at the top of Alpine Road. They have seen changes begin on some of those items, such as red lining in certain areas of Willowbrook. There is a report from their consultant, Paul Krupka, which is ready for high-level review of the Committee to look at the possible changes in signage on Portola Road and perhaps on Alpine. These things have been slow in coming

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around, but he said he is learning that it is simply how things work. He hoped they could pursue them with as quick a pace as possible. He said Howard Young has been a great liaison with the Town Center and staff. Mr. Holland also noted a huge success in collaboration with Parks and Recommendation, which is also a potential consideration for a budget item, with a need to work out cost and implications. Last year they reverted to a new Town Picnic in collaboration with Zots to Tots. The event was a huge success. The support from the Town to enable the road closures to happen and support from law enforcement and Town volunteers was incredible. He felt it should be a model for the event going forward. He reflected that without the ability to do things like that, it simply is not Portola Valley. He hoped to look at the budgetary implications of doing these sorts of things, and the organizational and cross-committee work to make them happen again as a routine and comfortable kind of procedure.

Catherine Magill, Chairman, Conservation Committee, spoke of the Committee’s core values – to provide guidance and information to the community to ensure that Portola Valley development maintains harmony and subservience to the environment. She said that their main responsibilities are to do site visits associated ASCC reviews, providing advisory information, both to the ASCC as well as an opportunity to educate the homeowner on using native plants, how to care for them, and trying to maximize the use of appropriate low-water use for the environment. The Committee does tree removal permits. One of their big jobs has been oversight and guidance for Mr. Young and the Public Works group on maintaining a number of the high priority Town-owned properties, such as the Town Center, Spring Down, Frog Pond, Triangle Park, and Ford and Rossotti Fields. The Committee offers Mr. Young guidance on when things should be mowed. They helped restore the meadow at Spring Down and provided guidance on trying to keep the weeds down to allow the wildflowers they seeded to come out. They are working with Mr. Young to develop a five-year plan so that he knows in advance how to plan. This year, because of the rain in November, mowing needed to be earlier than in past years. The Committee has been working with the Fire Department to help provide information for clearing, trying to get rid of as many flammable or invasive trees as possible, and working on making sure the clearing is thoughtful and pays attention to nesting periods and other things that may not be on top of mind. They have been working with the Housing Committee on Committees. Their main focus besides the review responsibilities is providing educational and communication tools. They have created a brochure for the Native Plant Demonstration Garden in the Town Center. They have worked with Mr. Young to replant plant and give it a facelift. The Committee provides a “Tip of the Month,” and “What’s Blooming Now,” which give a bit of information to the community on what is happening in the environment and suggestions on native plants for gardens. She said they are doing an in-person Broom Pull this year, and they also hope to do an evening lecture later in the fall. Ms. Magill remarked that the Committee takes its education role seriously, and they expect to continue that and working on refining some of the guidelines that the Town is going to be using for ADU approvals. They expect to need $4,000 to $5,000 to support their activities, although they spent much less than that this year because of COVID. They do not have any huge things on their to-do list. She thanked Councilmember Richards for being the Council Liaison.

Scott Elrod, Chair, Sustainability Committee, summarized the Committee’s activities over the past year.

They are focused on citizen behavior, and he said they need to walk a fine line in terms of educating people about options, encouraging different behaviors but not pushing too hard or being preachy. He said they had a great display of options for people at the Town Picnic, including technologies to limit watering, limit showers and such. One big interest of the Committee was in coming up with a backup power option which people could adopt, short of getting a gas generator. The Committee looked at a lithium ion battery bay system that could run a small number of appliances and lights and a refrigerator for up to 18 to 24 hours, including a solar charging unit. This was a demo at the Town Picnic, and they are now going to make this available for loan to Portola Valley residents via the Library. The Committee worked on a detailed climate change reading list, which is now on the town website. There are a lot of postings on the PVForum website. The Committee has been all about education, and it will continue to have that focus.

He said in the coming year they will emphasize revamping the website, which is quite outdated. They do see the Committee of Committees and the focus on ADUs as being a principal way to effect sustainability.

They are intrigued by the notion of checklists, even in the case of ministerial approval of ADUs. He thought that might be the way committees can influence how things are done, not be an item on whether they are done, but to try to put some of the interest of the different committees into the way things are

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done. He said they are looking forward to the rollout of the smart water meters and will play a role in sending out information packets to people about how to benefit from them. Mailings around such things will be one of their cost items. The budget has been variable, in the $4,000 to $10,000 range. The past year it was closer to $10,000, in part because they purchased the demo unit to loan out. He said there may be other pieces of hardware that represent options for people that they would want to buy and make available as loaner items through the Library. He said their budget would likely need to remain at about $10k. During COVID they have had to cut way back on events. There have been some events that the Committee has championed in the past – the Sustainability Book Club, seminars, and a movie series which seemed quite popular. They hoped to get back to some of those things in the near future. He was appreciative of Councilmember Derwin’s working with the Committee.

Patty Dewes, Chair of the Parks and Rec Committee, shared the Committee’s priorities for 2022, which are basically the same as for 2021. First, she mentioned the successful Zots to Tots and Town Picnic. As several people had referenced, it was the only communitywide event held in the Town for 2021. They had a tremendous outcome with almost twice the number of people as in the past registered to run, race, bike, walk in the Zots to Tots race. She announced that if anyone ordered a Zots to Tots t-shirt and don’t have it yet, they should call John Meyers, because “he needs his garage back.” She said they hoped they will be able to have the Zots to Tots and Town Picnic in 2022. Their budget last year was about $22,000 and they feel that is more than adequate, and they would request that for 2022 as well. Ms. Dewes listed other things they worked on in Parks and Rec. One was the court usage policies and practices which has become a conversation point with many people, as pickleball continues to gain in popularity and participation. There are almost 200 pickleball players registered in the group that they manage. They play on the courts every day for two to three hours, with between 20 and 40 participants. It is growing and, as such, is creating demands on the courts, so they feel they need to think about making some changes. In particular, they are considering a proposal to dedicate one court to pickleball fulltime to eliminate having to put up and take down the nets and having permanent nets so that people could play pickleball anytime which they cannot do presently. To the extent that this is done, they want to ensure the tennis players are treated equitably with time on a court dedicated to tennis only. There would be one more court that could be reserved for either tennis or pickleball. She said with the reservation system installed last year, they could manage that effectively. Ms. Dewes said these are the types of opportunities the Committee is looking for, to allow people to use the courts the way that they would like to, while ensuring that they are available for all. She noted that they need to also accommodate the Corte Madera tennis team as well.

The team will start up in March after missing last year due to COVID. They will use the courts in the middle of the day, which takes time away from residents, but it is the right thing to do for their neighbor.

Ms. Dewes brought up the town’s fields – soccer and baseball. Parks and Rec is looking at the field usage fees for those. In the past the fees have been player-based which seems to have grown out of favor, particularly with some neighboring towns, and it is difficult to manage for some teams that have different populations for their players. They are looking at doing analysis on moving to a per-hour based field usage fee, and this will be coming back to the Council in the next couple months if it is necessary to do anything. Ms. Dewes commented on her pet project for someday, a dog park. She said there are several rogue dog parks around town because they don’t have an organized one. She said at Town Center off-leash dogs are a constant presence, and illegal, as well as unsanitary and unsafe. The Committee continues to look for opportunities for a dog park, working closely with other committees to make sure that if they do identify something, that it meets the tone that the Town is striving for, as well as the dogs and their owners. She said they have put in an application to the State of California, and offered up to $200,000 for a grant for some type of Parks and Rec project. They have put in a request for $180,000 to put restrooms at Ford Field, which has been a need for quite some time. There are porta potties there, but restrooms would be nice. She said $180,000 is less than half of what they think they would need to put restrooms in at Ford Field. The difference, if granted, would have to be made up by either Town funds or private funds. They have done this before, as with the Ford Field renovation and the Town Center. The Town has been somewhat generous, but it is something they would have to work on in 2022. Regarding any impact from the Housing Element decision and actions, Ms. Dewes felt that for Parks and Rec that would primarily be focused on if there’s more people in town, there will be more demand on the Town’s facilities. She said they would need $22,000 for the Town Picnic. Also, if one court

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is dedicated to pickleball, there will be some equipment costs, which they are researching at present. If a dog park were identified, they would need fencing and materials for it. Right now, the only known quantity is the Town Picnic. Everything else is work in progress.

Nan Shostak, Geologic Safety Committee, said the Committee is newly reformed. There are now four members, with space for one more. Chet Wrucke was Secretary of the Committee when they last met and is the de facto leader until new officers are elected. The first meeting is planned very soon, at which time they will elect officers and prepare a budget. She expects the financial needs to be minimal, if any, and the Committee will notify the Council of their budget decision. The Committee’s priorities for the immediate future will be to work with Town staff and the other committees on the evacuation plan and the Safety Element. They anticipate working with the Planning Commission on an ongoing basis during early phases of development proposal, to help with site assessments before any buildings are planned. They anticipate being a full partner with Town staff and the geologic consultant, Cotton Shires, early in the process of assessing sites for development where there is any question of seismic hazard.

Gary Hanning, Chair of the Trails and Paths Committee, said that, recognizing their budget is largely in the Public Works Department, the Committee does not have a lot of budget needs for committee activities. Their number one priority for this year is bringing back the Horse Fair, which is a community outreach program with the goal of connecting residents with the history of Portola Valley’s equine past.

They last held the Horse Fair in 2019, at which time they had good turnout. Each year the attendance had been growing, largely with families and kids. COVID forced them to put the Fair on hold, and they look forward to resurrecting the program. The date is set for May 14th at Town Center. He thought the budget for it would probably be the same as the last year, unless there has been a significant increase in cost for vendors and facilities, which they do not anticipate. Another of their priorities is Alpine Trail and Safe Routes to School, Trails and Paths. Alpine Trail is unique in that it is present on both sides of Alpine Road and also includes sections designated for multi-uses and single use. Bikes are allowed on some sections and not on others. Horses are allowed on certain sections and not on others. They hope to improve signage, which would be an undetermined amount. Public Works would probably carry some of the cost.

They also hope to work with the School District to better map out the Safe Routes to School between Corte Madera School, Town Center and Alpine Hills, as well as the Nathorst Triangle.

Mr. Hanning continued, sharing that the Trails Committee also plans to produce a new trail map this year and have begun work on it. The existing trail map is over 20 years old, so they are looking at using more modern technology for the map with an overlay of all the town trails. They hope to better identify starting and endpoints, the usage of each trail, and have a map that can be used electronically as opposed to a printed map. This will require some funding which is yet to be determined, depending on the mapping tools used and associated royalties associated with them. Also, any consultants hired to actually do mapping would require funds. Another priority for the Committee this year will be to support the Building and Planning Department with a checklist for ADUs and SB 9 projects, to be used by ministerial reviewers to screen applications for compliance with regulations related to trails and paths. For example, drainage, scoring of driveways that cross the trail, landscape near trails, mechanical equipment and hardscape. The reviewers do not have a lot of such information to make the determination whether the project would fit well with any existing trail. With the new trail map and the checklist, a ministerial reviewer would be able to quickly determine if there was a trail on the project site and, if so, whether it meets the requirements on the checklist.

Finally, another priority of the Trails and Paths Committee will be to continue to support the Public Works Department. Mr. Hanning thanked Mr. Young and his team for being advocates for the trail system and doing a great job maintaining and keeping the trail system open and safe. Without them, their trail system would collapse. Although they are a small team, and mostly unseen, they do an amazing job, whether mowing, clearing trees, et cetera. The Committee will continue to support Public Works with identifying short and long-term maintenance issues on the trails. They have been developing a capital-intensive project list, the budget for which would likely come out of the Public Works budget. They are helping to identify and prioritize projects on the trail system that will require larger than normal capital outlays. For example, re-weatherizing a trail with base rock. To allow the trails to be open year-round to all classes of

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trail users, it requires use of certain materials on the trails and conforming to certain standards to keep them safe during rainy months. The Committee is also working with Public Works to coordinate volunteer workdays on the trails, something they want to bring back. Most trails in Portola Valley were originally built by volunteers. They will experiment with a trail day coming up in the Ranch. Outside and local volunteers will be used to accomplish some tasks. If this is successful, they hope to do more of them. Mr. Hanning concluded with thanks to Mayor Hughes for his support as their Liaison for a number of years.

Vice Mayor Wernikoff was excited to hear about the projects the Committee is working on. In regard to the Alpine Trail, she said a pet peeve of hers lately is the increase of trash, seen everywhere in California.

She felt this is seen more on the Alpine Trail than on other ones, given its proximity to the road and traffic.

She wondered if this is ever discussed within the Committee and if they consider it part of their purview.

Mr. Hanning agreed and said largely due to the pandemic, they saw a dramatic increase in the number of users of all of he trails. With that came more trash, more user violations, et cetera. The Committee works with Mr. Young on this. He said it may seem easy to just put a trash can out there, but it actually isn’t that easy, with the cost and logistics involved. It is something they have looked at in the past, but something he did not feel the Public Works Department can handle in its current form. He said if the Council would like them to look deeper into this issue, they would be happy to do that. Generally, they try to stay true to their Trails and Paths element, which is built on the honor system that says, “What you bring in, you take out.” For the most part, he feels it works, particularly pre-pandemic. However, post-pandemic, it may not be the best solution. He said it is within their purview and they may be able to address it, depending on funding and support for it, not just with money, but also with staffing support in the Public Works Department. Mr. Hanning went on to acknowledge every property owner in town who hosts a trail on their property, as they deal with things like trash, dog droppings, increased number of users. They are often overlooked and under-thanked. On behalf of the Trails and Paths Committee, he thanked them for everything that they put up with in order to provide an amazing community service to the residents and to the general public.

Mayor Hughes recommended the PVConnect app, which can be used on trails to take photos of things such as an accumulation of trash, a fallen tree, et cetera. In the PVConnect app it can be automatically tagged with the GPS coordinates. The Public Works can then go out and take care of such things.

Ed Holland said as a regular trail user he has seen an increasing use of bicycle use on trails, which is generally not permitted. When he has occasionally spoken to people about it, they have claimed the don’t know anything about it, because there is no signage. He wondered if Trails and Paths had any plans to improve that information to support those rules being upheld. He commented that he wanted to know when the volunteer days are, as he enjoys the trails very much and would love to help. Mayor Hughes responded that the Committee will be looking at improving signage and additionally, working on the trails map, which help people understand better which trails are for what purpose.

Mary Hufty commented on behalf of the Westridge Architectural Supervisory Committee, in conjunction with Mr. Hanning’s presentation and his great work on the trail system. She said Westridge has about ten miles of trails within the Westridge community which it offers to the public. They carry the expense for its maintenance and have been honored by good cooperation between the Town Manager and Mr. Young, who have been wonderful about helping them, but essentially the cost of maintaining the trails goes to Westridge. The map has included Westridge trails in the past and will continue to do so. They hope, however, that the contributions of the Westridge community will be recognized in terms of both finances and significant volunteer work to keep the trails open.

Rita Comes was appreciative of all the people in town who are volunteering their personal time to serve on councils and committees. She said she would like to hear from some of the committee, such as the Undergrounding Committee and others, when talking about housing and making plans for infrastructure in the future. She did not remember them having a meeting in a while. She reiterated the phones issue and other infrastructure issues they are running into without having someone to follow up with in the town.

Mayor Hughes replied that he is the Liaison to the Undergrounding Committee and he thought there is some work around undergrounding budgeted for this year. He has noted emails regarding organizing a

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meeting and getting something on the calendar. He said once the date is set, she is welcome to make public comment there.

Mayor Hughes invited comments or thoughts from the Councilmembers and Town Manager.

Town Manager Dennis extended appreciation to the Chairs and Committee members who do incredible work on behalf of the Town and continue to be the bedrock for everything they do. He appreciated hearing from them on the things they are looking to see included on next year’s budget. He looked to the Council for any recommendations, suggestions, opinions to help with the process. Staff will come back at the next meeting with detailed notes on what was heard so that the Council can consider them, in addition to the detailed minutes. He said a big thank you and requested to hear from the Council if there was anything they would like to be highlighted.

Vice Mayor Wernikoff echoed the thanks for the amount of time community members spend volunteering on committees. She wanted to highlight an item in the Consent Agenda and draw attention to red page 49, where all of the committees are listed, including all of the vacancies, for those who may want to get involved and participate.

Councilmember Aalfs thanked all of the committee members who spoke, as well as all of the volunteers in town. He was interested to see the next round of this. Most of what he heard sounded very appropriate as continuations of the good work of the committees.

Mayor Hughes also thanked the volunteers for time spent on the committees. That which was presented by the various Chairs was a very high-level overview of what the committees work on. Many individual items are highly detailed, technical discussions about issues that are not as obvious as they seem. The level of complexity the committees attend to is very deep and a tremendous help to staff and the Council. [The Council took a five-minute break]
(10) Recommendation by Town Manager – Resolution Adopting Volume 1 and Introduction, Chapter 15 (Town of Portola Valley Jurisdictional Annex) and the Appendices of Volume 2 of the San Mateo County Multijurisdictional Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (a) A Resolution of the Town Council of the Town of Portola Valley Adopting Volume 1 and Introduction, Chapter 15 (Town of Portola Valley Jurisdictional Annex) and the Appendices of Volume 2 of the San Mateo County Multijurisdictional Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (Resolution No. 2877-2022)
Town Manager Dennis presented this continuation of an item on the December 8th Council agenda. The Council had requested it be continued to a later date. The initial staff report from the December 8th agenda could be found on the top of red page 66. He welcomed two guests to the meeting – Dan Belville, Director of the Department of Emergency Management, formally OES with the County of San Mateo; and well as Bart Spencer, Lead Consultant for Tetra Tech, who works with staff on development of local hazard mitigation plans. He said the staff report covers the primary elements of the discussion quite well.

He highlighted the issues around not adopting the multi-jurisdictional local hazard mitigation plan, stating that the plan, as developed, is a plan that is worked on between 20 cities in the County of San Mateo. It is the largest geographic area in California that puts together a joint plan. It is an accomplishment that everyone in San Mateo is quite proud of in regard to continuation of this cooperation between cities. The plan is a vehicle for communities pre- and post-disaster to apply for grants for mitigation, adaptation, resiliency, et cetera. The County component is Volume One. The chapter associated with a town is the vehicle through which they can make application for grants. Portola Valley is currently unable to do so because the plan has not been adopted by the Council, and there are currently a number of grants that he would look into and/or apply for, related to a variety issue, including fire.

____________________________________________________________ ____________________ ____ TO: Mayor and Members of the Town Council
FROM: Jeremy Dennis, Town Manager
Melvin E. Gaines, Assistant Town Manager
DATE: February 9, 2022
RE: Fiscal Year 2022-23 Council Priority Study Session

RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Town Council hold their first of two study sessions on the FY 2022-23 Council Priorities.

BACKGROUND
Since Fiscal Year 2015-16, the Town Council has undertaken a priority-setting process that consists of the Council identifying high-level Town priorities with specific efforts that support those priorities over the fiscal year. This selection of top priorities has been an effective way of directing resources, aligning staff efforts, and communicating clearly about the Town’s areas of focus. Council priorities guide the Town’s budget development and Town Council’s appropriation of budget resources.

Fiscal Year 2022-23 Budget Process
As with previous years, the formal kickoff of the annual budget process begins with a workshop between the Town Council and committees/commissions. This year’s workshop was held on January 26, 2022. This February 9, 2022, Council Priority Study Session is the second step in the Town’s annual budget process.

The planned Fiscal Year 2022-23 budget process includes the following public meetings:
• January 26, 2022, Annual Council/Committee and Commission Workshop • February 9, 2022, Fiscal Year 2022-23 Council Priority Study Session One • March 23, 2022, Fiscal Year 2022-23 Council Priority Study Session Two • May 11, 2022, Not for Profit Agency Funding Requests
• June 8, 2022, Proposed Fiscal Year 2022-23 Budget Hearing • June 22, 2022, Fiscal Year 2022-23 Budget Adoption

TOWN OF PORTOLA VALLEY

STAFF REPORT
F P
ATTACHMENT #2

• September 14, 2022, Proposed FY 2022-23 Budget Revision Hearing • September 28, 2022, Fiscal Year 2022-23 Budget Revision Adoption

DISCUSSION
Fiscal Year 2021-22 Council Priorities Update
In April 2021, the Town Council adopted four Fiscal Year 2021-22 Council Priorities:

1. Wildfire/Emergency Preparedness

2. Land Use Project and Programs

3. Service Delivery Enhancements

4. Focus on Established Programming
With advisory committee/commission, public and Council input, Town staff identified priority efforts for the Town to undertake to support the four priorities during Fiscal Year 2021-22 (Attachment 1). At the current mid-point of Fiscal Year 2021-22, the Town has made significant progress toward implementing priority efforts. The majority of priority efforts are either completed or on track to be completed as scheduled. Attachment 2 to this report documents the Town’s progress toward each priority effort as of February 1, 2022.

Some Fiscal Year 2021-22 priority efforts have been delayed. Changes to policy and reallocation of resources have led the Town to modify the timelines for the following priority efforts:
• Priority: Wildfire/Emergency Preparedness
o Priority Effort: Design Guidelines Update to Support Wildfire Preparedness Efforts.
▪ Modification: Start date delayed. Expected to begin in earnest in Fiscal Year 2022-23
• Priority: Land Use Projects and Programs
o Priority Effort: Comprehensive General Plan Update
▪ Modification: Start date delayed. Expected to begin in late Fiscal Year 2022-23.
• Priority: Focus on Established Programming. Sustainability o Priority Effort: Develop Climate Action Plan for Town Council Adoption. ▪ Modification: Start date delayed. Anticipated start in May 2022.

Annual Council and Committee/Commission Workshop
At the January 26, 2022, Town Council meeting, committee/commission representatives shared their ideas for Fiscal Year 2022-23 activities and budget needs. Nine

committees/commissions participated in the meeting, collectively making $56,250 in budget requests. Minutes from the January 26 meeting are included as Attachment 3.

Committee/Commission proposed activities and budget requests are summarized in Table 1, below.

Table 1: Committee/Commission Proposed Activities and Budget Requests Committee/Commission Proposed Activities Budget
Request
Nature and Science
Host four events: 1) Star Party, 2) Our Watery World,
Committee
3) Pollinators and Wildflower Seeds, and 4) $1 ,500
Compost Dav
Engage the community in conversations about bias,
Race and Equity Committee attracting diverse residents, and the Town's history. $1,750 Explore housing issues. Make recommendations to the Town Council based on findinas.

Upgrade emergency communications radios to
Emergency Preparedness digital radios. Participate in Town events such as $10,000 Committee the Town Picnic. Maintain and expand emergency SUDDlies.

Pedestrian safety study. Participate in the Housing
Bicycle Pedestrian and Element update process to opine on parking and Safety Committee safe routes to school. Explore parking impacts of - the Town's recreational uses.

Work with Town on a 5-year maintenance plan.

Conservation Committee Work with Woodside Fire Protection District to $5,000 remove flammable and invasive trees. Conduct
community education efforts.

Revamp the Committee website/page. Explore
sustainability impacts of ADUs. Make available a
Sustainability Committee solar powered/battery storage demo unit to loan to $10,000 community members for community rental. Conduct
community education efforts.

Plan and execute Zots to Tots Race and the Town
Parks and Recreation Picnic. Update court usage policies and practices. $22,000 Committee Examine field use fees. Explore options to establish a Portola Valley dog park.

Participate in the evacuation study. Contribute to site Geologic Safety Committee assessments that include analysis of seismic - matters.

Plan and implement a horse fair. Support the
Trails Committee Building and Planning Department to develop a $6,000 "trails check list" for ADU aoolications.

Town Operational Realities
For the Fiscal Year 2021-22 priorities, the Council authorized new staff positions and consultant support, particularly for the Planning and Building Department. The pressures on service delivery and overall service and applicant requests have remained high throughout Fiscal Year 2021-22.

As with last year’s report, the following remain true:
• PV Connect requests continue to increase; from 2019 to 2021, requests increased by 148% (329 to 816)
• More residents are participating in Council, commission, and committee meetings, which increases the desire for information about the Town’s programs and initiatives from both staff and committee volunteers.
• New services, such as in-house stormwater permitting monitoring, support for committees (communication and project support), open space property maintenance, technology to support increased participation and permitting, etc., have placed new requirements on staff.

Staff has also seen an increase in the complexity of the issues the Town is engaging on, the raw number of permit application conversations prior to submittal, and mandates from the state:
• The growth in complicated land use issues, many occurring at the same time, have required flexible staffing in the Planning and Building Department. • This complexity has resulted in increased participation by the Town’s committees to provide guidance and recommendations to the Town Council. • The number of land use permitting requests have grown, likely as a result of delayed projects due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• In the last three years, changes to Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) law, hazard mitigation planning, and stormwater permit monitoring have been delegated to local jurisdictions, without any increased resources to support. • Local measures, such as organic approaches to rodents and trail maintenance, have increased staff time to address such matters.

Town staff expects to make recommendations in the upcoming budget process for positions and consultant assistance in Planning and Building, Public Works, and Administration.

Council Discussion of Potential Fiscal Year 2022-23 Priorities Staff recommends a robust Council discussion on potential priorities for the coming fiscal year. To assist with that discussion, staff has prepared ideas for Council consideration.

Staff seeks input and guidance from the Council on priorities for the upcoming fiscal year, which committee/commission projects should be supported in the Fiscal Year 2022-23 budget, and staff ideas.

As the Town continues to react to impacts from the COVID-19 Omicron surge and works toward a hopeful recovery to a “new normal” post-pandemic, staff recommends the Town continue to focus on core departmental responsibilities and competencies, as well as existing major projects that are expected to be implemented in Fiscal Year 2022-23.

The following are the four proposed Council Priorities with staff recommended priority efforts for Fiscal Year 2022-23.

1. Wildfire/Emergency Preparedness
a. Implementation of new/expanded Wildfire Preparedness Committee recommendations, including exploration of permanent funding source for wildfire adaptation/mitigation measures including public and private vegetation management
b. Completion and implementation of the State mandated the Safety Element c. Implementation of expanded home hardening and defensible space code updates, in conjunction with Woodside Fire Protection District efforts (including the review and adoption of Fire Code updates at the end of the calendar year)
d. Support of the resource grant from Community Partners Assistance for Wildfire (CPAW), including the potential for a Woodside Fire Protection District-wide Community Wildfire Protection Plan
e. Additional planning efforts, including detailed wildfire behavior modeling (either at the Town or Fire District level)
f. Implementation of and potential follow up work for the evacuation study g. Launching the Veoci virtual emergency operations center tool, and providing infrastructure support for WPV-Ready, as guided by the Emergency Preparedness Committee
h. Expanded vegetation management for wildfire mitigation, including targeted trees and the Town’s open space properties
i. Adoption of Fire Code Updates
j. Exploration of additional home hardening measures
k. Further exploration of undergrounding Town utilities

2. Land Use Projects and Programs
a. Stanford Wedge and other major projects
b. Housing Element Update
c. Design Guideline changes to support home hardening ordinance d. Provide support to Sustainability and Trails Committees to develop ADU checklists
e. Preparation work to support zoning code modernization efforts for FY 2023- 24 3. Service Delivery Enhancements

a. Supporting Town Council public engagement enhancement efforts b. Adjusting service delivery and implementing COVID responsive operations as necessary
c. Recruiting, hiring, and onboarding staff in Planning and Building and Public Works departments
d. Contracting with and managing necessary consultants to assist with major projects and reduce staff administrative responsibilities in order to focus on core service deliveries
i. Use of virtual assistant tools (in beta test at the time of this staff report’s publication) to focus limited staff resources on core responsibilities e. Implementing technological and software improvements to increase staff productivity and provide enhanced communications and greater transparency. This includes:
i. Implementation of the new cloud-based Energov permit tracking software.
ii. Adoption of project management tools
iii. Launching Veoci virtual emergency operations center tool iv. Website review and reorganization
f. Determining the appropriate service model and transitioning IT services from City of Redwood City.
g. Facility Maintenance – Develop a comprehensive multi-year facility maintenance program.

4. Sustainability
a. Climate action plan
b. Microgrid for Town Center Campus
i. Solar Panel upgrade for Town Center
c. Adoption of Green Building Ordinance
d. Adoption of Sustainability Committee recommendations Other projects that do not align with a particular priority will include updates to the Town’s building and engineering fees, exploration of two year budget and two year road maintenance programs, and dedicated funding for certain Town Center and field needs.

Staff requests that the Council provide guidance on the above draft Council priorities and priority efforts. Councilmembers should discuss whether they would like to remove or modify any of the proposed priorities or priority efforts and suggest any new priorities and priority efforts.

Next Steps
Town staff will evaluate the workload impacts and resource needs of proposed priority efforts and recommend Fiscal Year 2022-23 Council Priorities and priority efforts at the March 23, 2022 Council Priority Study Session Two.

FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with acceptance of this report and holding a study session on this topic. Staff will submit budget appropriation requests to the Town Council for approved priority efforts at the June 8, 2022 Town Council meeting when the proposed Fiscal Year 2022-23 budget hearing will be held.

ATTACHMENTS

1. FY 2021-22 Council Priorities

2. Mid-Year Update FY 2021-22 Council Priorities

3. January 26 Draft Council Meeting Minutes

Attachment #2
Town of Portola Valley
FY 2021-22 Council Priorities: Mid-Year Update
Council Prioritv· . Wildfire/Emere:encv Preoaredness
Effort
Mid-Year Update
a. Implement all recommendations from the Wildfire Preparedness Committee, All recommendations from t he WPC that including efforts by t he Woodside Fire Protection District as designed by the are under Town control have been Committee implemented for short-term projects. The
WPC continues to work on two items that
have been presented to the WFPD, and
t he Committee is engaged in funding
discussions for wi ldfire adaptation.
b. State Mandated Safety Element Update, for adoption in calendar year 2022 Underway, with anticipated adoption in t he late fall of 2022.

C. Hazard Mitigation Plan Updat e (five-year cycle) for adoption in the summer of Adopt ed in January 2022 2021
d. Implementation of a virt ual Emergency Operations Center in the summer/ fall of Initial implementation completed, and 2021 further trainings are underway
e. Maximize resident familiarit y with t he Zonehaven evacuat ion t ool over the fiscal Ongoing year, and ut ilize its simulat ion functions to support evacuat ion planning effort s f. Support Emergency Preparedness Recommendat ions, including AM radio Ongoing relocation, medical supplies refresh, Town emergency planning integration with WPV Ready, and general communications with residents
g. Design Guidelines Update t o support Wi ldfire Preparedness effort s Will be undertaken in FY 2022-23

Council Priority: Land Use Projects and Programs
Effort Mid-Year Update
a. Stanford Wedge and other major projects, each with their own unique timeline, with different requirements for review, some of which necessitate outside consultant assistance. Some of these projects will be completed in FY 2021-22.

Stanford Wedge EIR expected for release
shortly; Fire Station 8 and Priority housing
projects completed; other projects
underway
b. Housing Element Update, for adoption by the Town Council in FY 2022-23 Underway, with expected adoption at the end of calendar year 2022
c. Design Guideline changes to support wildfire preparedness, expected to begin in late FY 2021-22
Will be undertaken in FY 2022-23
d. Comprehensive General Plan Update - in FY2021-22 Council will evaluate progress on the Housing Element Update and consider when the Comprehensive General Plan Update should occur
Deferred until FY 2023-24, with some
anticipated preparation work in FY 2022-
23 e. Implementation of the Pedestrian Safety Plan by the end of FY 2021-22 Final projects expected for completion in calendar year 2022

Council Priority: Service Delivery Enhancements
Effort Mid-Year Update
a. Post COVID vaccine service return Underway, with major initiatives completed for return to office and public
opening in the summer of 2021
b. Staffing needs – As residents request more services, additional staffing support (both short-term and long-term) has been identified as a need, particularly related to regular, daily operations. Proposals will be prepared by staff for Council review starting with the FY 2021-22 budget.

Council approved budget with additional
staffing support
c. Technological and software improvements, including final OpenGov implementation for financial, budget and transparency tools by the end of calendar year 2021.

OpenGov implementation completed.
d. Website update implementation, as completed in the Summer/Fall 2021. Completed e. Increased use of data to support goal setting and implementation Underway f. Increased use of project management tools to ensure increased transparency on project progress
Review of project management tools
ongoing, Energov system upgrade
includes project management tools,
hiring of Assistant Town Manager to
support this work (November 2021)

Council Priority: Focus on Established Programming
Effort Mid-Year Update
a. Trails and Open Space support, including the annual trail work plan Ongoing b. Communications – While the expansion of communications tools with residents and visitors continues to be a success, further opportunities related to the website update are expected to be implemented over the fiscal year, including increased services online, the OpenGov budget transparency tool, and other projects Ongoing, continuous new tools and
improvements
c. Sustainability
i. Complete research and development of the Green Building Ordinance for Town Council adoption.
ii. Develop Climate Action Plan for Town Council adoption iii. Continue efforts to transition town to a grid independent facility Green Building Ordinance expected to be
completed in FY 2022-23; Climate Action
Plan deferred to FY 2022-23; Additional
work to commence on microgrid work in
FY 2022-23
d. Facility/Open Space maintenance – Full implementation of a robust and ongoing open-space support as developed by the Conservation Committee Completed
e. Town Hall Reactivation and (as circumstances permit) support for increased use of Town Facilities for public and private occasions and gatherings, including the annual events (such as Zots to Tots, the Horse Fair, the Town Picnic, Cultural Arts Committee events, concerts, and other committee-development events) residents have missed the last year
Completed
f. Reassessment of Land Use Project Post-Completion Conditions – the ASCC and staff will review opportunities to strengthen post-project conditions to ensure they remain in place after sign-off
Expected in FY 2022-23
g. Support for Historic Resources Committee recommendations to digitize remaining collection
To be undertaken this fiscal year

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(a) A Resolution of the Town Council of the Town of Portola Valley Confirming Existing State of Emergency and Authorizing Continued Remote Public Meetings Under AB 361 (Resolution No. 2879-2022)
(9) Recommendation from Housing Element Committee – Housing Element Community Survey Vice Mayor Wernikoff invited comments from the Council on the Consent Agenda. Hearing none, she invited public to comments on the Consent Agenda.

Rita Comes asked about item number 5. She said with the town information going into the cloud she wondered if the information would be hosted on the third-party site, or if it would be on a different cloud site or be held on the vendor’s site. Is so, she was concerned about security of the information.

Councilmember Derwin pulled item 5.

Caroline Vertongen commented regarding item 6 and hoped the Town would go back to the transmittal budget proposed in December and inform them which of the funds will be used to pay for the vacation times.

Councilmember Aalfs moved to approve items 2 through 4, and 6 through 9 on the Consent Agenda.

Seconded by Councilmember Derwin, the motion carried unanimously, by roll call vote. (5) Recommendation by Assistant Town Manager – Adoption of a Resolution Authoring a ThreeYear Agreement with Tyler Technologies, Inc, for the Software as a Services Version of their EnerGov/Enterprise Permitting and Licensing Program
(a) A Resolution of the Town Council of the Town of Portola Valley Authorizing the Town Manager to Execute a Three-Year Agreement with Tyler Technologies, Inc., for the Use and Implementation of their EnerGov/Enterprise Permitting and Licensing Software (Resolution No. 2878-2022)
Assistant Town Manager Gaines stated that the Town’s data is hosted by Tyler Technologies at secure Tyler-owned data centers, on their own data centers, which are secure.

Councilmember Derwin moved to approve item 5. Seconded by Councilmember Aalfs, the motion carried unanimously, by roll call vote.

REGULAR AGENDA
(10) Study Session – Fiscal Year 2022-23 Council Priorities Study Session Town Manager Dennis explained that this item was a continuation of the budget process started at the last meeting when the Council heard from Town committees about their priorities and items they would like to have included in next year’s budget. The first segment of the session involved discussion and update on current Council priorities. He directed the Council to red page 99 as well as attachment 2 in the agenda packet. He said, as in previous years, the Town is moving along on variety of projects associated with priorities identified for this year, including wildfire preparedness, land use projects and programs, service delivery enhancements and focusing on established programming. Attachment 2 provided an update on those efforts, several which are complete. Others are underway, and some are ongoing.

Town Manager Dennis pointed out programs that staff anticipates not being able to complete in the current fiscal year, including the Climate Action Plan. A study session on this may be held later in the year, with the final presentation year. The Green Building Ordinance, due to timing, would likely be completed early in 2022-23. Design review guidelines regarding home hardening code updates would be ATTACHMENT #3

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undertaken in 2022-23. The Comprehensive General Plan Update would be deferred to 2023-24, with some preparation work anticipated in 2022-23.

Town Manager Dennis laid out a summary of what the Council heard at the last meeting, shown on red pages 99 and 100. He said some of the requests would be included in the budgets for the committees and some may be included more broadly in other expenditure categories, depending on size and management. He said the staff report illustrated the continuing challenges related to keeping up with various requests and activities that are part of the suite of work that they do. Statistical information in this regard was presented on red page 101 of the staff report. For example, PV Connect requests increased by 148 percent, with similar kinds of increases seen across all departments. Some of it is a result of unfunded state mandates, as well as the complexity of issues the Town is dealing with. He expected that the budget proposal for later in the year would include some positions across multiple departments, which will become clearer as the budget discussions in May approach.

Town Manager Dennis discussed the Council’s priorities for the coming year and offered a recommendation that the Council approves priorities, not necessarily the projects underneath them. The projects are items that help fulfill the priorities of the Council, so they could theoretically be changed or be added to. All would come back to Council for approval through the normal process. He noted that the biggest difference in the structure this year is that Sustainability has been re-established as its own standalone priority, given the number of interrelated and important projects that the Town has been committed to. He pointed out under Item 1, Wildfire Emergency Preparedness, that item e. is an allencompassing program element that includes the current mapping process. As more detailed maps are produced there will be additional conversations with the Council about next steps on how to utilize them relating to further development, land use code, et cetera. Town Manager Dennis asked to hear from the Councilmembers which items should be considered priorities in the coming year, with the focus being on the priorities rather than the projects underneath, although conversation related to the projects was also welcome. The items were not to be seen as arranged by order of import; rather, a framing mechanism to assist in the conversation. Town Manager Dennis noted that also present for the discussion were Assistant Town Manager, Melvin Gaines; Planning and Building Director, Laura Russell; Public Works Director, Howard Young; and Finance Director, Cindy Rodas.

Vice Mayor Wernikoff invited comments from the Councilmembers.

Councilmember Derwin asked if the Housing Element Update, under Land Use Projects and Programs, was happening this year. Councilmember Aalfs said it will continue through the year. Councilmember Derwin thought it probably wouldn’t really get going until the end of the year, into 2023. Town Manager Dennis said the implementation won’t start until calendar year 2023, but they anticipate adoption of the plan by the end of calendar year 2022,
Councilmember Derwin asked what was meant by Service Delivery Enhancements. Town Manager Dennis explained this is a catchall category and to let him know if the Council wished to split it up in some way. It includes elements of two priorities – service delivery enhancements and a focus on established programming. The two are related, and he noted that last year the Council discussed how to divide these up. They will be working on a number of projects identified by the Council, or by state requirements over the next fiscal year. In order to stay focused on those while maintaining the day-to-day activities – that they normally don’t get a chance to talk about – staff wanted to provide a recommendation on how to enhance that core competency. He said within Service Delivery Enhancements, there are a variety of projects relating to that. For example, ensuring that the public is further connected to things happening at Town Center; ensuring that they have the right mix of staff doing the right mix of work; finding ways, through consultants or otherwise, to focus staff on the tasks they are paid to do. He said there are a lot of administrative functions that all staff get involved in at a certain level, and they think it makes more sense to somehow offload those things so that staff members can stay focused on their own specialized work.

He said they continue to incorporate technology and software where possible, especially systems which help the public to have better connections with the Town and get information quicker. The previous example of EnerGov was an example of this. It is a suite of tools that the public and applicants will be

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able to access to see what’s happening around them with building and planning permits in a way not possible previously. Staff would like to do more of this type of thing.

Regarding facility maintenance, Town Manager Dennis noted that the facility is entering middle age and starting to show that age. He said they want to ensure that they are moving forward with maintenance and enhancements. This includes staffing, dedicated funding sources, et cetera, the core of which would be a comprehensive long-term plan to make changes as necessary. Mayor Derwin asked if this would be the appropriate category in which to include increased demands on staff. The discussion would include potentially either hiring more people or lowering the public’s expectations. Town Manager Dennis said that discussion would fall under this category.

Vice Mayor Wernikoff invited comments from the public.

Kristi Corley felt that item c. under Service Enhancements belonged more appropriately under Land Use, Projects, and Programs, because there was mention of hiring for Planning and Building, and Public Works. She said that it was making her sad that, while the town is built around the preservation environment and open space and green space - the reason many moved to Portola Valley – she did not see that anywhere in the budget discussion.

Rusty Day noticed that there was going to be some fire behavior modeling and mapping, and this is the first he has seen that released by the Town Council. He wondered if they could get a briefing or disclosure on who would be doing this, what the budget is for it, when it would be done, and when the public would be included in it. He asked how they would assess whether the modeling being done is effective and addresses the needs in the community, and whether the Wildfire Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committees would be involved, in addition to the public. He hoped that whatever modeling is done will be informed by, and reflective of, input and concerns of the public, as opposed to a done deal that is dropped on them.

Rita Comes commented that in the information for the study session, that there were comments about nine of the committees, out of 15 or 16 committees in the town. She said she is still concerned about undergrounding and seismic issues and was glad to see all the topics that were put out for a big conversation, but said she also wanted to see her fellow residents in a room, discussing the issues, and pulling these things together. She said although the town’s 4,500 residents appreciate all the work the Council does, they want to be in a room together to hear and discuss what is going on with the Safety Element, the seismic issues in town, the wildfire issues, which are all very important. She remarked that as the Town staff is overworked and having to use consultants to fill the holes, the residents see that and wonder if there is a way, they can help make it easier for the Town. She asked to be included and said residents can help, not just on committees but in other ways.

Mary Hufty agreed that one way to make the staff’s burden lighter would be to turn residents’ energy to good use, as they could be a useful crowd. She said residents have spent a lot of time and energy into understanding the issues the town faces and said it would be wonderful if the Council let them share some of that. For example, with the housing issue they could do a public forum in association with the Town to look at different affordable housing scenarios with experts. This would perhaps make everyone feel more represented and more heard. She wished the message, “Thank you for your interest,” was coming back from the Council. She said they wouldn’t be there if they didn’t believe the system was working and the Council was providing leadership.

Kristi Corley, whose previous comment time had been cut short, finished her thoughts, and was concerned about the overall traffic management plan with the additional building and the overall parking plan. She said she would like to see a 15- to 20-year plan for the town. She said it would be nice to be included in the conversation around the overall strategic plan, such as what Alpine Road or Portola Road would look like, with ideas from the residents, whether building should be on the main roads or if it could be clustered in different places. She said they care about their evacuation and need to work well with the

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County, which owns the end of Alpine Road, the end of the evacuation route. She said what she hears is that they are just worrying about Portola Valley, however the road connects to 280 with a county road, and they want to know what the plan is to clear from Alpine Road at Ladera, all the way to 280. She thought the right side needs to be done in a better way.

Vice Mayor Wernikoff brought the item back to the Council for discussion.

Councilmember Aalfs thought the priorities he was hearing were the appropriate ones. He had been trying to think of any that are missing and did not see anything obvious. He hoped to hear Mayor Hughes’ and Councilmember Richards’ thoughts on it soon, but as a starting point he felt it looked great.

Councilmember Derwin also tried to assess what might be missing and shared some things she had thought of. She said that every year the Conservation Committee comes to say that they need money to take care of the Town-owned open spaces, like Spring Down, et cetera. She is never sure if they fully take care of those spaces and wanted to make sure that this was covered. She asked Town Manager Dennis which category this would fit into. He responded that it could be in a separate category and that she could direct staff to think about what that category is and bring it back at the second meeting of the study session. He said he is currently unaware of specific asks from the Conservation Committee to increase funding for any particular project of theirs, or for those they have responsibility to oversee.

Particularly in the last year, there has been a lot of work put into coordinating a variety of Conservationled efforts at Spring Down and other places that have been more challenging to accomplish. The Committee, through budget action by the Council, has been working with a consulting biologist. There were some items they were looking at potentially doing, but nothing substantial. He asked Mr. Young if he had any comments to add on this question. Mr. Young said when they know that the budget process is coming, that is when they will ask for additional things. In the past they have requested things from the Council, and have requested things from the staff. He said there was a test pilot item for Spring Down, for the weeds. Additionally, the committee will come to Council to ask other things such as removing trees, working on the pond, et cetera. He said they haven’t asked for anything yet. He is working with the committee and with the biologist, and anticipated that when budget time comes, they will have an additional ask beyond the annual requests.

Councilmember Derwin said under Sustainability, she was thinking back to when she first was on the Council in 2006. Steve Tobin and she started the first Sustainability Task Force. Over the years it has dwindled a bit. She said she wanted to beef up their initiatives and do something, such as a town microgrid or a community microgrid such as the one being discussed in La Honda. She said there was an idea years ago about using the culvert to store water, and since drought is looking bad again this summer, she would like to see a big water project. Also, she mentioned Mayor Hughes’ idea of detaching from PG&E.

Town Manager Dennis commented on water and said he and Mr. Young had a conversation about their fields, and he hoped everyone has seen them lately because they look amazing. He hoped to bring some colleagues from other cities to see the great work. Because of the drought, he said they are starting to do some irrigation early. It is a conversation that staff wants to have with the Sustainability Committee and others to decide what’s appropriate as they move into a much more permanently dry climate. Regarding the PG&E idea, he said Council put aside $100,000 for an undergrounding study with which they hope to do something this year. The money was set aside, in part, to reflect a similar study underway in Los Altos Hills, hoping to possibly find a way to do it a little cheaper. He said he will be discussing what to do next with Mayor Hughes and others soon. There is a direct link between microgrids and scalability, and there have been positive conversations with partners. Last week, he said he and Mayor Hughes had lunch with the Priory team and brought up the subject that a microgrid at the Priory could be of real benefit to the community, being close to the Sequoias. There was enthusiasm and interest in that. Whether or not it results in a microgrid project for Town Center, including a solar panel, remains to be seen. He suggested Councilmember Derwin could take that to the Sustainability Committee if there are projects around water that they are interested in that could be added as one of their priorities.

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Councilmember Derwin asked how they could integrate DEI, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, into all of their policy decisions, or if they are doing that. Town Manager Dennis said not as much as they want to, but they would love some input and direction from the Race and Equity Committee. Councilmember Aalfs suggested it should perhaps be a fifth priority. Councilmember Derwin also mentioned more recruiting of youth to the Town’s committees, which she said is naturally happening. She commented that there are two teenagers on the Race and Equity Committee who bring a lot to the group .

Town Manager Dennis asked if the Council would talk about what diversity and inclusion could look like.

From a staff perspective, he understood what they can be doing at the staff level, but said some additional commentary would be helpful, or perhaps they could ask the question directly of the Race and Equity Committee for any of their thoughts. Councilmember Derwin said her thought was about policy decisions, as they make ordinances or recommendations that they always put on the race and equity hat.

She thought it would be a great discussion for the committee. There are many examples of what other cities are doing and many available resources. Town Manager Dennis asked if she was comfortable with the staff also reaching out to the Chair of the Committee. Mayor Derwin thought this was fine.

Councilmember Aalfs noted that climate change is falling disproportionally on disadvantaged communities and communities of color, so he said that would fall under parts of the priorities as well. Councilmember Derwin added that PCE is integrating that into their decisions.

Vice Mayor Wernikoff remarked that there is an interest in having DEI in the priorities in a prominent way.

She suggested having that committee consider the priorities and give their thoughts about the best way to include it. She agreed with Councilmember Derwin that it is about the policy and the operations and assuring that DEI issues are considered across both of those.

Vice Mayor Wernikoff suggested regarding number 3, the Service Delivery Enhancement wording. She felt this was also about operations, so they could consider titling the item Operations and Service Delivery Enhancements. She agreed that staffing needs to be at the forefront of this. Regarding item C, particularly with the Planning and Building Department and Public Works, she felt that another thing that needed to stand out was project management, program management, tracking workflow, getting more focus on timelines et cetera. She said she had been thinking about, not just the operations of the Town, but the operations of the committees. She thought it might be a good time to take a fresh look at their operations and policies across the Board. She thought the Wildfire Emergency Preparedness list was very comprehensive. She said they would talk about this more in their Liaison Committee updates and Town Manager updates, particularly about Item E.

Regrading open space, Vice Mayor Wernikoff said in reading the town’s General Plan, open space is obviously a huge priority and focal point, and a founding pillar of the town. She saw the things they are focusing on under projects and work to sustain open space and environment as the kinds of things support that priority.

Town Manager Dennis reflected what he had heard from the Council, summarizing as follows: Checking with the Conservation Committee on potential additional budget asks. Look at additional sustainability work around water and PG&E/culvert. Look at DEI as a separate potential priority including linking it to sustainability efforts. Nomenclature changes to Priority 3. Continued focus on project management issues. Potentially an item related to operations of committees.

Town Manager Dennis acknowledged Assistant Town Manager Gaines for his help in putting this information together, including some new ways to portray the information. He shared that Council priorities was an area that Assistant Town Manager Gaines had worked on in the City of Mountain View.

While in years past, the Council priorities have been delivered in a very plain fashion, they will be looking at ways to make it a stronger presentation, including having something to literally hand out and pass around. Councilmember Derwin admitted that when she was reading through the packet she was thinking, “This is so much better than it was last year and the year before,” and now finds it’s because Assistant Town Manager Gaines did it. The Councilmembers and Town Manager Dennis were very appreciative of his efforts and contributions.

ATTACHMENT #4
Town of Portola Valley
Council Priorities
FY 2022-2023
The Town of Portola Valley's Council Priorities was created through careful deliberation of the Town Council with input from the Community, Town Committees, and staff. The five strategic priorities help establish the top projects and guide the Town based on a shared vision for the Fiscal Year 2022-23.

I
Wildfire/Emergency Preparedness
The Town's location in a wildfire-prone region, and the broadening impacts of climate change result in the potential of a devastating wildfire in Portola Valley. The Town's continued prioritization of wildfire adaptation and mitigation efforts will continue into FY 2022- 23 and beyond.
• Implementation of new/expanded Wildfire Preparedness
Committee recommendations, including exploration of a
permanent funding source for wildfire adaptation/mitigation measures including public and private vegetation management • Completion and implementation of the State mandated Safety Element
• Implementation of expanded home hardening and defensible space code updates, in conjunction with Woodside Fire
Protection District efforts (including the review and adoption of Fire Code updates at the end of the calendar year)
• Support of the resource grant from Community Partners Assistance for Wildfire (CPAW), including the potential for a Woodside Fire Protection District-wide Community Wildfire Protection Plan
• Additional planning efforts, including detailed wildfire behavior modeling (either at the Town or Fire District level)
• Implementation of and potential follow up work for the evacuation study
• Launching the Veoci virtual emergency operations center tool, and providing infrastructure support for WPV-Ready, as guided by the Emergency Preparedness Committee
• Expanded vegetation management for wildfire mitigation, including targeted trees and the Town's open space properties • Adoption of Fire Code Updates
• Further exploration of undergrounding Town utilities
Sustainability
The Town is a leader in sustainability efforts. Additional efforts are under consideration to continue the Town's leadership role to ensure that sustainability is always central to the Town's ethos and high-level project efforts.
• Climate action plan
• Microgrid for Town Center Campus
• Solar Panel upgrade for Town Center
• Adoption of Green Building Ordinance
• Adoption of Sustainability Committee recommendations
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Following the creation a new committee to address Race and Equity issues, the Town Council continues its commitment to reviewing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEi) concepts into the Town's ongoing proj ects, ordinances, and programs.

I
Land Use Projects and Programs
A significant amount of the Town's resources are utilized to support day-to-day planning, building and engineering efforts. These resources support all manner of development, from small changes to a single-family property to larger multifamily proposals.

Recognition of these efforts, including large land-use proposals, updates to the Town's Housing Element, and other important work, though this priority demonstrates an important focus to quality and t imely service delivery.
• Stanford Wedge and other major projects
• Housing Element Update
• Design Guideline changes to support home hardening
ordinance
• Provide support to Sustainability and Trails Committees to develop ADU checklists
• Preparation work to support zoning code modernization efforts for FY 2023-24
Operational and Service Delivery
Enhancements
The Town Council has committed significant resource over the last few years to expand on the high quality public service expected by applicants. This priority focuses on a variety of improvements across the organization to build on successful communications efforts, increased project management, and focus on appropriate staffing to support these services.
• Recruiting, hiring, and onboarding staff in Planning and Building and Public Works departments
• Supporting Town Council public engagement enhancement efforts
• Adjusting service delivery and implementing COVID responsive operations as necessary
• Contracting with and managing necessary consultants to assist with major projects and reduce staff administrative
responsibilities in order to focus on core service deliveries • Use of virtual assistant tools (in beta test at the time of this staff report's publication) to focus limited staff resources on core responsibilities
• Explore options to better serve and utilize Town committees and their operations
• Implementing technological and software improvements to increase staff productivity and provide enhanced
communications and greater t ransparency. This includes:
• Implementation of the new cloud-based Energov permit tracking software.
• Adoption of project management tools
• Launching Veoci virtual emergency operations center tool • Website review and reorganization
• Determining the appropriate service model and transitioning IT services from City of Redwood City.
• Facility Maintenance - Develop a comprehensive mult i-year facility maintenance program.

Summary of Council/Commission/Committee Workshop
January 26, 2022
Nature and
Science Committee
Host four events: 1) Star Party, 2) Our Watery World, 3) Pollinators and Wildflower Seeds, and 4) Compost Day $1,500 Race and Equity
Committee
Engage the community in conversations about bias, attracting diverse residents, and the Town’s history. Explore housing issues. Make recommendations to the Town Council based on findings.
$1,750
Emergency
Preparedness
Committee
Upgrade emergency communications radios to digital radios.

Participate in Town events such as the Town Picnic. Maintain and expand emergency supplies.
$10,000
Bicycle Pedestrian
and Safety
Committee
Pedestrian safety study. Participate in the Housing Element update process to opine on parking and safe routes to school.

Explore parking impacts of the Town’s recreational uses. -
Conservation
Committee
Work with Town on a 5-year maintenance plan. Work with
Woodside Fire Protection District to remove flammable and invasive trees. Conduct community education efforts.
$5,000
Sustainability
Committee
Revamp the Committee website/page. Explore sustainability impacts of ADUs. Make available a solar powered/battery storage demo unit to loan to community members for
community rental. Conduct community education efforts.
$10,000
Parks and
Recreation
Committee
Plan and execute Zots to Tots Race and the Town Picnic.

Update court usage policies and practices. Examine field use fees. Explore options to establish a Portola Valley dog park. $22,000
Geologic Safety
Committee
Participate in the evacuation study. Contribute to site assessments that include analysis of seismic matters. - Trails Committee
Plan and implement a horse fair. Support the Building and Planning Department to develop a “trails check list” for ADU applications.
$6,000
ATTACHMENT #5

______________________________________________________________________________________ TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: Laura Russell, Planning & Building Director
DATE: March 9, 2022
RE: Planning & Building Department Staffing

RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Town Council receive a report and provide direction on permanent and interim staffing in the Planning and Building Department, provide preliminary approval of additional budget resources, and provide direction on the recruitment of a Development Review Technician.

BACKGROUND
On May 12, 2021, staff presented an overview of the increased workload in the Planning and Building Department and proposed staffing to help meet the resource needs of the Department. The staff report reviewed the staffing pattern prior to the pandemic, background on past positions and consultants, and impacts of the pandemic. Data were presented to demonstrate the increased volume of work managed by the Department. The report then summarized interim measures that staff had taken and proposed future steps to meet resource needs. The proposed staffing plan was financially conservative in its approach; the pandemic impact was difficult to separate from general workload needs. Staff did not want recommend to the Council additional expenditures for resources that would not be needed on an ongoing basis. The Council expressed support for the proposal outlined by staff.

The staffing pattern for FY 2020-2021 varied somewhat but generally included four full time employees and five consultant staff as follows:
• Planning & Building Director
• Assistant Planner
• Two Development Review Technicians
• Four Contract Planners – hours vary up to 40 total hours per week • Contract Building Inspector
After implementation of the direction from Council from May 2021, the staffing pattern changed. The current staffing includes five full time employees and seven consultant staff as follows:

TOWN OF PORTOLA VALLEY

STAFF REPORT

TOWN OF PORTOLA VALLEY

Planning & Building Department Staffing March 9, 2022

• Planning & Building Director
• Senior Planner
• Assistant Planner
• Two Development Review Technicians
• Four Contract Planners – hours vary up to about 60 total hours per week • Contract Building Official
• Contract Building Inspector
• Contract Code Compliance Officer
The May 12, 2021 report went on to suggest an additional Council item in early 2022 to review the status of Planning, Building and Code Compliance activities and resources. The remainder of this report provides an update on workload, budget analysis, and proposals to meet the resource needs. Town staff is also making plans to cover the scheduled leave of the Senior Planner from approximately April-October 2022.

DISCUSSION
Over the last several years, the work of the Planning and Building Department has become more varied and complex. The Planning Division is currently spending significant amounts of time on the Safety Element and Housing Element Updates1. Staff has been managing significant development applications and revisions to existing Conditional Use Permits with high levels of community engagement. There is a corresponding increase in the staff communications with residents and fulfillment of Public Records Act requests. State laws have become increasing complex and time consuming, especially related to Accessory Dwelling Units, SB 9 units, and reporting. In the Building Division, staff has experienced an increase in complex projects, new requests, and applicants requesting very high levels of customer service. Overall, the department has far more requests for service than in past years.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, staff has experienced an increase in the expectations of residents around planning, building, and code compliance services. It is difficult to separate the overall trends from the specific circumstances of the pandemic. Staff observes that applications are requesting greater transparency and communications into the process, along with an increase in overall staff process assistance, as well as general frustration with factors related to the national political environment and COVID-19. These factors have impacted how applicants are interacting with staff. Generally speaking, homeowners and design professionals are requesting more guidance and customer service than before. Staff sees public service as core to our mission, but it has continued to strain existing resources.

The Town is currently updating the Housing Element of the General Plan, which will allow more housing development in Town. Implementation of that plan is also expected to result in additional staffing needs in future years.
1 The Town Council discussed additional resources for the Safety Element on February 23, 2022 and will discuss the Housing Element on March 23, 2022.

Planning & Building Department Staffing March 9, 2022

Impact of Additional Resources
The additional resources supported by Council in May 2021 and adopted with the current fiscal year budget have been helpful in addressing the resource needs. Specifically, the following changes have had a positive impact:
• Recruitment of permanent Senior Planner. The Town held a successful recruitment and the Senior Planner began work in July 2021. She is managing the day to day work of the Housing Element Update. Staff originally assumed that approximately 85% of the Senior Planner’s time would be spent on the Housing Element with the other 15% spent on project review. Due to the extensive work associated with the Housing Element Update, they have spent 100% of their time on that initiative.
• Maintain contract planner services. The contract planners have been critical in providing customer service and project management of development applications.

The backlog from the early stage of the pandemic has been reduced but the demand still outstrips supply most weeks. Customer service is generally split between the Town’s Assistant Planner and two consultant planners. The fiscal year budget for general fund (non-reimbursable) expenses for consultant planners is $30,000. At the mid-year point, these funds are expended and additional funds are being requested. • Addition of code compliance services. The Town retained a highly experienced Code Compliance Officer through CSG, the same firm that provides building inspection services. This step has helped tracking, management and resolution of code complaints. Additionally, these services have allowed the Development Review Technician to spend less time on code issues.
• Addition of Consultant Building Official. The Town retained a highly qualified consultant building official, which has been very helpful to the department. They help with customer service on complex issues, Building Code interpretations and problem solving.

Volume of Incoming Work
The following section highlights some of the quantifiable work areas for the Planning and Building Department and an update on the data since the May 12, 2021 report to Council.

The data below is for approximately the first half of FY 2021-2022.

One of the primary functions of the department is the acceptance, review, and issuance of building permit applications. The table below represents the number of building permit applications received from FY 2018-2019 until the present, with partial numbers for the current fiscal year. The volume of permit applications has remained high since Town Council’s last review.

Planning & Building Department Staffing March 9, 2022

Table 1 - Building Permit Applications Received
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 TOTAL
JulySeptOctDecJanMarAprilJune
FY 18-19 84 72 88 117 361
FY 19-20 94 108 93 62 357
FY 20-21 116 101 99 126 442
FY 21-22 105 83
At the end of the construction period for new residences, there is a significant amount of work completed by all divisions involved with development review to final the permit(s).

There are numerous inspections, confirmation of compliance with conditions of approval, and the collection and review of close-out documents. Based on past volumes of work, a typical average would be 1-2 finals per month. In November and December of 2021, staff finaled 8 new residences.

A strong trend can also be seen in tree removal permits, where the volume has also remained high.

Table 2 – Tree Removal Applications Received
Received
FY 18-19 45
FY 19-20 37
FY 20-21 68
FY 21-22 (July – Dec) 35
Staff has seen a significant increase in code compliance complaints the last two years.

There has been a spike in complaints due to the leaf blower ordinance going into effect, as well as other types of cases. Other jurisdictions have also seen an increase in Code Compliance complaints during the pandemic.

Table 3 – Code Compliance Complaints Received
Received
FY 18-19 52
FY 19-20 49
FY 20-21 109
FY 21-22 (July – Dec) 116
The Department’s Development Review Technician creates a report when owners consider selling their homes. The rate of Residential Data Reports requested remains relatively high.

Planning & Building Department Staffing March 9, 2022

Table 4 – Residential Data Reports Received
Received
FY 18-19 42
FY 19-20 44
FY 20-21 90
FY 21-22 (July – Dec) 27
Due to the limits of the Town’s permit tracking software, it is challenging to extract the different types of planning applications that have been received for specific time periods.

FY 2018-2019 is not available at this time. However, for reference, the number of planning applications received in calendar year 2019, before the pandemic, was 38.

Table 5 – Planning Applications Received
Application Type FY 19-20 FY 20-21 FY 21-22
July - Dec
Pre-Application, paid 8 21 10
Architectural Review* 17 20 11
Site Development* 3 8 1
Exception 2 3 1
Lot Line Adjustment 0 3 1
Appeal 0 1 0
Map Modification 1 0 0
PUD 1 0 2
CUP / CUP Amendment 2 2 0
Zoning Amendment 0 1 0
TOTAL 34 59 27
* Architectural Review and Site Development Permits, if reviewed concurrently, are only assigned an Architectural Review permit number. Therefore, applications in the Architectural Review category could include two permits.

The department is currently processing the following significant projects where staff time far exceeds routine applications: Stanford Faculty Housing, Alpine Hills CUP Amendment, and Alpine Inn architectural review. Complex projects require several times the amount of work as a typical new house project and typically require the direct effort of the project planner, Planning and Building Director, Town Manager, and Town Attorney.

It is important to note that the increase in planning applications leads to a corresponding increase in the need for service from Public Works- Engineering, as engineering review is also critical to the process. We would also expect to see an increase in encroachment permit applications with the general increase in permitting activity, as these are commonly coupled.

Department Budget – Increased Revenue
The Planning and Building Department is experiencing high revenue so far this fiscal year that reflects the high volume of projects and the complexity of those projects. The

Planning & Building Department Staffing March 9, 2022

information presented below should be taken as approximate. There could be revenue that have not been process yet and are therefore not reflected here.

The Building Division revenue so far this fiscal year is much higher than budgeted. At the time of the last budget cycle, it was difficult to make assumptions about revenue due to the uncertainty caused by the pandemic; the Town elected to be conservative in its budgeting.

Building Division Revenue is primarily concentrated in three categories. Note that the expenses to pay the consultants that perform plan check and inspections are also higher than budgeted. The expenses lag behind the revenue as invoices are processed for those services so there is not a precise number available. However, it is reasonable to assume that the increase in consultant costs will be proportional to the increase in revenue, as permit costs are based primarily on valuation of the project.

The revenue for July-December of 2021 (half of the fiscal year) for those three categories is presented below:

Table 6 – Building Division Revenue Examples
July – Dec
Revenue
FY Budget July – Dec
revenue as %
of Budget
Notes
Building Permits $144,345 $175,000 85% This work is performed by staff.

Plan Check $208,256 $185,000 113% This work is performed by staff and consultants, so
there is an associated
increase in expenses.

Inspections $249,520 $240,000 104% This work is performed by staff and consultants, so
there is an associated
increase in expenses.

The Planning Division revenue is also totaling more than would be expected after six months of the fiscal year. This work is completed by the Town’s Assistant Planner and consultant planners. The Town has a “Fee + Deposit” system where applicants pay a fee plus a deposit. The project planner charges their time to process to the application to the deposit. The first four rows of the table represent fees, while the last row represents Town staff time charged to applicant deposits. Below are examples of some of the key line items in the Planning Division revenue budget:

Planning & Building Department Staffing March 9, 2022

Table 7 – Planning Division Revenue Examples
July – Dec
Revenue
FY Budget July – Dec
revenue as %
of Budget
Site Development $24,546 $35,000 70%
Res Data Rpt $5,681 $6,800 84%
Pre Application $9,430 $7,000 135%
Architectural Rev $14,545 $22,000 66%
Town staff time
charged to
deposits
$77,561 $146,304 53%
As the table below shows, the Building Division has taken in almost a year’s worth of revenue in six months and the Planning Division is also ahead of the 50% mark:

Table 8 – Building & Planning – Six Month Total Revenue July – Dec
Revenue
FY Budget July – Dec revenue as %
of Budget
Building $624,137 $634,922 98%
Planning $143,988 $237,264 61%
Interim Approach- Remainder of Fiscal Year
As discussed above, the workload and revenue of the Planning and Building Department remains high, suggesting the need for additional resources. Additionally, the Senior Planner, whom is currently managing the day-to-day work of the Housing Element Update, is expected to be on leave from April – October 2022. To meet the needs of the department for the remainder of the fiscal year, staff proposes the following approach:
• Increase Planning & Building Director time on the Housing Element Update and Safety Element Update, as these are critical priorities for the Town. • Increase time for Urban Planning Partners, the Town’s consultant, for Housing Element and Safety Element to provide additional services that the Senior Planner would have completed. (The Town Council is considering the budget for this work separately.)
• Increase consultant time for current planning to backfill the Director. Staff is communicating with an experienced former Director for a similar community to perform in the role of Acting Principal Planner to cover some of the Director’s responsibilities. They would oversee the ASCC process for residential projects. The cost to the general fund is expected to be $10,000, with the remainder being reimbursable through project deposits.
• Increase Assistant Planner time for Housing Element and Safety Element. The expense for this strategy is seen through the need for additional consultant planner

Planning & Building Department Staffing March 9, 2022

time to provide customer service and process projects when the Assistant Planner is working on Council priorities.
• Increase consultant planner time for customer service. The current fiscal year budget for consultant planners is $30,000. This budget has already been expended and additional funds are requested. The customer service needs remain high with the volume of complex projects. The Planning Division is moving in the direction of more cost recovery but there are still customer service activities that occur before an application is filed. That includes emails, counter meetings (that now occur electronically), phone calls, code research, and direction from the Director. Staff is recommending an additional $50,000 for current planning services. • Increase consultant time for other initiatives. There are a number of smaller special projects that need to be completed that permanent staff will not be able to accomplish with the Housing Element Update running concurrently. Staff recommends $20,000 for this category of work.

Preview of Upcoming Budget Request
The Town currently has a Senior Development Review Technician and a Technician level II. Staff recommends hiring a new Development Review Technician, bringing the Town’s total to three. Staff now feels confident that the volume of work will be ongoing and necessitates additional permanent staffing. The workload and budget information above provides the basis for this request for additional permanent staff resources. Adding this position would improve customer service in both the Building and Planning Divisions.

The new Technician is anticipated to cover the following duties:
• Technical and administrative work currently covered by the planning staff, leaving more of their time for highly skilled work
• General customer service, including counter service for Planning, Building, and potentially Engineering
• Record keeping that staff has had to delay due to the high workload during the pandemic
• Routine building permit management, freeing up the Senior Technician to work on process improvements
If supported by Town Council, staff would include the position in the FY 2022-2023 budget.

Staff would like to recruit for the position early so that the new person could start in July 2022. Staff is therefore requesting early approval for the position so that the recruitment could begin and have an earlier positive impact on service delivery.

Future Staffing Conversations
The Town is currently updating its Housing Element to allow additional housing as required by State law. Staff is monitoring the staffing needs of the department and anticipates the need for additional planning staff to process the expected projects. The proposed approach retains flexibility to adjust as conditions continue to evolve. Staff recommends regular

Planning & Building Department Staffing March 9, 2022

check-ins with the Town Council to continue to discuss the resource needs in the Planning and Building Department to ensure timely delivery of services.

FISCAL IMPACT
The request before the Council has two parts:
1) Additional resources this fiscal year including $10,000 for an Acting Principal Planner, $50,000 for consultant customer service and $20,000 for special projects.

The total request is $80,000. This would be offset by salary savings of approximately $40,000 this fiscal year for the staff member going on leave. Additionally, the revenue analysis discussed earlier in this report suggests that there will be significant departmental revenue beyond the budgeted amount. If supported by Council, the formal budget amendment would be brought back to Council as a future agenda item.
2) Approval to begin the recruitment of a permanent Development Review Technician prior to adoption of the FY 2022-23 budget. Staff estimates the cost of the position to be $70,000 - $80,000 plus benefits. If supported by Council, staff would begin the recruitment and bring the position forward as part of the FY 2022-23 budget.

#8

There are no written materials for Council Liaison Committee and Regional Agencies Reports

#9

There are no written materials for Town Manager

TOWN COUNCIL WEEKLY DIGEST
Thursday – February 24, 2022

1. Agenda (Cancellation) – Architectural & Site Control Commission – Monday, February 28, 2022

2. Agenda – Ad-Hoc Housing Element Committee – Monday, February 28, 2022

3. Agenda – Wildfire Preparedness Committee – Tuesday, March 1, 2022

4. Agenda – Bicycle, Pedestrian & Traffic Safety Committee – Wednesday, March 2, 2022

5. Agenda (Special) – Parks & Recreation Committee – Wednesday, March 2, 2022

6. Agenda (Cancellation) – Planning Commission – Wednesday, March 2, 2022

7. Agenda – Emergency Preparedness Committee – Thursday, March 3, 2022

8. Email from J. Moore re Opposition to rezoning of Village Square for Housing – February 24, 2022
Attached Separates (Council Only)
(placed in your Town Hall mailbox)

1. None

NOTICE OF MEETING CANCELLATION

ARCHITECTURAL AND SITE CONTROL COMMISSION

MEETING REGULARLY SCHEDULED FOR
Monday, February 28, 2022
Notice is hereby given that the Portola Valley Architectural and Site Control Commission meeting regularly scheduled for February 28, 2022 has been cancelled.

The next meeting of the Portola Valley Architectural and Site Control Commission is scheduled for Monday, March 14, 2022 at 4:00 PM.

TOWN OF PORTOLA VALLEY
4:00 PM – Special Meeting of the Architectural and Site Control Commission (ASCC)
Monday, February 28, 2022
Historic Schoolhouse
765 Portola Road, Portola Valley, CA 94028
#1

______________________________________________________________________________

MEETING AGENDA
Remote Meeting Covid-19 Advisory: On September 16, the Governor signed AB 361, amending the Ralph M.

Brown Act (Brown Act) to allow legislative bodies to continue to meet virtually during the present public health emergency. AB 361 is an urgency bill which goes into effect on October 1, 2021. The bill extends the teleconference procedures authorized in Executive Order N-29-20, which expired on September 30, 2021, during the current COVID19 pandemic and allows future teleconference procedures under limited circumstances defined in the bill. Portola Valley Town Council and commission and committee public meetings are being conducted electronically to prevent imminent risks to the health or safety of attendees. The meeting is not available for in-person attendance. Members of the public may attend the meeting by video or phone linked in this agenda.

Below are instructions on how to join and participate in a Zoom meeting.

Join Zoom Meeting Online:

Please select this link to join the meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82064646088?pwd=QlU1UmVtU25wZ2dyTEZnOVRtRjNxUT09 Or: Go to Zoom.com – Click Join a Meeting – Enter the Meeting ID Meeting ID: 820 6464 6088 Passcode: 644998
Or Telephone:

1.669.900.6833

1.888.788.0099 (toll-free) Enter same Meeting ID and Passcode *6 - Toggle mute/unmute.
*9 - Raise hand.

Remote Public Comments: Meeting participants are encouraged to submit public comments in writing in advance of the meeting. Please send an email to [email protected] by 12:00 PM on the day of the meeting. All comments received by that time will be distributed to Committee Members prior to the meeting. All comments received are included in the public record.

We encourage anyone who has the ability to join the meeting online to do so. You will have access to any presentations that will be shown on your screen and can easily provide comments using the “raise your hand” feature when the Chair calls for them.

Approximate timeframes are provided for agenda items as a guide for the Chair, Committee Members, and the public. Actual times may vary.

TOWN OF PORTOLA VALLEY
4:30 PM – Ad Hoc Housing Element Committee Meeting
Monday, February 28, 2022

THIS MEETING IS BEING HELD

VIA TELECONFERENCE ONLY
#2

Agenda – AHHEC
February 22, 2022

Committee Members:

Jeff Aalfs - Town Council Subcommittee Al Sill - ASCC Representative and Vice-Chair Aimee Armsby Jocelyn Swisher - Chair
Sue Crane Nicholas Targ - Planning Commission Representative Sarah Dorahy Bob Turcott
Erik Doyle Janey Ward
William Kelly Sarah Wernikoff - Town Council Subcommittee Anne Kopf-Sill - Planning Commission Representative Helen Wolter Andrew Pierce - Race and Equity Committee Representative Staff Contacts:

Laura Russell - Planning & Building Director
Adrienne Smith - Senior Planner
4:30 PM - CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL

ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Persons wishing to address the Ad Hoc Housing Element Committee on any subject not on the agenda may do so now. Please note however, that the Ad Hoc Housing Element Committee is not able to undertake extended discussion or action tonight on items not on the agenda. Comments will be limited to two minutes per person.

COMMITTEE DISCUSSION

1. Housing Sites Inventory Part III (2 Hours 30 Minutes) a. Review community housing survey results
b. Visual presentation of representative varying multi family projects c. Continue discussion from 2/22 Committee meeting to select sites to be included in the Housing Sites Inventory

STAFF UPDATE

2. Staff to provide updates to Committee (20 Minutes)
a. Review forthcoming Committee meeting topics and schedule

ADJOURNMENT

COMMUNICATIONS DIGEST
Public comments received since the last meeting will be distributed to the Committee at the end of each agenda packet.

AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION
For more information on the items to be considered by the Committee, please email [email protected].

Any writing or documents provided to a majority of the Town Council or Commissions regarding any item on this agenda will be made available for public inspection at Town Hall located 765 Portola Road, Portola Valley, CA during normal business hours. Copies of all agenda reports and supporting data are available for viewing and inspection at Town Hall.

ASSISTANCE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in this meeting, please contact the Planning Department at (650) 851-1700. Notification 48 hours prior to the meeting will enable the Town to make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility to this meeting.

PUBLIC HEARINGS
Public Hearings provide the general public and interested parties an opportunity to provide testimony on these items. If you challenge any proposed action(s) in court, you may be limited to raising only issues you or someone else raised at the Public Hearing(s) described in this agenda, or in written correspondence delivered to the Committee at, or prior to, the Public Hearing(s).

TOWN OF PORTOLA VALLEY
Wildfire Preparedness Committee
Tuesday, March 1, 2022, 4:00 PM
Virtual Meeting
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

SPECIAL VIDEOCONFERENCE MEETING AGENDA
Remote Meeting Covid-19 Advisory: On September 16, the Governor signed AB 361, amending the Ralph M.

Brown Act (Brown Act) to allow legislative bodies to continue to meet virtually during the present public health emergency. AB 361 is an urgency bill which goes into effect on October 1, 2021. The bill extends the teleconference procedures authorized in Executive Order N-29-20, which expired on September 30, 2021, during the current COVID-19 pandemic and allows future teleconference procedures under limited circumstances defined in the bill. Portola Valley Town Council and commission and committee public meetings are being conducted electronically to prevent imminent risks to the health or safety of attendees. The meeting is not available for in-person attendance. Members of the public may attend the meeting by video or phone linked in this agenda.

Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88483883040?pwd=MHlOYmQwMDJkVFo5cVpTWG53ZVNGdz09 To access the meeting by phone, dial:
1-699-900-6833
1-877-853-5247 (toll-free)
Mute/Unmute - press *6 / Raise Hand - press *9
Meeting ID: 884 8388 3040
Password: 682048

MEETING AGENDA

1. Call to Order

2. Open Communications for Items not on Agenda

3. Approval of Minutes of the February 1, 2022, Meeting

4. Review and Approve Amended Committee’s Governing Documents / Consider Recommendation to Amend Scope
a. Review and Approve Amended Committee Charter (attached) b. Review and Approve Recommendation to Amend Scope of Committee Responsibilities and Restructure Subcommittees (attached)

5. Discuss Goals and Priorities for 2022
a. Vegetation Management (J. Youstra)
b. Finance / Insurance (J. Hammer)
c. Evacuation (D. Pfau)
d. Home Hardening (MJ Lee)

6. Update on Evacuation Study (Bob Grandy, Fehr and Peers)

7. Safety Element Update (J. Dennis)

8. Standing Items – As Needed
* Fire Marshal Update
* Staff Updates
* Review of Committee Correspondence/Items of Note

9. Adjourn
#3

SPECIAL VIDEOCONFERENCE MEETING AGENDA
Remote Meeting Covid-19 Advisory: On September 16, the Governor signed AB 361, amending the Ralph M. Brown Act (Brown Act) to allow legislative bodies to continue to meet virtually during the present public health emergency. AB 361 is an urgency bill which goes into effect on October 1, 2021. The bill extends the teleconference procedures authorized in Executive Order N-29-20, which expired on September 30, 2021, during the current COVID-19 pandemic and allows future teleconference procedures under limited circumstances defined in the bill. Portola Valley Town Council and commission and committee public meetings are being conducted electronically to prevent imminent risks to the health or safety of attendees. The meeting is not available for in-person attendance. Members of the public may attend the meeting by video or phone linked in this agenda.

To access the meeting by computer, click on the link below:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89929047905?pwd=anRaVU5KUHNDZ0xPM3NiYjBhVFJzZz09 To access the meeting by phone, dial:
1-699-900-6833
1-877-853-5247 (toll-free)
Mute/Unmute – Press *6 / Raise Hand – Press *9
Meeting ID: 899 2904 7905
Password: 967413

1. Roll Call.

2. Review/Approval of the Minutes of the February 2
nd
, 2022 Meeting

3. Resident and Committee Open Comments

4. Sheriff's report:
a. Accidents and Citations
i. Request for statistical details of tickets issued.
b. Request for Monitoring:
i. Speeding
ii. Stop sign violations.

5. Public Works Update:
a. General update

6. Ongoing Committee Business
a. Review and discussion of Visitor Parking Study submitted by Krupka Consulting (See attached material)
b. Proposal and Vote to recommend adoption of measures outlined in the Visitor Parking Study
c. Chair update on Committee Chairs quarterly meeting
d. Portola Valley Housing Element (HE) update Discussion of Committee Priorities and concerns
e. Request for updates on the “Stanford Wedge” EIR

7. Events:
a. 2022 Event ideas

8. Matters Arising

9. Next meeting scheduled April 6th, 2022. Default time 8:15 AM, Via Zoom Adjournment

TOWN OF PORTOLA VALLEY
Bicycle, Pedestrian and Traffic Safety
Committee Meeting
Wednesday, March 2, 2022 – 8:15 AM
Zoom Teleconference
#4

Town of Portola Valley
Special Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting
Wednesday, March 2, 2022, 5:30 PM
Zoom Videoconference
Special Meeting Agenda
Remote Meeting Covid-19 Advisory: On September 16, the Governor signed AB 361, amending the Ralph M. Brown Act (Brown Act) to allow legislative bodies to continue to meet virtually during the present public health emergency. AB 361 is an urgency bill which goes into effect on October 1, 2021. The bill extends the teleconference procedures authorized in Executive Order N-29-20, which expired on September 30, 2021, during the current COVID-19 pandemic and allows future teleconference procedures under limited circumstances defined in the bill. Portola Valley Town Council and commission and committee public meetings are being conducted electronically to prevent imminent risks to the health or safety of attendees.

The meeting is not available for in-person attendance. Members of the public may attend the meeting by video or phone linked in this agenda.

Join Zoom Video Meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82463832899?pwd=czRSYkh6ZCs1U1l0OU9PNDJoZmQ2dz09 Phone into Zoom Meeting:
1-669-900-6833 or 1-877-853-5247 (toll-free)
Mute/Unmute – press *6 / Raise Hand – press *9
Meeting ID: 824 6383 2899
Password: 450913

1. Call to Order

2. Oral Communications: Persons wishing to address the Committee on any subject, not on the agenda, may do so now. Please note however, the Committee is not able to undertake extended discussion or action tonight on items not on the agenda. Two minutes per person.

3. Approval of Minutes: January 18, 2022

4. Monthly meeting date/time

5. Court usage policy:
a) Paddle Tennis proposal – Carrie F. (10 min)
b) Update on dedicated PB court proposal – Cindy R/Mia D (10 min) c) Proposal to reassign All Sports Court to dedicated tennis court - All d) Other options?

6. Field Usage Fees – Dave B

7. Update Parks and Recreation Charter Statement - All

8. CA State Grant Status – Patty D

9. Projects for PV Donates. Parks & Rec can nominate up to 3 projects, each project cannot exceed $10K in total funding

10. Zots to Tots/Town Picnic – Finalize date – September 17, 2022

11. Adjournment
#5

NOTICE OF MEETING CANCELLATION

PORTOLA VALLEY PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING

REGULARLY SCHEDULED FOR
Wednesday, March 2, 2022
Notice is hereby given that the Portola Valley Planning Commission meeting regularly scheduled for Wednesday, March 2, 2022 has been cancelled.

The next meeting of the Portola Valley Planning Commission is scheduled for Wednesday, March 16, 2022 at 7:00 PM.

TOWN OF PORTOLA VALLEY
7:00 PM – Special Meeting of the Planning Commission
Wednesday, March 2, 2022
Historic Schoolhouse
765 Portola Road, Portola Valley, CA 94028
#6

MEETING AGENDA
Remote Meeting Covid-19 Advisory: On September 16, the Governor signed AB 361, amending the Ralph M. Brown Act (Brown Act) to allow legislative bodies to continue to meet virtually during the present public health emergency. AB 361 is an urgency bill which goes into effect on October 1, 2021. The bill extends the teleconference procedures authorized in Executive Order N-29-20, which expired on September 30, 2021, during the current COVID-19 pandemic and allows future teleconference procedures under limited circumstances defined in the bill. Portola Valley Town Council and commission and committee public meetings are being conducted electronically to prevent imminent risks to the health or safety of attendees. The meeting is not available for in-person attendance. Members of the public may attend the meeting by video or phone linked in this agenda.

To access the meeting by computer, click on the link below:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89033236767?pwd=aGFiNmQ2VnNadm5tN1RJVVVjT1lUdz09 To access the meeting by phone, dial:
1-699-900-6833
1-877-853-5247 (toll-free)
Mute/Unmute – press *6
Raise Hand – press *9
Webinar ID: 890 3323 6767
Password: 467421

1. 8:00 Call to order
o Members: Dave Howes, Dale Pfau/Chair, Chris Raanes, Ray Rothrock, Jerry Shefren, Craig Taylor, Bud Trapp, Vic Schachter, Marianne Plunder o Guests: John Richards/Town Council, Rob Lindner and Selena Brown WFPD

2. 8:01 Roll Call

3. 8:03 Oral Communications
o Note that issues brought up under oral communications that are not on the agenda will be limited to 2 minutes

4. 8:05 Review and approval of minutes;
o Motion; Approve minutes of February 3, 2022
o Appointment of Secretary

5. 8:06 WPV-CERT/WFPD Report (Brown/Lindner)

6. 8:15 Subcommittee Reports
o Communications (Rothrock)
o Wildfire Committee Report (Pfau)
o CERT/Town/Woodside Integration Committee (Raanes)
o WPV-Ready Liaison (TBD)

7. 8:30 Town Report (Dennis)
o Update on AM Radio Signs
o Update on Backup for Town Internet
o Update on Cal Water site – AM Radio relocation
o Update on Safety Element and expectations for EPC input

TOWN OF PORTOLA VALLEY
Regular Meeting of the
Emergency Preparedness Committee
Thursday, March 3, 2022 - 8:00 AM
Via Zoom
765 Portola Road, Portola Valley, CA 94028
#7

8. 8:40 Discussion – Neighborhood Outreach Subcommittee (Schachter) o Charter
o Roadmap

9. 8:50 VEOCI – CERT Integration call Update (Raanes)

10. 8:55 Update – Town medical supplies and CERT medical supplies (Shefren/Brown))

11. 9:00 Next meeting is April 7, 2022
a. Quorum check
b. Agenda items for next meeting

12. 9:00 Adjourn

#8
Portola Valley Chiropractic
"serving the community since 1987"
Ellen M. Hoffman, DC, DICCP
John K. Moore, DC, CCN, CCSP
Doctors of Chiropractic
884 Portola Road A5
Portola Valley, CA 94028 TOWN OF PORTOLA VAll.EY
850.851.4860
650.851.4974 fax
oet i"'ebruary 24, 2022 781
To PV Town Council and Planning Department
As a long time Portola Valley resident and practicing Chiropractor in the Village Square for 35 years, (Established 1987), We strongly oppose the rezoning of the Parkside Grille area for building housing. We have 4 full time people, who live in Portola Valley and 4 part time people that work in our office and having to relocate would be a huge upheaval to our business.

Actually there would be no place for us to relocate. Eighty percent of the people who utilize our services are local in the Portola Valley area. Our 1500 sq feet of space provides so much to the workers and the patients. Local commercial spaces are very few in our town and the carbon impact is far less by being so close to our clients thus avoiding long travel for the employees, owners and patients that utilize Portola Valley Chiropractic. We have helped thousands of local residents in our office and provide the only Chiropractic, Acupuncture and Massage Therapy clinic in either Portola Valley or Woodside. This is a valuable asset to our town and community that would not be provided in the event we had to close and look for another location. Besides myself and my wife, Dr Ellen Hoffman, our son is also practicing here and is looking forward to serving our community for another 35 years! We will be attending the meeting February 28th to voice our strong opposition to this proposed plan.

Sincerely
772~~
~~~~oore DC, CCN /

TOWN COUNCIL WEEKLY DIGEST
Thursday – March 3, 2022

1. Agenda – Race & Equity Committee – Tuesday, March 8, 2022

2. Agenda – Cultural Arts Committee – Thursday, March 10, 2022

3. Agenda – Nature & Science Committee – Thursday, March 10, 2022

4. Portola Valley Bill Report – Tuesday, February 22, 2022

5. Letter from the Town to Chair Kamlager of the Senate Budget Subcommittee and Chair Carrillo of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee re request for an amendment to Proposed Trailer Bill
“Insufficient Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund Backfills” – Friday, February 25, 2022

6. Communication from L. Austin re sites for RHNA Housing in Town – Sunday, February 27, 2022

7. Communication from E. Vernazza re High Density Housing in Residential Neighborhoods – Wednesday, March 2, 2022

8. Western City Magazine – March 2022

9. Newsletter - Midpeninsula Regional Open Space – Spring 2022 Attached Separates (Council Only)
(placed in your Town Hall mailbox)

1. Invitation from Catholic Charities – Celebrating Loaves & Fishes 25th Annual Awards Celebration – Friday, September 30, 2022

2. Letter from Warm Water Wellness with a Request Support for the Reopening of Mack E.

Mickelson Warm Water Therapy Pool

__________________________________________________________________________________________

VIDEOCONFERENCE MEETING AGENDA
Remote Meeting Covid-19 Advisory: On March 17, 2020, the Governor of California issued Executive Order N29-20, suspending certain provisions of the Ralph M. Brown Act in order to allow for local legislative bodies to conduct their meetings telephonically or by other electronic means. Pursuant to the statewide Shelter-In-Place Order issued by the Governor in Executive Order N-33-20 on March 19, 2020, and the CDC's social distancing guidelines which discourage large public gatherings, Portola Valley Town Council meetings are being conducted electronically. The meeting is not available for in-person attendance.

Members of the public may attend the meeting by video or phone linked in this agenda.

Join Zoom Video Meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89469954378?pwd=ZUN4dHJURTVJd2FwL1MzOWZUaHRoQT09 Phone into Zoom Meeting:
1-669-900-6833
1-877-853-5247 (toll-free)
Mute/Unmute – Press *6 / Raise Hand – Press *9
Meeting ID: 894 6995 4378
Password: 125474

1. Call to Order

2. Roll Call

3. Oral Communications for items not on the agenda

4. Approve Meeting Minutes for February 8, 2022

5. Old Business:
1) Subcommittee updates (Housing Element, Housing Subcommittee, Town Seal, Town Policies, etc.)
2) Year-long calendar update

6. New Business:
1) Hip Hop for Change:
a. San Francisco Chronicle “America still can’t agree whose history is worth teaching”
b. Hip Hop for Change

7. Adjournment
Town of Portola Valley
Race & Equity Committee
Tuesday, March 8, 2022 – 7:00 PM
Special Videoconference Meeting via Zoom
Time - Date94028
Time - Date
#1

TOWN OF PORTOLA VALLEY
Cultural Arts Committee Special Meeting
Thursday, March 10, 2022, 1:00 PM
Videoconference Meeting

CULTURAL ARTS COMMITTEE SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA
Remote Meeting Covid-19 Advisory: On September 16, the Governor signed AB 361, amending the Ralph M. Brown Act (Brown Act) to allow legislative bodies to continue to meet virtually during the present public health emergency.

AB 361 is an urgency bill which goes into effect on October 1, 2021. The bill extends the teleconference procedures authorized in Executive Order N-29-20, which expired on September 30, 2021, during the current COVID-19 pandemic and allows future teleconference procedures under limited circumstances defined in the bill. Portola Valley Town Council and commission and committee public meetings are being conducted electronically to prevent imminent risks to the health or safety of attendees. The meeting is not available for in-person attendance. Members of the public may attend the meeting by video or phone linked in this agenda.

Members of the public may attend the meeting by video or phone linked in this agenda.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86935757984?pwd=Z1JlNU14NHZsbUxaZ0dSN0d4b2ZWZz09 Phone into Zoom:
1-669-900-6833
1-877-853-5247 (toll free)
Mute/Unmute – Press *6 / Raise Hand – Press *9
Meeting ID: 869 3575 7984
Password: 431222

1. Call to Order & Roll Call

2. Oral Communications (anything not currently on the agenda)

3. Approval of prior meeting minutes:
• Thursday February 10, 2022, via Zoom

4. New March 2022 Business:
• New CAC member approved: Phil Barth
• Leslie Field’s proposed pre-recorded audio for her fundraising online event • Kids Movie Night - Heidi
• PV Donates for 2022 fundraising
• PV Palooza Planning & Fundraising
• Summer Concert Series 2022 Planning
• Local artists collection and photography / archives – Sue Chaput o Update from Subcommittee (Sue, Ryan, Mimi, Jerrie)
Other Business: None
Announcements: None
Date & Time of Next Meeting: April 14, 2022 (normally scheduled date) Adjournment: 2:00 PM
#2

__________________________________________________________________________________________

VIDEOCONFERENCE MEETING AGENDA
Remote Meeting Covid-19 Advisory: On September 16, the Governor signed AB 361, amending the Ralph M.

Brown Act (Brown Act) to allow legislative bodies to continue to meet virtually during the present public health emergency. AB 361 is an urgency bill which goes into effect on October 1, 2021. The bill extends the teleconference procedures authorized in Executive Order N-29-20, which expired on September 30, 2021, during the current COVID-19 pandemic and allows future teleconference procedures under limited circumstances defined in the bill.

Portola Valley Town Council and commission and committee public meetings are being conducted electronically to prevent imminent risks to the health or safety of attendees. The meeting is not available for in-person attendance.

Members of the public may attend the meeting by video or phone linked in this agenda.

Join Zoom Video Meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85823276712?pwd=YmM3MTZteWJNNlNFS0xNNzVpWWV4dz09 Phone into Zoom Meeting:
1-669-900-6833
1-877-853-5247 (toll-free)
Mute/Unmute – Press *6 / Raise Hand – Press *9
Meeting ID: 858 2327 6712
Password: 726657

1. Call to Order

2. Oral Communications (Anyone wanting to address the Committee or anyone wanting to speak on an item not on the agenda)

3. Minutes of February 10, 2022, meeting

4. Reports and Planning: September 30 for Star Party and May 6 for meteor showers

5. Other Events, and suggestions for future programs

6. Action Items:
a) Program proposals including setting dates

7. Discuss Composting ideas

8. Adjournment:

Next meeting – April 14, 2022, at 5:00 pm
Town of Portola Valley
Nature and Science Committee Special Meeting
Thursday, March 10, 2022 – 5:00 PM
Special Videoconference Meeting via Zoom
Time - Date94028
Time - Date
#3

Portola Valley
Tuesday, February 22, 2022
Code Enforcement
AB 2597 (Bloom D)   Dwelling unit standards.

Introduced: 2/18/2022
Status: 2/18/2022-Introduced. To print.

Summary: Current law requires that any building with a dwelling unit maintain certain characteristics in order to be tenantable, including the maintenance of adequate heating that conforms to the standard of quality set by applicable law. This bill would require that any building with a dwelling unit also maintain adequate cooling, as specified.

SB 1194 (Allen D)   Public restrooms: building standards.

Introduced: 2/17/2022
Status: 2/18/2022-From printer.

Summary: This bill would authorize a city, county, or city and county to require, by ordinance or resolution, that public restrooms constructed within its jurisdiction comply with specified requirements instead of complying with the plumbing standards set forth in the California Building Standards Code.

This bill would set bathroom requirements, including, among others, that the occupancy load for each sex be determined by dividing the total occupancy 1/2 , that single-user toilets and bathing rooms, including family or assisted-use toilet rooms and bathing rooms, be identified for use by either sex, that separate facilities be provided for each sex where plumbing fixtures are required, and that separate facilities not be required in specified circumstances.

COVID-19
AB 2693 (Reyes D)   COVID-19: exposure.

Introduced: 2/18/2022
Status: 2/18/2022-Introduced. To print.

Summary: The California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973 authorizes the Division of Occupational Safety and Health to prohibit the performance of an operation or process, or entry into that place of employment when, in its opinion, a place of employment, operation, or process, or any part thereof, exposes workers to the risk of infection with COVID-19, so as to constitute an imminent hazard to employees. Current law requires a notice of the prohibition to be posted in a conspicuous location at the place of employment and makes violating the prohibition or removing the notice, except as specified, a crime. Current law requires that the prohibition be issued in a manner so as not to materially interrupt the performance of critical governmental functions essential to ensuring public health and safety functions or the delivery of electrical power, renewable natural gas, or water. Current law requires that these provisions not prevent the entry or use, with the division’s knowledge and permission, for the sole purpose of eliminating the dangerous conditions. This bill would extend those provisions until January 1, 2025.

SB 871 (Pan D)   Public health: immunizations.

Introduced: 1/24/2022
Status: 2/7/2022-Art. IV. Sec. 8(a) of the Constitution dispensed with. (Ayes 31. Noes 6.) Joint Rule 55 suspended. (Ayes 31. Noes 6.)
Summary: Current law prohibits the governing authority of a school or other institution from unconditionally admitting any person as a pupil of any public or private elementary or secondary school, childcare center, day nursery, nursery school, family day care home, or development center, unless prior to their admission to that institution they have been fully immunized against various diseases, including measles, mumps, pertussis, hepatitis B, and any other disease deemed appropriate by the State Department of Public Health, as specified. Current law authorizes an exemption from those provisions for medical reasons. Under existing law, notwithstanding the abovedescribed prohibition, full immunization against hepatitis B is not a condition by which the governing authority admits or advances a pupil to the 7th grade level of a public or private elementary or secondary school. This bill would remove the above-described exception relating to hepatitis B. The bill would additionally prohibit the governing authority of a school or other institution from unconditionally admitting any person as a pupil of any public or private elementary or secondary school, childcare center, day nursery, nursery school, family day care home, or development center, unless prior to their admission to that institution they have been fully immunized against COVID-19.

Economic Development

#4

AB 1864 (Gipson D)   Small business.

Introduced: 2/8/2022
Status: 2/9/2022-From printer. May be heard in committee March 11.

Summary: Current law creates within the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development the Office of Small Business Advocate, which is lead by the Small Business Advocate, who serves as the principal advocate in the state on behalf of small businesses. This bill would state the Legislature’s intent to enact legislation that would further support small businesses and local governments by incentivizing local hire, which would also retain critical revenue to assist our communities through the pandemic and onward. The bill would state related findings and declarations of the Legislature.

Elections
AB 2582 (Bennett D)   Recall elections: local offices.

Introduced: 2/18/2022
Status: 2/18/2022-Introduced. To print.

Summary: Current law requires a recall election to include the question of whether the officer sought to be recalled shall be removed from office and an election for the officer’s successor in the event the officer is removed from office. This bill would instead require a recall election for a local officer to include only the question of whether the officer sought to be recalled shall be removed from office. If a local officer is successfully removed from office in a recall election, the bill would provide that the office becomes vacant and would require it to be filled according to law.

SCA 6 (Newman D)   Elections: recall of state officers.

Introduced: 1/3/2022
Status: 1/4/2022-From printer. May be acted upon on or after February 3.

Summary: The Constitution provides that the Lieutenant Governor becomes Governor when a vacancy occurs in the office of Governor, and requires the Lieutenant Governor to act as Governor during the impeachment, absence from the state, or other temporary disability of the Governor or of a Governorelect who fails to take office. When a recall of the Governor is initiated, the Constitution requires the Lieutenant Governor to perform the recall duties of the Governor. The Constitution requires the Governor to fill vacancies in certain judicial and executive offices by appointment, as specified. This measure would provide, in the event an officer is removed in a recall election, for the office to remain vacant until a successor candidate to hold the unexpired term of the office receives a majority of votes at a special election, or for the office to remain vacant for the remainder of the term if there is insufficient time to hold a special election, as specified.

Emergency Services
AB 1721 (Rodriguez D)   California Emergency Services Act: Emergency Medical Services Mutual Aid Program.

Introduced: 1/27/2022
Status: 2/3/2022-Referred to Com. on E.M.

Summary: Would establish the Emergency Medical Services Mutual Aid Program, to be administered by the Office of Emergency Services, to support local government efforts in responding to surges in demand for emergency medical services and provide effective mutual aid during disasters, as defined.

The bill would, upon appropriation by the Legislature, require OES to provide noncompetitive grant funding to local governments, special districts, and tribes for the purpose of acquiring emergency medical services, as specified. The bill would also require OES to provide an annual report to the Legislature regarding the program, as specified.

AB 2238 (Rivas, Luz D)   Extreme heat: statewide extreme heat ranking system.

Introduced: 2/16/2022
Status: 2/17/2022-From printer. May be heard in committee March 19.

Summary: Existing law establishes the California Environmental Protection Agency under the supervision of the Secretary for Environmental Protection, and vests the agency with authority over various environmental matters. Existing law requires the agency to address heat and heat reduction by, among other things, identifying the extent and severity of the urban heat island effect for cities to set quantifiable goals for heat reduction.This bill would require the agency, by January 1, 2024, to develop a statewide extreme heat ranking system in coordination with ICARP and the Department of Insurance, as provided. The bill would also require the department, by January 1, 2024, to submit a study of the insured and uninsured costs related to past extreme heat events to the appropriate legislative policy and budget committees, the agency, and ICARP. The bill would require ICARP to

develop a public communication plan for the statewide extreme heat ranking system, recommend partnerships with, and develop statewide guidance for, local and tribal governments in the preparation and planning for extreme heat events, and recommend heat adaptation measures, as specified. The bill would also make findings and declarations related to extreme heat. This bill contains other existing laws.

AB 2477 (Rodriguez D)   Local Emergency Preparedness, Hazard Mitigation, and Mutual Aid Fund.

Introduced: 2/17/2022
Status: 2/18/2022-From printer. May be heard in committee March 20.

Summary: Would establish a Local Emergency Preparedness, Hazard Mitigation, and Mutual Aid Fund to, upon appropriation by the Legislature, support staffing, planning, emergency mitigation priorities, and enhancing mutual aid to help local governments meet emergency management, preparedness, readiness, and resilience goals. The bill would require the Controller, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to transfer $500,000,000 annually to the fund. The bill would require the Office of Emergency Services to establish the Local Emergency Preparedness, Hazard Mitigation, and Mutual Aid Fund Committee under the Standardized Emergency Management System Advisory Board. The bill, on or before July 1, 2023, would require the committee to adopt guidelines identifying eligible uses of the funds distributed pursuant to these provisions for the mitigation, prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery phases of emergency management that supports the development of a resilient community and enhances mutual aid.

Finance/Tax
AB 1610 (Lackey R)   State mandates: claims.

Introduced: 1/5/2022
Status: 1/14/2022-Referred to Com. on L. GOV.

Summary: The California Constitution, whenever the Legislature or a state agency mandates a new program or higher level of service on any local government, including school districts, requires the state to provide a subvention of funds to reimburse the local government, unless an exception applies.

Statutory provisions that establish procedures for making that reimbursement include a requirement that no claim shall be made or paid unless it exceeds $1,000. This bill would change the minimum claim amount to $800.

Health & Human Services
ACA 11 (Kalra D)   Taxes to fund health care coverage and cost control.

Introduced: 1/5/2022
Status: 1/6/2022-From printer. May be heard in committee February 5.

Summary: Would impose an excise tax, payroll taxes, and a State Personal Income CalCare Tax at specified rates to fund comprehensive universal single-payer health care coverage and a health care cost control system for the benefit of every resident of the state, as well as reserves deemed necessary to ensure payment, to be established in statute. The measure would authorize the Legislature, upon an economic analysis determining insufficient amounts to fund these purposes, to increase any or all of these tax rates by a statute passed by majority vote of both houses of the Legislature.

Homelessness
AB 2211 (Ting D)   Shelter crisis: homeless shelters.

Introduced: 2/15/2022
Status: 2/15/2022-From printer. May be heard in committee March 18.

Summary: Existing law authorizes a governing body of a political subdivision, as those terms are defined, to declare a shelter crisis if the governing body makes a specified finding.This bill would remove the repeal date from these provisions. This bill would provide that a city, county, or city and county is in a shelter crisis if the number of unsheltered homeless persons that comprises the total homeless population within the jurisdiction of the city, county, or city and county is greater, as a percentage, than the combined average of the 49 states in the United States not including California, as determined by the Department of Housing and Community Development, as specified. This bill would apply the provisions applicable to a city, county, or city and county that has declared a shelter crisis to those jurisdictions in the above circumstance. This bill would require the department to publish a list of jurisdictions that are in a shelter crisis pursuant to this provision on its internet website. This bill would expand the definition of homeless shelter to include any facility that is leased by the city,

county, or city and county for the purpose of providing temporary shelter for the homeless and any facility that is not owned or leased by the city, county, or city and county but that is voluntarily provided to the city, county, or city and county for the purpose of providing temporary shelter for the homeless. By requiring a city, county, or city and county to provide a new level of service, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 2325 (Rivas, Luz D)   Coordinated homelessness response.

Introduced: 2/16/2022
Status: 2/17/2022-From printer. May be heard in committee March 19.

Summary: Existing law requires the Governor to establish the California Interagency on Homelessness, formerly known as the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council, and to appoint specified members of that coordinating council. Existing law requires agencies and departments administering state programs created on or after July 1, 2017, to collaborate with the council to adopt guidelines and regulations to incorporate core components of Housing First, as defined. Existing law establishes the goals of the council, which include identifying mainstream resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California.This bill would require the council, on or before September 30, 2023, to convene a funder’s workgroup to accomplish specified goals related to ending homelessness. The bill would require the workgroup to include council staff, staff working for agencies or departments represented on the council, and representatives from specified committees. The bill would require the Deputy Secretary on Homelessness to oversee the work of the funder’s workgroup and to report on at least a quarterly basis to the council on progress made on specified goals. The bill would also require the council, as part of its goals, to develop and implement a statewide strategic plan on homelessness that establishes measurable objectives and strategies to enhance state-level accountability, coordination, and best practices. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 2339 (Bloom D)   Housing element: emergency shelters: regional housing need.

Introduced: 2/16/2022
Status: 2/17/2022-From printer. May be heard in committee March 19.

Summary: (1)The Planning and Zoning Law requires the legislative body of each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city that includes a housing element. Existing law requires that the housing element identify adequate sites for housing, including rental housing, factory-built housing, mobilehomes, and emergency shelters, and make adequate provision for the existing and projected needs of all economic segments of a community. Existing law also requires that the housing element include an analysis of potential and actual governmental constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels.This bill would revise the requirements of the housing element, as described above, in connection with zoning designations that allow residential use, including mixed use, where emergency shelters are allowed as a permitted use without a conditional use or other discretionary permit. The bill would prohibit a city or county from establishing overlay districts to comply with these provisions. The bill would delete language regarding emergency shelter standards structured in relation to residential and commercial developments and instead require that emergency shelters only be subject to specified written, objective standards. The bill would specify that emergency shelters for purposes of these provisions include other interim intervention, including, but not limited to, navigation centers, bridge housing, and respite or recuperative care. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 2483 (Maienschein D)   Housing for individuals experiencing homelessness.

Introduced: 2/17/2022
Status: 2/18/2022-From printer. May be heard in committee March 20.

Summary: Would require the Department of Housing and Community Development, by December 31, 2023, to award reasonable priority points to Multifamily Housing Program project applicants that agree to set aside at least 25 units for individuals that are either experiencing homelessness or eligible to receive specified services, including, among others, those received under the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly. The bill would also require the department to partner with the State Department of Health Care Services to determine the most effective way to align qualifying services in housing projects funded by the Multifamily Housing Program. The bill would require the department to assess tenant outcomes and engage with an evaluator to identify specified information with respect to projects receiving priority points under these provisions, including the number and demographics, including age, race, or ethnicity, and presubsidy housing status, of people being served.

AB 2485 (Choi R)   California Environmental Quality Act: exemption: emergency shelters and supportive housing.

Introduced: 2/17/2022
Status: 2/18/2022-From printer. May be heard in committee March 20.

Summary: CEQA includes exemptions from its environmental review requirements for numerous categories of projects. This bill would exempt from the requirements of CEQA emergency shelters and supportive housing, as defined.

AB 2547 (Nazarian D)   Housing Stabilization to Prevent and End Homelessness Among Older Adults and People with Disabilities Act.

Introduced: 2/17/2022
Status: 2/18/2022-From printer. May be heard in committee March 20.

Summary: This bill, upon appropriation by the Legislature, would require the California Department of Aging, by December 31, 2023, to create and administer the Housing Stabilization to Prevent and End Homelessness Among Older Adults and People with Disabilities Program. The bill would require the department, in administering the program, to offer competitive grants to nonprofit community-based organizations, continuums of care, and public housing authorities to administer a housing subsidy program for older adults and persons with a disability that are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, as those terms are as defined. The bill would require the department, in establishing program guidelines, to prioritize communities where renters face high rates of poverty, displacement, gentrification, and homelessness. This bill contains other related provisions.

AB 2569 (Nguyen R)   Department of Homelessness Prevention, Outreach, and Support.

Introduced: 2/18/2022
Status: 2/18/2022-Introduced. To print.

Summary: Would require the California Health and Human Services Agency to convene a working group that includes representatives from all departments and agencies that currently receive funding relating to services for homeless individuals. The bill would require the working group to determine the best approach to creating a Department of Homelessness Prevention, Outreach, and Support and to submit its findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than January 1, 2024. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2024.

AB 2630 (O'Donnell D)   Housing: California Interagency Council on Homelessness: report.

Introduced: 2/18/2022
Status: 2/18/2022-Introduced. To print.

Summary: Current law establishes various programs to assist local governments in addressing homelessness, such as the Homeless Emergency Aid Program and the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program. This bill would require each city, county, and city and county that has used funds from any source to assist in addressing homelessness to submit a report to the California Interagency Council on Homelessness providing specified information, thereby imposing a statemandated local program.

AB 2631 (O'Donnell D)   Government Claims Act.

Introduced: 2/18/2022
Status: 2/18/2022-Introduced. To print.

Summary: The Government Claims Act establishes the liability and immunity of a public entity for its acts or omissions that cause harm to persons. This bill would provide that a public entity is liable for injury relating to the effects of that public entity’s homelessness policies on another public entity.

SB 914 (Rubio D)   Homeless domestic violence survivors and data systems: local and state support and guidelines.

Introduced: 2/2/2022
Status: 2/9/2022-Referred to Coms. on HUMAN S. and HOUSING.

Summary: Current law requires the Governor to create a California Interagency Council on Homelessness for specified purposes, including to create partnerships among various entities, like participants in the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Continuum of Care Program, and to identify mainstream resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California. This bill would require cities, counties, and continuums of care receiving state funding to address homelessness on or after January 1, 2023, to take specific steps to ensure that the needs of victim service providers and survivors of violence, and a gendered analysis of the causes and consequences of homelessness, are incorporated into homelessness planning and responses. The bill would also impose other homelessness planning and data analysis requirements on these cities, counties, and continuums of care.

Housing
AB 1695 (Santiago D)   Housing construction subsidy programs: adaptive reuse projects.

Introduced: 1/25/2022
Status: 1/26/2022-From printer. May be heard in committee February 25.

Summary: Would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to provide that state housing construction subsidy programs provide funding for adaptive reuse projects that repurpose existing buildings to produce affordable housing units for extremely low and very low income Californians.

AB 1748 (Seyarto R)   Exempt surplus land: regional housing need.

Introduced: 2/1/2022
Status: 2/10/2022-Referred to Coms. on L. GOV. and H. & C.D.

Summary: Current law prescribes requirements for the disposal of surplus land by a local agency.

Current law defines "surplus land" for these purposed to mean land owned in fee simple by any local agency for which the local agency’s governing body takes formal action declaring that the land is surplus and is not necessary for the agency’s use. Current law provides that an agency is not required to follow the requirements for disposal of surplus land for "exempt surplus land," except as provided.

Currentlaw categorizes as "exempt surplus land," surplus land that a local agency is transferring to another local, state, or federal agency for the agency’s use. This bill would add to the definition of "exempt surplus land," surplus land that is zoned for a density of up to 30 residential units and is owned by a city or county that demonstrates adequate progress in meeting its share of regional housing need in its annual report, as specified, has constructed an adequate number of housing units to meet its share of regional housing need in the immediately preceding or current housing element cycle, as specified, or is designated as prohousing by the department.

AB 1816 (Bryan D)   Reentry Housing and Workforce Development Program.

Introduced: 2/7/2022
Status: 2/18/2022-Referred to Com. on H. & C.D.

Summary: Current law establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development in the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency and makes the department responsible for administering various housing programs throughout the state, including, among others, the Multifamily Housing Program, the Housing for a Healthy California Program, and the California Emergency Solutions Grants Program. Upon appropriation by the Legislature for this express purpose, this bill would require the department to create the Reentry Housing and Workforce Development Program, and would require the department to take specified actions to provide grants to applicants, as defined, for innovative or evidence-based housing, housing-based services, and employment interventions to allow people with recent histories of incarceration to exit homelessness and remain stably housed.

AB 1850 (Ward D)   Public housing: unrestricted housing.

Introduced: 2/8/2022
Status: 2/18/2022-Referred to Com. on H. & C.D.

Summary: Would prohibit a city, county, city and county, joint powers authority, or any other political subdivision of a state or local government from acquiring unrestricted housing, as defined, unless each unit in the development meets specified criteria, including that the initial rent for the first 12 months postconversion is at least 10% less than the average monthly rent charged for the unit over the 12- month period prior to conversion and at least 20% less than the small area fair market rent.

AB 1910 (Garcia, Cristina D)   Publicly owned golf courses: conversion: affordable housing.

Introduced: 2/9/2022
Status: 2/18/2022-Referred to Coms. on H. & C.D. and L. GOV.

Summary: Would, upon appropriation by the Legislature, require the Department of Housing and Community Development to administer a program to provide incentives in the form of grants to local agencies that enter into a development agreement to convert a golf course owned by the local agency into housing and publicly accessible open space, as specified. This bill would require the department to award funding in accordance with the number of affordable units a local agency proposes to construct.

AB 2006 (Berman D)   Regulatory agreements: compliance monitoring.

Introduced: 2/14/2022
Status: 2/15/2022-From printer. May be heard in committee March 17.

Summary:  Would, on or before January 1, 2024, require the Department of Housing and Community Development, the California Housing Finance Agency, and the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee to enter into a memorandum of understanding to streamline the compliance monitoring of affordable housing developments that are subject to a regulatory agreement with more than one of these entities. The bill would require the memorandum of understanding to ensure that only one entity conducts physical inspections for a particular project, eliminate the submission of duplicate information, and to provide for a single process to obtain specified approvals.

AB 2013 (Quirk-Silva D)   Legislative Task Force on the California Master Plan on Home Ownership.

Introduced: 2/14/2022
Status: 2/15/2022-From printer. May be heard in committee March 17.

Summary: Current law establishes the California Statewide Housing Plan to serve as a state housing plan for all relevant purposes. Current law requires that the plan incorporate, among other things, a statement of housing goals, policies, and objectives and that the Department of Housing and Community Development update and provide a revision of the plan to the Legislature every 4 years.

This bill would establish the Legislative Task Force on the California Master Plan on Home Ownership, consisting of 11 members, as provided. The bill would require the task force to consider and evaluate current impediments to increasing the rate of home ownership for Californians and, no later than

March 31, 2023, to develop a final report that includes specified information and recommendations and submit that report to the Legislature.

AB 2063 (Berman D)   Density bonuses: affordable housing impact fees.

Introduced: 2/14/2022
Status: 2/15/2022-From printer. May be heard in committee March 17.

Summary: The Density Bonus Law requires a city or county to provide a developer that proposes a housing development in the city or county with a density bonus and other incentives or concessions for the production of lower income housing units, or for the donation of land within the development, if the developer agrees to, among other things, construct a specified percentage of units for very low income, low-income, or moderate-income households or qualifying residents, including lower income students. Current law requires the amount of a density bonus and the number of incentives or concessions a qualifying developer receives to be pursuant to a certain formula based on the total number of units in the housing development, as specified. Existing law prohibits affordable housing impact fees, including inclusionary zoning fees and in-lieu fees, from being imposed on a housing development’s affordable units. This bill would prohibit affordable housing impact fees, including inclusionary zoning fees, in-lieu fees, and public benefit fees, from being imposed on a housing development’s density bonus units.

AB 2094 (Rivas, Robert  D)   General plan: annual report: extremely low-income housing.

Introduced: 2/14/2022
Status: 2/15/2022-From printer. May be heard in committee March 17.

Summary: The Planning and Zoning Law requires a city or county to adopt a general plan for land use development within its boundaries that includes, among other things, a housing element. Current law requires the planning agency of a city or county to provide an annual report to certain specified entities by April 1 of each year that includes, among other information, the city or county’s progress in meeting its share of regional housing needs and local efforts to remove governmental constraints to the maintenance, improvement, and development of housing, as specified. This bill would additionally require a city or county’s annual report to include the locality’s progress in meeting the housing needs of extremely low income households, as specified.

AB 2097 (Friedman D)   Residential and commercial development: remodeling, renovations, and additions:
parking requirements.

Introduced: 2/14/2022
Status: 2/15/2022-From printer. May be heard in committee March 17.

Summary: The Planning and Zoning Law requires each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for its physical development, and the development of certain lands outside its boundaries, that includes, among other mandatory elements, a land use element and a conservation element. This bill would prohibit a public agency from imposing a minimum automobile parking requirement, or enforcing a minimum automobile parking requirement, on residential, commercial, or other development if the development is located on a parcel that is within one-half mile of public transit, as defined. When a project provides parking voluntarily, the bill would authorize a public agency to impose specified requirements on the voluntary parking. The bill would prohibit these provisions from reducing, eliminating, or precluding the enforcement of any requirement imposed on a new multifamily or nonresidential development to provide electric vehicle supply equipment installed parking spaces or parking spaces that are accessible to persons with disabilities.

AB 2166 (Mayes I)   Federal funding: promoting homeownership.

Introduced: 2/15/2022
Status: 2/15/2022-From printer. May be heard in committee March 18.

Summary: Under existing law governing the Community Development Block Grant Program, the Department of Housing and Community Development is required to distribute federal funds in the form of grants to eligible cities and counties to provide housing and economic development, principally for persons and families of low or moderate income. Existing law requires all funds made available under the program to be utilized to provide decent housing, a suitable living environment, and expanding economic opportunities, consistent with federal requirements.This bill would require the Department of Housing and Community Development to prioritize 30% of the federal funding provided under the Community Development Block Grant Program for purposes of promoting homeownership for persons and families of low or moderate income. The bill would also require the department to prioritize at least 10% of program funds for down payment assistance for persons and families of low or moderate income. The bill would provide that these requirements be implemented only to the extent that they are consistent with federal requirements. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 2186 (Grayson D)   Housing Cost Reduction Incentive Program.

Introduced: 2/15/2022
Status: 2/15/2022-From printer. May be heard in committee March 18.

Summary: Existing law establishes, among other housing programs, the Multifamily Housing Program, pursuant to which the Department of Housing and Community Development provides financial

assistance in the form of deferred payment loans to pay for the eligible costs of development for specified types of housing projects. Existing law, the Mitigation Fee Act, establishes procedures and limitations with respect to the establishment, increase, or imposition of fees, as defined, as a condition of approval of a development project by a local agency, including requiring the local agency to determine the reasonable relationship between the fee’s use and the type of development project on which the fee is imposed.This bill would establish the Housing Cost Reduction Incentive Program, to be administered by the department, for the purpose of reimbursing cities, counties, and cities and counties for development impact fee waivers or reductions provided to qualified rental housing developments. Upon appropriation, the bill would require the department to provide grants to applicants in an amount equal to 50% of the amount of development impact fee waived or reduced for a qualified rental housing development by issuing a Notice of Funding Availability for each calendar year in which funds are made available for the program, as provided. The bill would require an applicant that receives a grant under the program to use those funds solely for those purposes for which the development impact fee that was waived or reduced would have been used. The bill would require the department to adopt guidelines to implement the program and exempt those guidelines from the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act.

AB 2234 (Rivas, Robert  D)   Planning and zoning: housing: post-entitlement phase permits.

Introduced: 2/15/2022
Status: 2/15/2022-From printer. May be heard in committee March 18.

Summary: (1)Existing law, the Permit Streamlining Act, which is part of the Planning and Zoning Law, requires each public agency to provide a development project applicant with a list that specifies the information that will be required from any applicant for a development project. The act requires public agencies to approve or disapprove of a development project within certain specified timeframes.

Existing law requires a city, county, or special district to provide specified information, including a current schedule of fees, exactions, and affordability requirements applicable to a proposed housing development project, and an archive of impact fee nexus studies, cost of service studies, or equivalent studies, conducted by the city, county, or special district, on its internet website.This bill would require a public agency to create a list of information needed to approve or deny a post-entitlement phase permit, as defined, and to make that list available to all applicants for these permits no later than January 1, 2024. No later than January 1, 2024, the bill would require a public agency to require permits to be applied for, completed, and stored through a process on its internet website, and to accept applications and related documentation by electronic mail until that internet website is established. The bill would require the internet website or electronic mail to list the current processing status of the applicant’s permit by the public agency, and would require that status to note whether it is being reviewed by the agency or action is required from the applicant. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 2334 (Wicks D)   Density Bonus Law: affordability: incentives or concessions in low vehicle travel areas: parking standards: definitions.

Introduced: 2/16/2022
Status: 2/17/2022-From printer. May be heard in committee March 19.

Summary: (1)Existing law, referred to as the Density Bonus Law, requires a city or county to provide a developer that proposes a housing development within the city or county with a density bonus and other incentives or concessions, as specified, if the developer agrees to construct specified percentages of units for lower income, very low income, or senior citizen housing, among other things, and meets other requirements. Existing law requires that an applicant agree to, and the city, county, or city and county ensure, the continued affordability of all very low and low-income rental units that qualified the applicant for a density bonus, as provided. Existing law, for developments where 100% of all units are for lower income households, except as provided, requires that rent for 20% of the units be set at an affordable rent and that rent for the remaining units be at an amount consistent with the maximum rent levels for a housing development that receives an allocation of state or federal lowincome housing tax credits from the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (CTCAC). Existing law, with respect to a for-sale unit that qualified the applicant for a density bonus, also requires that the local government enforce an equity sharing agreement, as provided, unless it is in conflict with the requirements of another public funding source or law.This bill, with respect to the affordability requirements applicable to 100% lower income developments, would instead require the rent for the remaining units in the development be set at an amount consistent with the maximum rent levels for lower income households, as those rents and incomes are determined by CTCAC. The bill, with regard to the enforcement of equity sharing agreements for for-sale units, would also permit the local government to defer to the recapture provisions of the public funding source. The bill would also make a technical change to the Density Bonus Law by deleting duplicative provisions relating to for-sale units subject to the above-described provisions. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 2531 (Grayson D)   Housing data: collection and reporting.

Introduced: 2/17/2022
Status: 2/18/2022-From printer. May be heard in committee March 20.

Summary: Current law requires a city, county, or special district that has an internet website to make

specified information available on its internet website, as applicable, including a current schedule of fees, exactions, affordability requirements it has imposed that are applicable to a proposed housing development project, and an archive of impact fee nexus studies, cost of service studies, or equivalent, conducted by that city, county, or special district on or after January 1, 2018. Current law requires a city, county, or special district to update this information within 30 days of any changes. This bill would instead require a city, county, or special district that has an internet website to create a landing page with links to the specified information on its website, as applicable. This bill would also make a nonsubstantive change to these provisions.

AB 2705 (Quirk-Silva D)   Housing: fire safety standards.

Introduced: 2/18/2022
Status: 2/18/2022-Introduced. To print.

Summary: Current law requires the State Fire Marshal to prepare, adopt, and submit building standards and other fire and life safety regulations to the California Building Standards Commission for approval establishing minimum requirements for the storage, handling, and use of hazardous materials. Current law requires the State Fire Marshal to seek the advice of the Secretary for Environmental Protection in establishing those requirements. This bill would prohibit the legislative body of a city or county from approving a discretionary entitlement, as defined, that would result in a new residential development project, as defined, being located within a very high fire hazard severity zone, unless the city or county finds that the residential development project will meet specified standards intended to address wildfire risks, as specified.

AB 2762 (Bloom D)   Housing: parking lots.

Introduced: 2/18/2022
Status: 2/18/2022-Introduced. To print.

Summary: Current law, the Planning and Zoning Law, requires each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city, and specified land outside boundaries, that includes, among other mandatory elements, a housing element. This bill would state that it is the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation that would allow local agencies to build affordable housing on parking lots that serve public parks and recreational facilities, as provided.

SB 897 (Wieckowski D)   Accessory dwelling units: junior accessory dwelling units.

Introduced: 2/1/2022
Status: 2/9/2022-Referred to Coms. on HOUSING and GOV. & F.

Summary: Thee Planning and Zoning Law authorizes a local agency, by ordinance or ministerial approval, to provide for the creation of accessory dwelling units in areas zoned for residential use, as specified. Current law provides that an accessory dwelling unit may either be an attached or detached residential dwelling unit, and prescribes the minimum and maximum unit size requirements, height limitations, and setback requirements that a local agency may establish, including a 16-foot height limitation and a 4-foot side and rear setback requirement.This bill would increase the maximum height limitation that may be imposed by a local agency on an accessory dwelling unit to 25 feet.

SB 930 (Wiener D)   Housing Accountability Act.

Introduced: 2/7/2022
Status: 2/16/2022-Referred to Com. on HOUSING.

Summary: The Housing Accountability Act, prohibits, among other things, a local agency from disapproving a housing development project that complies with applicable, objective general plan, zoning, and subdivision standards and criteria, or from imposing a condition that it be developed at a lower density, unless the local agency bases its decision on written findings supported by the preponderance of the evidence on the record that specified conditions exist, as provided. Current law, the Administrative Procedure Act, in part, sets forth procedural requirements for the adoption, publication, review, and implementation of regulations by state agencies, and for review of those regulatory actions by the Office of Administrative Law.This bill would authorize the Department of Housing and Community Development to review, adopt, amend, and repeal the standards, forms, or definitions to implement the Housing Accountability Act without compliance with those procedural requirements, as provided
SB 1067 (Portantino D)   Housing development projects: automobile parking requirements.

Introduced: 2/15/2022
Status: 2/15/2022-From printer.

Summary: The Planning and Zoning Law requires each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for its physical development, and the development of certain lands outside its boundaries, that includes, among other mandatory elements, a housing element. Existing law also authorizes the legislative body of a city or a county to adopt ordinances establishing requirements for parking.This bill would prohibit a city with a population greater than 200,000 from imposing any minimum automobile parking requirement on a housing development project that is located within 1/2 mile of public transit, as defined, and that either (1) dedicates 75% of the total units to low- and very low income households, the elderly, or persons with disabilities or (2) the developer demonstrates to

the local agency that the development would not have a negative impact on the local agency’s ability to meet specified housing needs and would not have a negative impact on traffic circulation or existing residential or commercial parking within 1/2 mile of the project. By changing the duties of local planning officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

Human Resources
AB 1949 (Low D)   Employees: bereavement leave.

Introduced: 2/10/2022
Status: 2/18/2022-Referred to Coms. on L. & E. and JUD.

Summary: Current law, commonly known as the California Family Rights Act, which is a part of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer, as defined, to refuse to grant a request by an eligible employee to take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid protected leave during any 12-month period for family care and medical leave, as specified. This bill would additionally make it an unlawful employment practice for an employer to refuse to grant a request by an eligible employee to take up to 5 days of bereavement leave upon the death of a family member, as defined.

AB 1993 (Wicks D)   Employment: COVID-19 vaccination requirements.

Introduced: 2/10/2022
Status: 2/11/2022-From printer. May be heard in committee March 13.

Summary: Would require an employer to require each person who is an employee or independent contractor, and who is eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, to show proof to the employer, or an authorized agent thereof, that the person has been vaccinated against COVID-19. This bill would establish an exception from this vaccination requirement for a person who is ineligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine due to a medical condition or disability or because of a sincerely held religious belief, as specified, and would require compliance with various other state and federal laws. The bill would require proof-of-vaccination status to be obtained in a manner that complies with federal and state privacy laws and not be retained by the employer, unless the person authorizes the employer to retain proof.

AB 2693 (Reyes D)   COVID-19: exposure.

Introduced: 2/18/2022
Status: 2/18/2022-Introduced. To print.

Summary: The California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973 authorizes the Division of Occupational Safety and Health to prohibit the performance of an operation or process, or entry into that place of employment when, in its opinion, a place of employment, operation, or process, or any part thereof, exposes workers to the risk of infection with COVID-19, so as to constitute an imminent hazard to employees. Current law requires a notice of the prohibition to be posted in a conspicuous location at the place of employment and makes violating the prohibition or removing the notice, except as specified, a crime. Current law requires that the prohibition be issued in a manner so as not to materially interrupt the performance of critical governmental functions essential to ensuring public health and safety functions or the delivery of electrical power, renewable natural gas, or water. Current law requires that these provisions not prevent the entry or use, with the division’s knowledge and permission, for the sole purpose of eliminating the dangerous conditions. This bill would extend those provisions until January 1, 2025.

Local Government
AB 1685 (Bryan D)   Vehicles: parking violations.

Introduced: 1/24/2022
Status: 2/3/2022-Referred to Coms. on TRANS. and H. & C.D.

Summary: Current law authorizes a parking citation processing agency, as defined, to collect an unpaid parking penalty by requesting the Department of Motor Vehicles to place a registration hold on the vehicle to which the citations have been issued, or by obtaining a civil judgment against the registered owner of the vehicle, as specified. Current law requires a processing agency to offer a payment plan for unpaid parking citations to qualified indigent persons. This bill would require a processing agency to forgive up to $1,500 in parking fines and fees for a qualified homeless person, as specified.

AB 1883 (Quirk-Silva D)   Public restrooms.

Introduced: 2/8/2022
Status: 2/18/2022-Referred to Com. on L. GOV.

Summary: Current law requires every public agency, as defined, that conducts an establishment serving the public or open to the public and that maintains restroom facilities for the public, to make every water closet available without cost or charge, as provided. Current law also requires publicly and privately owned facilities where the public congregates to be equipped with sufficient temporary or permanent restrooms to meet the needs of the public at peak hours. This bill would require each local government, as defined, to complete an inventory of public restrooms owned and maintained by the local government, either directly or by contract, that are available to the general population in its jurisdiction.

AB 1944 (Lee D)   Local government: open and public meetings.

Introduced: 2/10/2022
Status: 2/18/2022-Referred to Com. on L. GOV.

Summary: Current law, the Ralph M. Brown Act, requires, with specified exceptions, that all meetings of a legislative body of a local agency, as those terms are defined, be open and public and that all persons be permitted to attend and participate. Current law, until January 1, 2024, authorizes a local agency to use teleconferencing without complying with those specified teleconferencing requirements in specified circumstances when a declared state of emergency is in effect, or in other situations related to public health. This bill would specify that if a member of a legislative body elects to teleconference from a location that is not public, the address does not need to be identified in the notice and agenda or be accessible to the public when the legislative body has elected to allow members to participate via teleconferencing.

AB 2449 (Rubio, Blanca D)   Open meetings: local agencies: teleconferences.

Introduced: 2/17/2022
Status: 2/18/2022-From printer. May be heard in committee March 20.

Summary: Current law, until January 1, 2024, authorizes a local agency to use teleconferencing without complying with specified teleconferencing requirements in specified circumstances when a declared state of emergency is in effect, or in other situations related to public health. This bill would authorize a local agency to use teleconferencing without complying with those specified teleconferencing requirements if at least a quorum of the members of the legislative body participates in person from a singular location clearly identified on the agenda that is open to the public and situated within the local agency’s jurisdiction. The bill would impose prescribed requirements for this exception relating to notice, agendas, the means and manner of access, and procedures for disruptions. The bill would require the legislative body to implement a procedure for receiving and swiftly resolving requests for reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities, consistent with federal law.

AB 2647 (Levine D)   Local government: open meetings.

Introduced: 2/18/2022
Status: 2/18/2022-Introduced. To print.

Summary: The Ralph M. Brown Act requires the meetings of the legislative body of a local agency to be conducted openly and publicly, with specified exceptions. Current law makes agendas of public meetings and other writings distributed to the members of the governing board disclosable public records, with certain exceptions. Current law requires a local agency to make those writings distributed to the members of the governing board available for public inspection at a public office or location that the agency designates. This bill would instead require a local agency to make those writings distributed to the members of the governing board available for public inspection at a public office or location that the agency designates or post the writings on the local agency’s internet website in a position and manner that makes it clear that the writing relates to an agenda item for an upcoming meeting.

SB 1117 (Becker D)   General plans: environmental justice element.

Introduced: 2/16/2022
Status: 2/17/2022-From printer.

Summary: Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, requires the legislative body of a city or county to adopt a comprehensive general plan that includes various elements, including an environmental justice element. Existing law requires a city, county, or city and county to adopt or review the environmental justice element, or the environmental justice goals, policies, and objectives in other elements, upon the adoption or next revision of 2 or more elements concurrently on or after January 1, 2018.This bill would instead require a city, county, or city and county to adopt or review the environmental justice element, as described above, upon the adoption or next revision of one or more elements. By requiring a city, county, or city and county to adopt or review the environmental justice element upon the next revision, as specified, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

Natural Resources

AB 1717 (Aguiar-Curry D)   Public works: definition.

Introduced: 1/27/2022
Status: 2/3/2022-Referred to Com. on L. & E.

Summary: Current law requires that, except as specified, not less than the general prevailing rate of per diem wages, determined by the Director of Industrial Relations, be paid to workers employed on public works projects. Current law defines the term "public works" for purposes of requirements regarding the payment of prevailing wages to include construction, alteration, demolition, installation, or repair work done under contract and paid for using public funds, except as specified. Current law makes a willful violation of laws relating to the payment of prevailing wages on public works a misdemeanor. This bill would expand the definition of "public works" to include fuel reduction work paid for in whole or in part out of public funds performed as part of a fire mitigation project, as specified.

AB 1789 (Bennett D)   Outdoor recreation: California Trails Commission: Trails Corps Program: grant program.

Introduced: 2/3/2022
Status: 2/10/2022-Referred to Com. on W.,P., & W.

Summary: Current law establishes within the Natural Resources Agency the Department of Parks and Recreation, which is under the control of the Director of Parks and Recreation. Current law creates the Recreational Trails Fund, and moneys in the fund are available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the department for competitive grants to cities, counties, districts, state and federal agencies, and nonprofit organizations with management responsibilities over public lands to acquire and develop recreational trails.This bill would create the California Trails Commission, to consist of 8 specified members, within the agency to promote policies and investment opportunities that maximize the health, fitness, and social benefits of nonmotorized natural surface trails, trail networks, and greenway corridors.

AB 2387 (Garcia, Eduardo D)   Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparation, Flood Protection, Extreme Heat Mitigation, and Workforce Development Bond Act of 2022.

Introduced: 2/17/2022
Status: 2/18/2022-From printer. May be heard in committee March 20.

Summary: Would enact the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparation, Flood Protection, Extreme Heat Mitigation, and Workforce Development Bond Act of 2022, which, if approved by the voters, would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $7,430,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance projects for safe drinking water, wildfire prevention, drought preparation, flood protection, extreme heat mitigation, and workforce development programs.

This bill contains other related provisions.

SB 833 (Dodd D)   Community Energy Resilience Act of 2022.

Introduced: 1/4/2022
Status: 1/19/2022-Referred to Com. on E., U. & C.

Summary: Current law assigns the various duties, including applying for and accepting grants, contributions, and appropriations, and awarding grants consistent with the goals and objectives of a program or activity the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission is authorized to implement or administer. This bill, the Community Energy Resilience Act of 2022, would require the commission to develop and implement a grant program for local governments to develop community energy resilience plans and expedite permit review of distributed energy resources by local governments. The bill would require the plans to be consistent with the city, county, or city and county general plan and other local government planning documents.

SB 852 (Dodd D)   Climate resilience districts: formation: funding mechanisms.

Introduced: 1/18/2022
Status: 2/7/2022-Art. IV. Sec. 8(a) of the Constitution dispensed with. (Ayes 31. Noes 6.) Joint Rule 55 suspended. (Ayes 31. Noes 6.)
Summary: Current law authorizes certain local agencies to form a community revitalization authority (authority) within a community revitalization and investment area, as defined, to carry out provisions of the Community Redevelopment Law in that area for purposes related to, among other things, infrastructure, affordable housing, and economic revitalization. Existing law provides for the financing of these activities by, among other things, the issuance of bonds serviced by property tax increment revenues, and requires the authority to adopt a community revitalization and investment plan for the community revitalization and investment area that includes elements describing and governing revitalization activities. This bill would authorize a city, county, city and county, special district, or a combination of any of those entities to form a climate resilience district for the purposes of raising and allocating funding for eligible projects and the operating expenses of eligible projects. The bill would define "eligible project" for these purposes.

SB 1078 (Allen D)   Sea Level Rise Revolving Loan Pilot Program.

Introduced: 2/15/2022
Status: 2/15/2022-From printer.