TOWN OF PORTOLA VALLEY
Special Meeting of the Town Council
Wednesday, August 26, 2026
5:30 PM
MAYOR: Craig Taylor
VICE MAYOR: Mary Hufty
COUNCILMEMBERS: Rebecca Flynn, Judith Hasko, Helen Wolter
A G E N D A
HISTORIC SCHOOLHOUSE - 765 Portola Road, Portola Valley, CA 94028 Remote Public Comments: Meeting participants are encouraged to submit public comments in writing in advance of the meeting. Please submit your public comments by using the online form, by 1:00 PM on the day of the meeting. Time permitting, your correspondence will be uploaded to the website. All received questions will be forwarded to the Portola Valley Town Council for consideration during the meeting and included in the public record. Members of the public may also provide comments in person at the meeting. The agenda and staff report will be posted on the Town’s website by approximately 5:00 PM the Friday prior to the meeting. Additionally, technology permitting, the public body will take questions using the Raise Hand button for those who attend the meeting online or by phone. The Mayor will call on people to speak by the phone number calling in. Remote participation is provided as a supplemental way to provide public comment, but this method does not always work. The public is encouraged to attend in person to ensure full participation.
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1 1. CALL TO ORDER
2. ANNOUNCEMENT OF REMOTE ATTENDANCE / ROLL CALL
3. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
4. ADJOURNMENT
Public comment will only be taken on agenda items. The Mayor will also open up for public comment as the Council moves through each agenda item. Please submit a speaker's slip located at the front of the room to the Town Clerk of Mayor, prior to speaking. Each speaker's time is limited to three (3) minutes.
REGULAR AGENDA
Receive Information and Provide Direction on the Potential Future Town Work Plan for the Hawthorns Area Plan
The next Regular Town Council meeting will be held on August 26, 2026 at 7:00 p.m.
Land Acknowledgement:
The Town of Portola Valley acknowledges the colonial history of this land we dwell upon the unceded territory of the Ramaytush (rah-my-toosh) Ohlone, Tamien Nation, and Muwekma (mah-WEK- mah) Ohlone, who endured a human and cultural genocide that included removal from their lands and their sacred relationship to the land. Portola Valley recognizes that we profit from the commodification of land seized from indigenous peoples and now bear the ecological consequences. We seek to understand the impact of these legacies on all beings and to find ways to make repair. 2 TOWN OF PORTOLA VALLEY
STAFF REPORT
TO: Mayor and Members of the Town Council
FROM: Sarah Cawrse, Planning & Building Director
DATE: August 26, 2026
RE: Receive Information and Provide Direction on the Potential Future Town Work Plan for the Hawthorns Area Plan
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Town Council receive information and provide direction on the potential future town work plan for the Hawthorns Area Plan.
BACKGROUND
The 79-acre Hawthorns area of Windy Hill Open Space Preserve was gifted to the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (“Midpen”) in 2011. Since then, Midpen’s staff have been working to restore native grasslands, improve community wildland fire safety and protect historic features on the property. A multi-year public process began in 2021 to explore the feasibility of introducing ecologically sensitive public access to the undeveloped portion of the property. Midpen plans to protect and manage natural, scenic, cultural, and open space resources at the Hawthorns Area and provide ecologically sensitive public access consistent with Midpen’s mission and the allowable uses outlined in the property’s conservation easement. Midpen prepared an FAQ and engagement summary document provided as Attachment 1.
Hawthorns Area Public Access Working Group
On June 28th 2023, Hawthorns Area Public Access Working Group (PAWG) was officially formed. The Midpen Board of Directors appointed members to serve on the PAWG. Working group members collaborated at meetings in 2023 and 2024 with Midpen staff, District Ward Stakeholders, and elected official liaisons on a plan to introduce ecologically sensitive public access to the site in a manner consistent with Midpen vision and goals. The PAWG meeting agendas, agenda packets, and documents are available online.
The Working Group evaluated the following public access components:
Parking area and driveway location(s)
Trailhead location(s) and internal trail system
Trail connections with surrounding Town trails and pathways Opportunities for regional trail connections
Proposed trail uses within the Hawthorns Area
A Recommendations Report was published on November 1, 2024. Amongst other things, the Report focused on analyzing parking lot alternatives for public access, as well as opportunities for trail access.
The Report reviewed numerous potential parking alternatives. For purposes of preparing a project description for review under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”), on May 6, 2026, 3 MROSD’s Board narrowed the proposed parking options to what was described in the Recommendations Report as Options 9 and 10. Both of these options envision a parking lot of twentyfive (25) to fifty (50) spaces located just off of Alpine Road, straddling Assessor’s Parcels 079-080-050 and 079-080-080. Assessor’s Parcel 079-080-050 appears to be recognized as “improved,” while Assessor’s Parcel 079-080-080 appears to be considered unimproved. Option 9 proposes taking access from a driveway across from Roberts Market. Option 10 proposes taking access directly across from the intersection with Portola Road.
With the selection of these two alternatives, MROSD intends to hire a CEQA consultant to commence preparation of the environmental review. Based on the information available on MRODS’ website, MROSD anticipates completing the environmental review sometime in 2027, and then finalizing its designs and seeking any necessary permits from the Town. Midpen's role as the lead agency in the CEQA analysis of this project includes engaging with responsible agencies (CEQA Guidelines section 15096), including the Town of Portola Valley. The CEQA process affords the Town an opportunity to comment upon the potential environmental effects of the Plan, and ideally to collaborate on mitigations and alternatives to alleviate any negative effects.
Basic information about the current Town’s General Plan land use classification and Zoning District as it relates to the Hawthorns property is provided as Attachment 2. Correspondence submitted by the Town Open Space Committee and Trails and Paths Committee is provided as Attachment 3.
DISCUSSION
This agenda items serves for the Town Council to receive information and provide direction on the Potential Future Town Work Plan for the Hawthorns Area Plan (the “Project”) and the Town land use and zoning regulations. Areas of work may include, but are not limited to, the following items:
1. CEQA Project Engagement Work
2. Town Open Space Element and Zoning Regulations
3. Negotiated Agreement between the Town and MidPen
4. Conservation Easement Enforcement
CEQA Project Engagement Work
The CEQA process affords the Town an opportunity to comment upon the potential environmental effects of the Project, and ideally to collaborate on mitigations and alternatives to alleviate any negative effects. The Town may retain an environmental consultant to support staff and legal counsel early in the process to identify potential negative environmental effects, and review proposed mitigations and alternatives. Key participation elements would include:
Meetings with the MidPen staff and/or their CEQA consultants; Town comment letter on the Notice of Preparation; and
Town comment letter on the Draft and/or Final EIR.
Town Open Space Element and Zoning Regulations
The Town may have authority to dictate some elements of the Project’s implementation through its General Plan and zoning ordinances. The Town could update the Open Space Element and/or adopt new or additional zoning regulations to regulate the Project. For example, the Town could develop parking lot standards, property access standards along scenic corridors, across trails, and along major roadways. The Town could also examine grading standards. Senate Bill 1425 requires every city and county to review and update its general plan Open Space Element by January 1, 2026 to include plans and action programs addressing equity, climate resilience, and rewilding. The Town of Portola Valley has not completed this update and is overdue to update the Open Space Element.
The Town also has authority to enforce restrictions on the use of the Town’s property through 4 its encroachment ordinances. This authority can be used to limit access points to any parking lot, but not to prohibit access entirely. The Town also has the authority to dictate the type and location of any work within the Town right-of-way, including work to alter or reroute Town trails.
The Town could also work on a parking management plan for Town and Midpen properties, including an examination of shared parking options.
Negotiated Agreement between the Town and MidPen
The Town Council may consider an approach which involves a negotiated agreement between the Town and MidPen for the Project. This was utilized for the Windy Hill Open Space Preserve in the 1980s, as presented in Attachment 4. Conceptually, staff has discussed this with Midpen staff, and both staff are open to exploring this agreement as an appropriate way to memorialize the respective agencies’ understanding and expectations. Council input is sought on this. For example, parking capacity at Windy Hill Preserve and the Hawthorns Area could be studied more holistically to consider options such as expanding parking at Windy Hill Preserve while reducing the planned parking at the Hawthorns Area.
This suggestion was also included in the public comment provided in Attachment 5.
Conservation Easement Enforcement
The Hawthorns Area is subject to a preexisting Conservation Easement granted by the prior owners to the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) in 2005. Concerns have been raised in the community that the Project may not be consistent with this Easement. The Town can attempt to prevail upon POST to enforce the Conservation Easement under which POST is the grantee. The Conservation Easement does not prohibit the construction of a parking lot, but would limit the parking surface to gravel, and potentially require the lot’s relocation. Given that the Town is not a party to the Conservation Easement, though, the Town has no standing to directly enforce its terms, unless POST were to assign those rights to the Town.
Conclusion
Staff is seeking Town Council direction on the potential future Town work plan for the Hawthorns Area Plan. Based on direction from the Town Council, staff will return with a proposed scope of work and requested budget and staffing needs to proceed with work. Given staff’s full workload already, staff will seek additional direction on project priorities.
FISCAL IMPACT
Currently, the Town FY 2026-27 Operating Budget does not include any allocations of funding for staff or supplemental consultant work on this project. Work is limited to a minimal amount of staff time until additional budget authorization is made.
ATTACHMENTS
1. MidPen FAQ and Engagement Summary
2. Hawthorns Property General Plan and Zoning Information
3. Comments Submitted by Town Committees (Open Space and Trails and Paths)
4. Limited Development Agreement
5. Public Comment
5 FAQ updated August 2026 Page 1 of 10
Hawthorns Area Plan
Frequently Asked Questions
Hawthorns Area Plan
Updated August 2026
The 79‐acre Hawthorns Area of Windy Hill Open Space Preserve is located near the intersection of Alpine Road and Portola Road in the Town of Portola Valley. The property is bounded by Alpine Road to the west, Los Trancos Road to the east, and private property to the north and south.
The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (Midpen) Board of Directors (Board) accepted the property and an endowment fund in 2011 from the Woods Family Trust as the largest private land gift ever received by the Midpen at the time. A Preliminary Use and Management Plan (PUMP) was adopted by Midpen’s Board in 2006 as a component of the property acquisition process, and the property was officially named the Hawthorns Area of Windy Hill Open Space Preserve. It is subject to a conservation easement managed by the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) to permanently protect the natural features. Per the intent of the grantor of the conservation easement to make the property available to the public, the easement allows for public access and supportive facilities such as parking. Preservation of the open space character of the land, stewardship of its natural resources, and providing low‐intensity public access to the land are all consistent with Midpen’s mission:
To acquire and preserve a regional greenbelt of open space land in perpetuity, protect and restore the natural environment, and provide opportunities for ecologically sensitive public enjoyment and education.
The Hawthorns Area has remained closed to the public since its transfer to Midpen in 2011.
In 2012, Midpen embarked in an 18‐month public planning effort that combined broad community input and scientific data to “Imagine the Future of Open Space”. Through these efforts, which included extensive public outreach across all 7 wards, focus group meetings, public workshops, and the guidance of a Community Advisory Committee, core regional values, goals, and priorities were identified – which included goals and priorities for the Hawthorns Property. This effort resulted in a 40-year Vision Plan with a total of 54 priority actions spanning Midpen’s 27 open space preserves and
surrounding areas. Capital projects from the top 25
priority actions were subsequently folded into the 2014 voter‐approved Measure AA, a 30‐year general obligation bond that provides an essential funding source to pursue these voter‐approved priorities. Vision Plan Priority Action #6 and the accompanying Measure AA Portfolio #6 both
underscore Midpen’s commitment to “open the
Hawthorns Area”.
To meet the public’s Vision Plan priority goal and the
Measure AA voter mandate to open the Hawthorns Area
to public access, Midpen initiated early feasibility efforts in 2018 and kicked off the current Hawthorns Area Plan
project in 2021. The Midpen Board established the Hawthorns Public Access Working Group (PAWG) in 2023, composed of local Town residents, interest area representatives, and a member from each of the District’s seven wards to develop public access recommendations, including trail alignments and uses, parking options, and other visitor serving amenities.
The PAWG’s recommendations were accepted by the Midpen Board in 2024 as the basis for the project description to conduct environmental review per the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). 6 FAQ updated August 2026 Page 2 of 10
The following Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) present answers to questions that have arisen during the 2021 Hawthorns Area planning process with an emphasis on recent inquiries.
Conservation Easement
Question Answer
Was Midpen gifted
ownership of the
Hawthorns property?
Yes. The previous owner, Mr. Frederick N. Woods III, who passed away in April 2008, bequeathed the Hawthorns estate and an endowment to Midpen. Midpen took possession of the property in 2011.
What is POST’s
relationship with the
Hawthorns property?
In April 2005, Mr. Woods III granted a conservation easement to Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) that permanently protects the property's natural, historic, and scenic values. The conservation easement directly references the potential of Midpen’s ownership and identifies both a limited staging area and public access trails as allowed.
Does the conservation
easement need to be
altered to implement
public access at the
Hawthorns property?
Section 6. Permitted Uses and Reserved Rights. (i) of the conservation easement permits the construction of a limited staging area “around the perimeter of the Improved Portion as necessary to facilitate public access to, and use of, the Real Property for hiking and other uses” permitted by the easement. The conservation easement does not state that the staging area should be located within the Improved Portion. The proposed parking lot options are located along the perimeter of the Improved Portion and opposite existing commercial developments and their parking lots. POST, the conservation easement holder, has the legal authority to enforce and interpret the terms of the conservation easement and has no plans to alter it. Throughout the planning process, Midpen has presented project proposals to POST to obtain their input on consistency with the conservation easement and will continue to do so as the project advances further.
Can the Hawthorns Area
or the Windy Hill Open
Space Preserve ever be
developed?
Aside from trails and a limited staging area, the conservation easement for the Hawthorns Property prohibits construction of additional new structures or other improvements beyond those that already existed on the property, including new public roadways, utilities, and habitable buildings. As mentioned above, facilities supporting low‐intensity recreation are allowed and discussed in the conservation easement.
The majority of Windy Hill Open Space Preserve is dedicated public open space. In accordance with California Public Resources Code 5500 and Midpen’s Policy for Dedication of District Lands, adopted in January 1986, the Board approved the dedication of the Windy Hill Open Space Preserve to permanently protect it for park and open space uses, including public trail use. The Hawthorns Area is not dedicated open space at this time.
Will Midpen retain the
on‐site staff residence
at 4411 Alpine Road?
Yes. The residence at 4411 Alpine Road will remain in use.
Will Hawthorns be
closed at night?
Yes. Once public trails are open for use on the property, the Hawthorns Area will have the same hours of operation as other Midpen preserves: open one‐half hour before sunrise and closed one‐half hour after sunset.
Planning Process and Public Outreach
Question Answer
What are the Board‐
approved Vision and
Goals for the Hawthorns
Area?
Midpen’s Board approved the below Vision and Goals statements for the Hawthorns Area on March 23, 2022. The statements highlight Midpen’s desire to protect and manage natural, scenic, cultural, and open space resources at the Hawthorns Area and provide ecologically sensitive public access.
7 FAQ updated August 2026 Page 3 of 10
Hawthorns Area Vision Statement
“The Hawthorns Area offers picturesque views of rolling oak grasslands, the San Francisco Bay, and the Santa Cruz Mountains; provides important wildlife refuge; and reflects the region’s natural, agricultural, and social history. The District will protect and manage natural, scenic, cultural, and open space resources at the Hawthorns Area and provide ecologically sensitive public access consistent with the District’s mission and the allowable uses outlined in the property’s conservation easement.” Hawthorns Area Goals
1. Protect and restore native habitat and manage for ecological resiliency of aquatic and terrestrial habitat, wildlife connectivity, and other natural resources.
2. Open the Hawthorns Area to low‐intensity public access, provide an internal trail system, and provide multimodal access to the property.
3. Connect to adjacent public trails and explore opportunities for trail connections to regional open space lands.
4. Interpret the rich natural, cultural, and historic features and pursue partnerships to manage the property’s natural and cultural history.
5. Highlight scenic viewpoints and design recreational amenities while protecting scenic viewsheds.
6. Manage the property for safe public access in a fiscally sustainable manner that promotes ongoing public support and appreciation with ongoing public engagement and consistent with the District’s Good Neighbor Policy.
What is the timeline for
each phase of the
planning process?
The tentative Hawthorns Area Plan timeline is as follows:
Phase 1: Vision and Goals: 2021 – 2022 (complete)
Phase 2: Existing Conditions: 2022 – 2023 (complete)
Phase 3: Programming / Conceptual Planning: 2023 – 2025 (complete) Phase 4: Area Plan / Environmental Review: 2025 – 2028 (underway) Phase 5: Implementation (final design, permitting, bidding, construction): 2028 and beyond
What phase of the
planning process is
Midpen in now?
Midpen is currently in Phase 4: Area Plan / Environmental Review. During the second part of this phase, Midpen will prepare an environmental review document in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The CEQA document will analyze the Hawthorns Area Plan. See below for more information on the CEQA process.
Has Midpen conducted
public outreach for the
proposed Hawthorns
Area Plan project?
Yes. Over a five‐year period (2021 to 2026), Midpen conducted over 40 public meetings and events. Public outreach methods included online surveys, mailed postcards, e‐blasts, and social media, as well as use of Town communication platforms, media engagement, webpage updates, public notifications, flyers on community bulletin boards, and tabling at community events (e.g. PV Palooza). Midpen also led field trips with Town representatives and local community members. Additionally, Midpen conducted public outreach through the Hawthorns Public Access Working Group (PAWG) from 2023‐2024 where all their meetings were Brown Act public meetings (see Public Access section below).
8 FAQ updated August 2026 Page 4 of 10
Please refer to Table 1 for a full list of Hawthorns outreach and public engagement activities from 2021 – June 2026.
Has Midpen involved
the Town of Portola
Valley staff and
community in the
planning process?
Yes. Midpen staff have been in continuous communication with various Town staff, including multiple Town managers, assistant Town manager, public works and planning & building directors and various planning staff, as well as Town Council members, since inception of the Hawthorns Area Plan project in 2021. Since 2021, Town staff and Council members have regularly turned over, resulting in interruptions in communication and Town guidance.
At the guidance of the Town manager in 2022, Midpen engaged Town committees via the Town Ad Hoc Hawthorns Committee, which dissolved at the conclusion of the Public Access Working Group (PAWG) process (see Public Access section below). This committee consisted of representatives from seven Town committees and was formed by the Town to provide feedback on this project. Members of the Town Ad Hoc Committee attended PAWG meetings and provided both oral and written comments.
Other opportunities to engage and provide input on the Hawthorns Area Plan included all seven (7) PAWG meetings that were open to the public. Each meeting offered two opportunities to share public comments, once at the beginning and a second time at the end of each meeting. The PAWG meetings were well attended through the entire PAWG process, Midpen staff received over 150 written public comments, the majority of which were submitted by Portola Valley residents and Town committee representatives. The PAWG reviewed and considered all public comments prior to each meeting as they developed their public access recommendations.
Additional opportunities for public engagement included presentations to Midpen’s Planning and Natural Resources Committee, the Town Ad Hoc Hawthorns Committee, the Town Council, and the Portola Valley Ranch community before the project team brought the PAWG recommendations and all public comments received during the PAWG process to the Midpen Board of Directors for consideration.
CEQA/Environmental Review
Question Answer
How can interested
parties participate
during the
environmental review
process?
There are several ways to provide input in the environmental review process. Interested individuals and agencies will have the opportunity to review and comment on the scope of the environmental review during a 30‐day comment period and when the draft environmental document is published, during a 45‐day review period. Public scoping and draft environmental document hearings will also be held, where public comments will be recorded and made available online.
What is the Town of
Portola Valley’s role in
the environmental
review and permitting
process?
In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Town of Portola Valley is a CEQA Responsible Agency during the environmental review process, meaning the Town is a public agency that will need to review and consider the CEQA document before granting relevant permit approvals.
Midpen is the governmental agency that has the principal responsibility for carrying out or approving the project and is therefore the CEQA Lead Agency. Midpen will prepare the CEQA document, conduct the environmental analysis, identify potential impacts and mitigation measures, adopt a mitigation monitoring and reporting program, and ultimately approve whether to implement the project and allocate its funding after considering the CEQA findings. During the CEQA process, Midpen will engage with the 9 FAQ updated August 2026 Page 5 of 10
Town, which as a Responsible Agency will have an opportunity to review Midpen’s CEQA document. The Town must also prepare and issue its own CEQA findings regarding the project as part of their permitting process.
Public Access
Question Answer
How were concept
parking and trail options
and uses selected?
The PAWG, composed of 15 individuals representing the local Town, seven wards, and interest areas, developed parking and trail options and use recommendations through a robust public engagement process from 20232024. The PAWG held seven (7) open‐to‐ the‐public meetings and several site visits to consider and form their recommendations, consistent with the Board‐approved vision and goals of the project. The PAWG received numerous public comments throughout and as a result, generated ten different parking options, expanded trail mileage, and recommended bicycle, equestrian, and dog‐on‐ leash uses. The Board considered and accepted the PAWG’s recommendations on March 12, 2025. More information about the Hawthorns PAWG is available on the project webpage here.
Does the Hawthorns
Area have to be opened
to the public?
Public access at the Hawthorns Area is a priority project identified by the public and incorporated into Midpen’s Open Space Vision Plan and in Measure AA, a $300 million dollar general obligation bond that was approved by the voters in 2014.
Will the proposed
parking include horse
trailer parking?
Equestrian spaces cannot be accommodated due to their large space needs (minimum 50 feet long) and the constrained, steep site. However, the majority of trails are planned to accommodate equestrian use with typical amenities, such as hitching posts, to facilitate equestrian access from adjacent Town trails.
Would Alpine Road Trail
improvements be part
of this project?
Midpen is aware of the Town’s long‐standing desire to improve the Alpine Road Trail.
The Alpine Road Trail remains an important corridor in the Town’s Trails Plan. Parking options 9 and 10 require shifting a portion of the Alpine Road Trail where it crosses the parking area driveway to prioritize the trail crossing and provide a separation between trail users and vehicles that are preparing exit the driveway.
Will the proposed trails
connect to Portola
Valley Ranch?
No. Although the PAWG recommendations included aspirational trail connections to the Sweet Springs and Valley Oak Trails, neither is planned at this time. If a connection to Sweet Springs Trail is desired in the future and after the Hawthorns Area is open to the public, Midpen would need to explore its viability with the Town and the Portola Valley Ranch community.
Parking
Question Answer
Can Midpen open
Hawthorns with trail
access and no parking
lot?
It is not Midpen’s practice to provide trails without parking. Midpen serves 770,000 constituents in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties, and most must drive to Midpen preserves. Preserve visitors also come from the broader Bay Area region beyond Midpen’s jurisdictional boundaries. Opening the Hawthorns Area with only trails could serve those within reasonable walking, horseback riding, or bicycling distance of the property. However, the majority of Midpen constituents would need to drive to the Hawthorns Area and without a parking area, they would likely park in nearby neighborhood streets or commercial areas on Alpine Road. Moreover, Midpen is especially mindful of providing equitable access to all, including people with mobility disabilities, families with small children, and visitors who may have wayfinding challenges.
Providing parking within the property will best support and facilitate their accessibility to these public trails.
10 FAQ updated August 2026 Page 6 of 10
Does the proposed
Hawthorns Area’s
parking take into
consideration the Alpine
Scenic Corridor?
Yes, the Alpine Scenic Corridor includes a 75‐foot special building setback that applies specifically to buildings, not parking areas or retaining walls; the proposed vault restroom is therefore placed outside the special building setback. The proposed parking area is located across from existing commercial buildings and parking lots in an already developed area of the Scenic Corridor, including a gas station, hardware store, grocery store, restaurant, and other businesses. The proposed parking designs would use berms and retain existing trees to the greatest extent possible to help screen parked cars from the corridor.
Why is Midpen
proposing 50 parking
spaces for the
Hawthorns Area?
Demand is challenging to depict but is expected to be moderate for Hawthorns due to the property’s proximity from Highway 280, access to nearby Town trails, diverse trail uses and loop opportunities offered, relatively gentle trail that is accessible to people with varying physical abilities, and the property’s natural resources and scenic viewsheds.
Given the parking challenges experienced at Windy Hill Preserve’s lower lot, the Hawthorns Area Plan project’s 2024 Transportation Study included a parking demand analysis, which estimated a demand between 25 and 68 spaces. The analysis was based on various sources of data collected, including existing parking lot utilization at entrances to the Windy Hill and Thornewood preserves (Windy Hill selected due to its close proximity and Thornewood selected as a small representative preserve at 167 acres and
1.8 miles of trail); transportation mode share and trends collected from big‐data sources prior to and following the COVID pandemic; public survey responses; and review of industry publications on parking demand. Parking utilization data was collected for six parking areas in Fall 2022 (Windy Hill, Thornewood) and seven in Summer 2023 (Windy Hill, Thornewood, Roberts Market) in addition to the Town Center parking lot. A maximum of 50 parking spaces was selected as the midpoint in the range with a phased approach starting with 25 parking spaces.
Would Midpen consider
a more natural parking
lot material, e.g. gravel,
instead of asphalt?
Gravel poses ongoing maintenance issues and requires stormwater treatment basins, which would be challenging to fit on a constrained site. Midpen is currently proposing permeable concrete, which is durable, will be striped for efficient parking, and will allow for stormwater treatment within the footprint of the parking lot. Permeable concrete also provides a more rugged appearance compared to smooth asphalt.
Has Midpen considered
sharing nearby existing
parking lots in Portola
Valley?
Yes. Midpen approached nearby institutional and commercial properties, e.g., Roberts Market, Alpine Hills Tennis and Swimming Club, and Corte Madera School, about sharing use of their parking lots near the Hawthorns Area. None were interested or willing to consider the proposal.
Traffic and Safety
Question Answer
Has Midpen considered
public parking access off
Los Trancos Road
instead of Alpine Road?
Yes. Neither of the two driveway locations along Los Trancos Road are viable for an exiting driver to make either a right or left turn due to the inadequate sight distance in the curvature of Los Trancos Road at these locations. The driveways on Los Trancos Road are therefore not suitable for general public access.
Has Midpen studied the
traffic and safety
impacts of parking
options 9 and 10?
Yes. The 2024 Transportation Study evaluated four driveway access points along Alpine Road, including the existing driveway (option 9) and the proposed driveway at the intersection with Portola Road (option 10). All four locations along Alpine Road have adequate sight distance for both left and right turns. In addition, the Alpine Road Trail would be rerouted to cross option 9 or 10’s driveway at a point further into the site, to avoid interaction with a vehicle waiting to exit onto Alpine Road.
Will the data informing
the traffic analysis be
Yes. The data will be refreshed during the CEQA process. 11 FAQ updated August 2026 Page 7 of 10
refreshed with more
current data?
Has Midpen considered
multimodal access such
as shuttles?
Yes. The term multimodal access refers to a transportation corridor or facility that accommodates several modes of transport. In this context, Midpen is proposing different strategies to encourage non‐automobile transportation (e.g., pedestrian, bicycle, and/or equestrian trails, and transit) to the Preserve. These strategies include: providing bicycle and/or equestrian amenities to facilitate non‐vehicular modes of access to the preserve, collaborating with the Town regarding overall parking management depending on future parking demands, including multimodal options like utilizing off‐site parking and/or a shuttle system from Town parking facilities, and evaluating the possibility of providing real‐time parking data to support visitor planning and reduce the potential for parking congestion.
Natural Resources
Question Answer
What is Midpen doing to
manage the property for
wildland fire resiliency?
In partnership with the Woodside Fire Protection District, Midpen is conducting ecologically sensitive vegetation management to reduce fuels as a component of Midpen’s Wildland Fire Resiliency Program. Refer to Midpen’s webpage for more information on this Program at http://www.openspace.org/fire.
Will Midpen’s Hawthorn
Area fire plan/fuel
reduction be open to
public review before it’s
implemented?
Yes. Wildland fire resiliency projects are developed and approved at public meetings by the Midpen Board of Directors during the annual budget and capital improvement and action plan development process.
Historic Complex
Question Answer
What is the status of the
Hawthorns Historic
Complex Project?
On December 10, 2025, the Midpen Board of Directors voted to defer the Hawthorns Historic Complex Project until after adoption and initial implementation of the Hawthorns Area Plan. Midpen is conducting interim management actions to maintain site safety within the Hawthorns Historic Complex pending future site‐specific planning. Recent actions completed include: debris removal, partial demolition of collapsed elements (e.g., stairs and additions), framing stabilization, carpentry repairs, foundation and framing bracing, windowsill seals and new meshing, bee removal, and drainage improvements.
Starting in the fall 2026, additional work will be underway to reroof the main house, cottage and garage.
Efforts to find a partnership for the historic buildings in earlier years proved unsuccessful due to cost incompatible proposed uses and zoning challenges.
Is selling the property or
portions of it, such as
the Historic Complex, an
option for Midpen?
The Conservation Easement prohibits subdivision of the Hawthorns Area, except for lot line adjustments or transference to a qualified organization for the same uses that are permitted in the Conservation Easement. Midpen has no plans to subdivide the property.
See below:
‐ Table 1: Hawthorns Outreach and Public Engagement from 2021 – August 2026 ‐ Figure 1: Hawthorns Area Plan Conceptual Trail Map
12 FAQ updated August 2026 Page 8 of 10
Table 1. Hawthorns Outreach and Public Engagement from 2021 – August 2026 May 18, 2021* Midpen Planning and Natural Resources Committee (Planning & Public Engagement) Planning and Natural Resources Committee (PNR) received an informational presentation on the proposed planning and public engagement process for the Hawthorns Area Plan and provided input and guidance. Received eight public comments (six from PV residents).
March 10, 2021* Board FYI Memo – Planning Process Update on Hawthorns Area Plan project August 24, 2021* Midpen Planning and Natural Resources Committee (Vision and Goals) PNR reviewed the proposed draft vision and goals and provided input and guidance. Received six public comments (four from PV residents, one from PV Town Manager).
November 16,
2021*
Midpen Planning and Natural Resources Committee (Vision and Goals) PNR reviewed the revised vision and goals and draft Public Access Working Group strategy and provided further refinements. PNR unanimously recommended forwarding the refined vision and goal statements to the full Board for consideration. Received two public comments (one from PV resident).
March 1, 2022* Midpen Planning and Natural Resources Committee (Planning & Public Engagement) PNR reviewed the proposed planning and public engagement process to develop the Hawthorns Area Plan. Received four public comments (two from PV resident, one from PV Town Manager).
March 23, 2022* Midpen Board of Directors (Vision and Goals) Board reviewed and approved the vision and goals. Received four public comments (two from PV resident, one from PV Town Manager).
June 28, 2022* Neighborhood Meeting at Town of Portola Valley Community Hall Project team presented the Hawthorns Area Plan and Vision and Goals and facilitated a breakout activity to solicit community input. Approximately 40 to 50 attendees.
July 13, 2022* Midpen Board of Directors (Transportation Study) Board approved the award of contract with Parisi Transportation Consulting to provide transportation planning services for the Hawthorns Area Plan.
July 15, 2022** Public Site Tour of Hawthorns Area
Site tour for approximately 20 attendees to introduce them to property and project.
August 6, 2022** Public Site Tour of Hawthorns Area
Site tour for approximately 20 attendees to introduce them to property and project.
September 29,
2022**
Hawthorns Area Plan Public Open House (in-person)
Open house for members of the public to review and provide input on existing conditions and opportunities & constraints. Nine attendees (five PV residents).
October 16,
2022**
Public Site Tour of Hawthorns Area
Site tour for approximately 20 attendees to introduce them to the property and project.
October 20,
2022**
Hawthorns Area Plan Public Open House (virtual)
Virtual open house for members of the public to review and provide input on existing conditions and opportunities & constraints.
November 19,
2022**
Public Site Tour of Hawthorns Area
Site tour for approximately 20 attendees to introduce them to property and project.
March 21, 2023* Midpen Planning and Natural Resource Committee (Existing Conditions) PNR reviewed the Existing Conditions/Opportunities and Constraints Report, Existing Transportation Conditions Technical Memo, Public Access Framework, and the Public Access Working Group (PAWG) composition and formation strategy.
April 26, 2023* Midpen Board of Directors Meeting (Existing Conditions) Board approved the Existing Conditions/Opportunities and Constraints Report, Existing Transportation Conditions Technical Memo, Public Access Framework, and the Public Access Working Group (PAWG) composition and formation strategy.
June 10, 2023** PV Palooza Music Festival – tabling to discuss the project 13 FAQ updated August 2026 Page 9 of 10
June 21, 2023* Midpen Board of Directors Meeting (PAWG) Board interviewed and selected candidates as Interest Area Representatives on the Hawthorns Area Public Access Working Group (PAWG).
June 28, 2023* Midpen Board of Directors Meeting (PAWG) Board appointed members to serve on the Hawthorns Area Public Access Working Group (PAWG).
July 27, 2023* Public Access Working Group Meeting 1
Kick off and orientation.
August 9, 2023* Midpen Board of Directors Meeting (HAP conceptual) Board approved the award of contract with CSW|ST2 to provide preliminary site plan and conceptual design services for the Hawthorns Area Plan.
August 26, 2023* Public Access Working Group Meeting 2
Site tour. Approximately 70 attendees.
October 26, 2023* Public Access Working Group Meeting 3 Design discussion on trail and parking options.
December 16,
2023*
Public Access Working Group Meeting 4
Design discussion on trail and parking options.
February 14, 2024* Midpen Board of Directors Meeting (Transportation Study) Board approved the amendment of contracts with Parametrix (transportation consultant, formerly Parisi Transportation Consulting) and PGAdesign (PAWG facilitator).
February 29, 2024* Public Access Working Group Meeting 5 Design discussion on trail and parking options.
March 24, 2024* Public Access Working Group Meeting 6
Site meeting to discuss trail and parking options. Approximately 30 attendees.
June 13, 2024* Public Access Working Group Meeting 7
Final PAWG recommendations.
September 17,
2024*
Midpen Planning and Natural Resources Committee (PAWG)
PNR reviewed the PAWG recommendations, made no modifications, and supported the next step of presenting the recommendations to the Town before returning to a Board Study Session.
October 21, 2024* Town Hawthorns Ad Hoc
Project team presented the PAWG recommendations and received input.
October 30, 2024* Town Council Special Meeting
Project team presented the PAWG recommendations and received input. Received nine public comments, all from PV residents.
January 16, 2025** Portola Valley Ranch Fireside Chat
February 26, 2025* Midpen Board of Directors Study Session (PAWG) At this Study Session, Board reviewed the PAWG recommendations and public feedback and directed staff to return to a regular meeting of the Board for consideration and approval of the recommendations with any modifications requested by the Board.
March 12, 2025* Midpen Board of Directors Meeting (PAWG Recommendations and Conceptual Design Alternatives)
Board reviewed and approved the PAWG’s public access recommendations.
July 23, 2025* Midpen Board of Directors Meeting (Award of Contract for Schematic Design) Board approved the award of contract with CSW|ST2 to provide schematic design services for the Hawthorns Area Plan.
March 17, 2026* Midpen Planning and Natural Resources Committee (Draft Schematic Designs and Action Table) PNR reviewed the Hawthorns Area Plan draft Action Table and Schematic Parking Designs.
May 6, 2026* Midpen Board of Directors Meeting (Draft Schematic Designs and Action Table) Board approved the Hawthorns Area Plan draft Action Table and Schematic Parking Designs as the basis for the project description to conduct environmental review. * Public meeting
** Public event
14 FAQ updated August 2026 Page 10 of 10
Figure 1. Hawthorns Area Plan Conceptual Map
15 Hawthorns Property General Plan and Zoning Information General Plan Land Use Designation for Hawthorns Property:
Comprehensive Plan Diagram
Designation: Residential (Conservation)
General Plan Land Use text:
Conservation-Residential—Includes:
a. Existing developed areas where net residential land area per housing unit averages from 2 to 4 acres.
b. Relatively accessible undeveloped lands with few to considerable potential geologic instabilities. To be developed with a slope-intensity standard whereby the net residential land area per housing unit increases from 2 acres on level to 9 acres on slopes of 50 percent or greater.
Residential Area No. 9.
2122 The development pattern for a large portion of this area has been set by the Portola Valley Ranch subdivision where there are slightly in excess of two acres per housing unit. Most of the balance of the area is in large ownerships. The area is shown in the conservation residential intensity category.
2123 Most of the area has good access to local town roads, most utilities, schools, and shopping. Parts of the area are quite stable geologically, while other parts are highly unstable, and slopes range from moderate to steep. The plan diagram indicates large areas in the residential open space preserve category.
2123a In the area along Alpine Road, any development should be kept well back from the road so as not to encroach on the Alpine Road Corridor, Portola Road Corridor, and Nathhorst Triangle Area.
Zoning Classification:
Residential Estate
R-E/3.5A/ SD-2/D-R
Portola Valley Municipal Code Section 18.12.030 - Conditional use permitted.
The following uses shall be permitted only when a conditional use permit is granted therefore as provided in Chapter 18.72:
…..
K. Publicly-owned park, recreation or open space areas when located in conformance with the general plan;
16 OSC letter to Council 1
20 April 2026
To: Mayor Craig Taylor
Vice Mayor Mary Hufty
Council Members Rebecca Flynn, Judith Hasko, and Helen Wolter Town Manager Darcy Smith
From: The Portola Valley Open Space Committee (OSC)
Subject: Recommended actions on the Hawthorns
We are writing to alert you to significant environmental impacts associated with the Hawthorns Area Plan (Plan), which is now one Board decision away from starting the CEQA process (Figure 1).1
We consider elements of the Plan unacceptable and in violation of the Hawthorns Conservation Easement. We recommend the following actions:
1. Town Manager: a) formally convey the Town’s concerns to Midpen, and b) advise Midpen to submit a preliminary application to the Town for a conditional use permit.
2. Town Council: a) quickly secure legal representation for engagement with Midpen, including the possibility of Town acquisition of Hawthorns, and b) facilitate this by increasing the cap on the Town Manager’s discretionary use of the Open Space Fund.
A lot is at stake for Portola Valley. A major concern is that the Plan’s two parking lot options are in the scenic hillside southeast of Alpine Road and Alpine Trail, adjacent to the Town’s busiest crosswalks and intersection—Alpine Road and Portola Road (Figures 2 and 3). The hillside is a mix of meadow and oak woodland. It is a prominent feature of the Alpine Road Scenic Corridor, which is now recognized in regional planning as a Priority Conservation Area. Both of the Plan’s parking options are scaled for 50 cars and would entail: removal of significant trees; substantial cut and fill; and construction of a roadway, a permeable concrete surface, retaining walls, and a screening berm upslope from Alpine Trail. These impacts would violate the Conservation Easement2 and would dramatically degrade the Town’s safe and scenic buffer along a heavily used trail and major road. One OSC member said it would be a travesty. The grantee of the Conservation Easement, the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST),3 has not enforced the Conservation Easement’s restrictions. 1 At the March 17, 2026 meeting of the Midpen Planning and Natural Resources (PNR) Committee, the Plan was advanced to the Midpen Board for their meeting on May 13, 2026. Figure 1 provides a timeline. See also the videorecording of the meeting, especially timestamp 1:30:34−1:32:15. 2 Highlighted text of Appendix A to this letter (the Conservation Easement) includes restrictions on tree removal (p. 5), prohibits grading and other actions that would “clearly degrade the scenic and natural character of the Real Property” (p. 6), and specifies that a parking lot for public access should be in the Improved Portion of the property (p. 8, and Recital B, p.1). 3 The Conservation Easement for the Hawthorns (Appendix A of this letter) was granted to the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) in 2005 by Frederick Woods, III. It states his intent to preserve the natural, scenic, historical, and open-space values of the Hawthorns in perpetuity. Midpen accepted the property in 2006 and officially finalized the transfer in 2011. At the time, this was Midpen’s largest-ever private land gift. See 17 OSC letter to Council 2
The bigger picture is that the entire Hawthorns property is a unique asset for Portola Valley.
In addition to its diversity of natural habitats, there are visible legacies of the region’s agricultural past, and structures that likely merit state and national recognition for their historic quality.4 Appendix B of this letter describes how all these elements are woven together in a manner consistent with the conservation values of Portola Valley and the Historic Element of the General Plan. The Open Space Committee considers the Hawthorns so significant and “right-sized” as Town Open Space that acquisition should be considered.
Right-sizing should apply to every aspect of the Hawthorns. Providing sufficient parking for public access to Hawthorns is as much a goal for the Town as it is for Midpen. Residents are all too familiar with the consequences of inadequate parking at Midpen’s Windy Hill Open Space. The question is how much parking is needed for a 79-acre parcel with a 1.5- mile loop trail, and how those needs will change with greater use of e-bikes, ride services, and future modes of travel. Residents and committees have suggested parking arrangements—either inside the Hawthorns property or outside it—that would meet the needs for parking while protecting open space.
Action is needed now by the Town of Portola Valley. If the Midpen Board approves the draft Hawthorns Area Plan as a project description for CEQA at its meeting on May 13, the Town should engage with Midpen before the CEQA process begins, saving time and taxpayer dollars relative to waiting until a CEQA document is completed. This requires immediate Town action to obtain legal representation, focused equally on both Midpen’s Hawthorns Area Plan and the potential acquisition of Hawthorns by the Town. To facilitate this, we recommend increasing the cap on the Town Manager’s discretionary use of the Open Space Fund.
Respectfully,
The Portola Valley Open Space Committee:
Carter Warr, Chair
Jackie Magno, Vice Chair
Nona Chiariello
Terry Lee
Delle Maxwell
Betsy Morgenthaler
Gary Nielsen
“Property Acquisition” on p. 2 of:
https://www.openspace.org/sites/default/files/20210518_HawthornsPublicAccessPlan_R-21-65.pdf.
The gift was supported by a $2 million endowment for ongoing stewardship. See “Budget” on p. 3. of https://www.openspace.org/sites/default/files/20180627_FYI_HawthornsHistoricComplexReuseUpda te.pdf. 4 https://www.openspace.org/sites/default/files/2013.10.31.Hawthorns_HistoricResourceStudy.pdf 18 OSC letter to Council 3
Figure 1
Figure 1. Screenshot from the videorecording of the March 17, 2026 meeting of the Midpen Planning and Natural Resources (PNR) Committee. The timeline from March 2026 until Implementation is discussed beginning at timestamp 1:30:34 of the videorecording. 19 OSC letter to Council 4
Figure 2
Figure 2. Schematic Parking Design Options 9 and 10 from Midpen’s Hawthorns Area Plan, pp. 36-37 in the Agenda Packet for the March 17, 2026 meeting of the Planning and Natural Resources Committee. The Committee approved advancing Options 9 and 10 to the full Midpen Board. Contour lines indicate 1ft intervals: faint contours are the existing topography; dark contours show topography post-construction. Parking would have two phases, but the grading would happen in phase 1. A dashed red line is added and shows the approximate boundary between the “Unimproved Portion” left of the line, and the “Improved Portion” on the right (see Conservation Easement, Appendix A, p. 1 and p. 8). 20 OSC letter to Council 5
Figure 3. Schematic section diagrams for parking Option 9 and Option 10. These section diagrams illustrate the approximate cut-and-fill necessary to create the proposed parking lanes, drive aisles, and visual screening for parking Options 9 and 10. Green text and arrows have been added to draw attention to the existing grade, for comparison with the proposed final topography after cut-and-fill. The “approximate 60'” width of the parking lot and drive aisle was used to scale the two panels for direct comparison.
After these section diagrams were created, Midpen modified the parking schematics to substitute hammerhead turnarounds (shown in Figure 2) for circular turnarounds. The hammerheads would extend farther upslope on the hillside than is represented in these two panels.
Source: pages 18 and 19 of
https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=26420&repo=r-5197d798 Figure 3
21 See
Part
6 i.
Note: Yellow highlighting and comments and underlines in red have been added.
Source: https://www.openspace.org/sites/default/
files/20180627_FYI_HawthornsHistoricComplexReuseUpdate.pdf Appendix A, Cons. Easement, p. 1
22 Appendix A, Cons. Easement, p. 2
23 Appendix A, Cons. Easement, p. 3
24 Appendix A, Cons. Easement, p. 4
25 Appendix A, Cons. Easement, p. 5
26 Appendix A, Cons. Easement, p. 6
27 Appendix A, Cons. Easement, p. 7
28 See
Recital B
Appendix A, Cons. Easement, p. 8
29 Appendix A, Cons. Easement, p. 9
30 Appendix A, Cons. Easement, p. 10
31 Appendix A, Cons. Easement, p. 11
32 Appendix A, Cons. Easement, p. 12
33 Appendix A, Cons. Easement, p. 13
34 Appendix A, Cons. Easement, p. 14
35 Appendix A, Cons. Easement, p. 15
36 Appendix A, Cons. Easement, p. 16
37 Appendix A, Cons. Easement, p. 17
38 Appendix B, p. 1
Appendix B. Hawthorns—an integration of open space, agricultural, and settled areas In 2005 Frederick Woods III granted a Conservation Easement to the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) for the Hawthorns, a property he grew up on and inherited from his parents, Frederick N. Woods, Jr and Frances Newhall Woods. Midpen accepted the property in 2006 and officially finalized the transfer in 2011. At the time, this was Midpen’s largest-ever private land gift,1 and it was supported by a $2 million endowment for ongoing stewardship.2
Frederick Woods III’s intent was to preserve the natural, scenic, historical, and open-space values of the Hawthorns in perpetuity.3 His intent would be honored by recognizing how those four values are interwoven in the landscape, together with identifying an historic structure that is a potential candidate for preservation.
Interwoven Landscape: Open Space and Agriculture
The open space and historic agricultural areas of the Hawthorns are woven together in conformance with natural landforms and water resources, typical of Portola Valley’s past.
For example, without modifying the natural topography, extensive orchards were possible when cultivation began at the Hawthorns. A 1930 aerial photograph shows orchards stretching to much of the property’s perimeter (Figure 1).4 A hillshade image derived from 2020 LIDAR reveals ground surface patterns suggesting that, prior to 1930, orchards and olive groves covered more than one-third of the property (Figure 2). These records align with the HRA’s findings that the property transitioned from horticulture to livestock after the Woods family purchased it in 1916.5 Today, ecological succession from orchards to oak woodland is occurring (Figure 3). The pastoral landscape is becoming ever more a conservation gem.
While the landscape is ecologically interwoven, it is legally divided by three assessor’s parcels and two Conservation Easement parcels (Figure 3). The two Conservation Easement parcels are significant because they have somewhat different restrictions.
Alignment with the Historic Element of the Town’s General Plan Based on the Historic Resources Assessment of the Hawthorns (HRA)6 and other documents, the Hawthorns is singularly aligned with the objectives of Portola Valley’s Historic Element to preserve, protect and enhance historic resources and to promote 1 https://www.openspace.org/sites/default/files/20210518_HawthornsPublicAccessPlan_R-21-65.pdf , p. 2 2 https://www.openspace.org/sites/default/files/20180627_FYI_HawthornsHistoricComplexReuseUpdate.pdf p.3. 3 Hawthorns Conservation Easement, Recital C.
4 This photo precedes the earliest photos reviewed for the HRA. https://www.openspace.org/sites/default/files/2013.10.31.Hawthorns_HistoricResourceStudy.pdf, Endnote 49, p. 121. 5 https://www.openspace.org/sites/default/files/2013.10.31.Hawthorns_HistoricResourceStudy.pdf. p. 74 6 https://www.openspace.org/sites/default/files/2013.10.31.Hawthorns_HistoricResourceStudy.pdf 39 Appendix B, p. 2
public appreciation of them.7 The HRA concluded that “the property is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district because it retains landscape features and structures that reflect the social, agricultural, and architectural history of San Francisco Peninsula estate property in the late 19th century.”8 In the Town’s Historic Resources Inventory, the Hawthorns is the only entry listed for both historic structures and natural features.9 The Hawthorn house is “the first architecturally designed house within the present town boundary.”10 The olive trees may be the only remaining examples of olive groves in Portola Valley.11 These unique features argue for preservation of both landscape and structures.
Yet, the future of the historic complex is uncertain. Midpen recognizes the property’s historic values but “has neither the public directive, internal capacity, nor available funding to manage, restore or rehabilitate historic structures and therefore has typically relied on partners to undertake preservation of historic resources on their lands.”12 In 2025, after several potential partnerships failed to materialize, Midpen decided to move ahead on the open space portion of the property and defer the historic area.
A priority for preservation: the Garage
Of the four historically significant buildings—the Lower Barn, the Cottage, the Main House, and the Garage13—we identify the Garage as the best candidate for preservation. The Garage is a 2,200 sf structure with a 1,100 sf attic apartment.14 The HRA raised the possibility that the Garage was designed by renowned California architect Julia Morgan but lacked supporting documentation.15
Evidence supporting a Julia Morgan connection for the Garage has increased. Julia Morgan expert Dr. Karen Ann McNeill identified a newspaper report which is, thus far, the only published evidence linking Morgan to the design (Figure 4); it dates the Garage to 1918. In addition, Town Historian Nancy Lund has viewed Garage drawings owned by Fred Woods IV that substantiate Morgan’s role. Both Nancy Lund and Karen McNeill have indicated they believe the Garage is indeed a Julia Morgan structure. With its modest size and design by Julia Morgan, the Garage may be a viable candidate for obtaining enough philanthropic support to preserve the structure.
7 https://www.portolavalley.net/home/showpublisheddocument/1986/635393271701670000, Section 2508. 8 https://www.openspace.org/sites/default/files/20210518_HawthornsPublicAccessPlan_R-21-65.pdf , p. 3 9 https://www.portolavalley.net/home/showpublisheddocument/1986/635393271701670000, Sections 2517 and 2521; Hawthorns entries are listed for further consideration. 10 https://www.portolavalley.net/home/showpublisheddocument/1986/635393271701670000, p. 22 11 https://www.openspace.org/sites/default/files/2013.10.31.Hawthorns_HistoricResourceStudy.pdf, p. 15 12 https://www.openspace.org/sites/default/files/2013.10.31.Hawthorns_HistoricResourceStudy.pdf p.2 of Introduction. 13 https://www.openspace.org/sites/default/files/20210518_HawthornsPublicAccessPlan_R-21-65.pdf, p. 3 14 https://www.openspace.org/sites/default/files/2013.10.31.Hawthorns_HistoricResourceStudy.pdf, p. 95 15 https://www.openspace.org/sites/default/files/2013.10.31.Hawthorns_HistoricResourceStudy.pdf, p. 47- 48 40
Appendix B, p. 3
Figure 1. 1930 aerial photograph of Hawthorns. Dashed yellow lines outline areas where cultivation is visible in this image; dashed red lines show where the 2020 hillshade image (Figure 2) suggests a surface-terrain legacy of pre-1930 cultivation that is not apparent in this image. Figures 1 and 2 are scaled and aligned for direct comparison.
Comparing Figures 1 and 3 indicates that woody cultivation (perhaps olives, stone fruits, apples or grapes) was more extensive in 1930 than is visible today. Comparing Figures 1 and 2 suggests woody cultivation was yet more extensive at some time prior to 1930.
Image source: https://mil.library.ucsb.edu/apcatalog/report/report.php?filed_by=C-1025 41 Appendix B, p. 4
Figure 2. 2020 Hillshade (terrain) image. Dashed yellow lines roughly outline areas where cultivation is visible in the 1930 photo (Figure 1) as well as in this image; dashed red lines indicate where the ground surface in this image suggests a fingerprint of cultivation not apparent in the 1930 photo (i.e., cultivation preceded that photo). If cultivation also occurred outside the dashed yellow and red lines, it may have been erased from the surface terrain by plowing, grazing, etc. Figures 1 and 2 are scaled and aligned for direct comparison. LiDAR source: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/64806 42 Appendix B, p. 5
Figure 3. Schematic of internal boundaries of Hawthorns. The Conservation Easement lists three assessor’s parcels that constitute the Hawthorns. It also divides the Hawthorns into two Parcels (1 and 2, also known as “improved” and “unimproved”), which only partially align with the assessor’s parcels. (See Exhibit B within the Conservation Easement.) An Historic district outlined by Midpen is included here (see https://www.openspace.org/what-we-do/projects/hawthorns-historic-complex) but some Midpen documents outline the historic area in other ways, e.g. with a circle.
Note, where boundaries coincide, they are offset to make all of them visible, so these lines are not precise.
43 Appendix B, p. 6
Figure 4. Page from Building and Engineering News
in 1918 referencing a contract for a “One and onehalf-story concrete and frame private garage with living rooms” designed by architect Julia Morgan for
Mrs. E. W. Newhall to be constructed in Menlo Park.
Mrs. Edwin White Newhall was the mother of Frances
Newhall Woods.
The year of the contract was 2 years after Frances
Newhall married Frederick Nickerson Woods, Jr. and
purchased the Hawthorns. According to the HRA (p.
47), “the Newhall family (particularly the parents of
Frances Newhall Woods) had a history of working
with famed early California woman architect, Julia
Morgan.”
One of the connections to Julia Morgan is that the
architect designed a brick garage-plus-apartment
adjacent to the Newhall home on Pacific Avenue in
San Francisco. The structure apparently was built for
E. W. Newhall, Jr. and his wife (brother and sister-inlaw of Frances Newhall Woods), but Frances and Frederick Woods, Jr. lived there for a period.
Frederick N. Woods, III, who granted the
Conservation Easement, was the son of Frances
Newhall Woods and Frederick N. Woods, Jr.
44 PORTOLA VALLEY TRAILS & PATHS COMMITTEE
Town of Portola Valley · 765 Portola Road, Portola Valley, CA 94028 · [email protected] June 19, 2026
To:Mayor Craig Taylor
Vice Mayor Mary Hufty
Council Members Rebecca Flynn, Judith Hasko, and Helen Wolter Town Manager Darcy Smith
From:The Portola Valley Trails & Paths Committee
Subject:Recommendations on the Hawthorns Area Plan
The Trails & Paths Committee has followed the Hawthorns planning process closely for several years, and we have submitted formal feedback letters to the Hawthorns Public Access Working Group in 2023 and 2024. With the Hawthorns Area Plan now advancing through Midpen’s planning and environmental review process, we write to recommend how the Town should proceed with regards to project components within our purview, and to underscore the trail/path priorities that must be protected as the project moves forward.
We are aware that the Plan’s parking proposals have generated concern, including questions about their consistency with the Hawthorns Conservation Easement. The Trails & Paths Committee takes no position on whether the proposed parking would violate the conservation easement. That is a legal question, properly left to the Town Council, its counsel, and the easement’s grantee. Our charge and the focus of the remainder of this letter is the trails and paths dimension of the project.
The Hawthorns represents one of the most consequential trail opportunities in Portola Valley in a generation. Our committee’s role is to recommend trail routing that is safe and feasible, review and comment on plans during the permitting process, and to uphold the Trails & Paths Element of the General Plan. Whatever course the Town and Midpen ultimately take, we ask the Council to ensure the project delivers on the following recommendations:.
1. Improve the Alpine Trail. The Alpine Road trail along the Hawthorns frontage is a vital Safe Route to School and runs beside one of the Town’s busiest road corridors. The committee has consistently recommended that this trail be improved to a safe, multi-use standard for pedestrians, equestrians, and cyclists — particularly children biking to school — and that those improvements be built early, ahead of other project elements rather than deferred to a later phase. The Town’s engagement with Midpen should make Alpine Trail improvements an explicit priority and an early deliverable.
2. Parking that protects trail safety and adheres to the Trails & Paths Element of the General Plan. The conservation easement’s provisions notwithstanding, the committee is concerned that the parking proposals now under consideration would place vehicle access and circulation immediately alongside the Alpine Trail and adjacent to the Town’s busiest Trails & Paths Committee — Recommendations on the Hawthorns Area Plan · Page 1 45 crosswalks and intersection. This raises real safety concerns for the people who use the trails today — particularly the children who walk and bike this route to school. The committee asks that whatever parking solution is ultimately adopted be consistent with the Trails & Paths Element, and that it protect, rather than compromise, the safety of Alpine Trail users and the scenic buffer along Alpine Road. We are glad to help the Town and Midpen evaluate parking options for their effects on trail safety and use.
3. Connectors into the Town’s trail system. The Hawthorns interior trails should be multi-use (where permittable) and should connect cleanly into the surrounding Town network, including connections toward the Sweet Springs and Los Trancos trails, consistent with the Trails & Paths Element. We also ask that the trail connection study contemplated in the Hawthorns Planning Process be carried out. Thoughtful connections are what turn the Hawthorns from an isolated parcel into an integrated part of the Town’s trail system.
4. Give serious consideration to Town acquisition of the Hawthorns. The committee believes the possibility of the Town acquiring the Hawthorns property merits serious consideration by the Council. The Hawthorns is a rare open-space asset, well suited in scale to the Town; from a trails standpoint, Town ownership would give Portola Valley the greatest ability to secure the trail and access outcomes described above..
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Respectfully,
Gary Hanning
Chair, Portola Valley Trails & Paths Committee
On behalf of the Trails & Paths Committee
Trails & Paths Committee — Recommendations on the Hawthorns Area Plan · Page 2 46 RECORDING REQUESTED BY
AND WHEN RECORDED, RETURN TO:
TOWN OF PORTOLA VALLEY
ATTENTION : NTCJSAAJ Mc6tredA, V
LIMITED DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT
THIS DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT ( the " Agreement") is made and entered into as of this / f . day of , 1988, by
and between the Town of Portola Valley, a unicipal Corporation of the State of California (" Town"), and MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT, a Public District (" District").
RECITALS
This Agreement is entered into on the basis of the
following facts, understandings and intentions of the parties:
A. Town has enacted the Development Agreement Ordinance, establishing the procedures and requirements for the consideration of development agreements thereunder pursuant to the Development Agreement Legislation.
B. The property intended to be affected by this
Agreement consists of approximately four hundred twenty- nine 429) acres, located in the Town of Portola Valley, County of San Mateo, California, more particularly described as Parcel One on the Tentative Subdivision Map, Rancho Corte Madera, dated July 22, 1937, hereinafter referred to as the " Property." District desires to own, develop and manage the Property for public open space and recreational purposes ( the " Project").
C. Town has found that District use of the Property
is in conformity with the General Plan of Town and further, Town has determined that the Project is appropriate for a Site Development Permit in order to achieve the goals and objectives of Town' s land use planning policies, and to provide appropriate assurances to District regarding the ability to complete the Project. In exchange for these benefits to Town, District desires to receive the assurance that it may proceed with the Project in accordance with Existing Ordinances and subject to the terms and conditions contained in this Agreement.
47 Portola Valley - Limited Development Agreement Page 2 NOW, THEREFORE, pursuant to the authority contained in
the Development Agreement Ordinance, and in consideration of the mutual covenants and promises of the parties herein contained, the parties agree as follows:
1. Use and development of' the Property shall conform
to the General Plan, zoning and subdivision and site development ordinances of Town; and District shall not override such Plan and regulations. Such limitations shall not apply, however, if Town fails to approve a Conditional Use Permit allowing a 50 car parking lot on the property with primary access from Portola Road within twelve months of an application being filed by District, or in the event the Conditional Use Permit, if issued, is revoked or declared invalid by court action; provided, however, that in the event a court should invalidate or revoke any portion of such Conditional Use Permit, the parties agree that such court action shall not result in the inapplicability to District of the Town' s General Plan, zoning and subdivision and site development ordinances as related to the remaining portions of said Conditional Use Permit, and District, may, upon issuance of a Site Development Permit by Town ( which issuance shall not be unreasonably withheld) proceed with the construction and completion of said 50 car parking lot.
2. The General Plan and zoning, subdivision and site
development ordinances of Town in existence at the time of the recordation of this Agreement shall remain in effect as they pertain to the Property for the duration of this Agreement with the exceptions that the General Plan may be amended to show the property as an " Open Space Preserve," that the " Trails and Paths Element" of the General Plan may be amended to reflect a design agreed upon by District and Town, and finally that the zoning ordinance may be amended to require a Conditional Use Permit for a publicly -owned park, recreation area or open space preserve.
3. District agrees to cooperate with Town in the
design and acquisition of a minor collector road which would comply with Town' sGeneral Plan. Said road is currently shown on Town' s General Plan as intersecting Portola Road on the frontage of the Property with said road. Specifically, at such time as the property to the north ( APN 76- 340- 06) is to be subdivided and Town deems that the road is needed, District will enter into negotiations with Town and the owner of the property( s) to the north, or any portion thereof, to provide the needed right of way over District land for the road. The location of the road should result in the least possible ecological and visual impact while meeting its function. As a part of negotiations, consideration shall be given to payment of fair market value of District land and also reimbursing District for a pro rata share of the costs of the improvements which provide access to Portola Road and which are of benefit to the property owner( s) to the north. 48 Portola Valley - Limited Development Agreement Page 3
4. This Agreement shall be recorded by the Town Clerk
pursuant to § 65868. 5of the Government Code of the State of California. The provisions, terms and conditions herein contained shall constitute covenants which shall pertain to and run with the real property described herein. The burdens of this Agreement shall be binding upon, and the benefits hereof shall inure to, all successors in interest to the parties hereto.
5. This Limited Development Agreement shall supersede, replace and render void any and all previous limited development agreements, or amendments thereto pertaining to the Property or any portion thereof, including, but not limited to:
a. That certain Limited Development Agreement
dated November 17, 1980 and recorded November 2, 1980 in Reel 8007 Official Records at Image 448, San Mateo County Records. b. Amendment thereto dated November 6, 1984 and
recorded November 8, 1984, Recorder' sSerial No. 84120741, San Mateo County Official Records.
c. Amendment thereto dated July 29, 1986 and
Recorded July 30, 1936, Recorder' sSerial No. 86088510, San Mateo County Official Records.
49 Portola Valley - Limited Development Agreement Page 4 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Agreement on the date set forth above.
TOWN OF PORTOLA VALLEY
By (/ By
APPROVED AS TO FORM
ATTEST
City Clerk
MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN
SPACE DISTRICT
Viresident,
Board of Directors
APPROVED AS TO FORM
By
4429A41:
District Counsel
ATTEST
Ir' iee, O&41//
Dis ict Clerk
50 1
Mayor Craig Taylor June 24, 2026
Vice Mayor Mary Hufty
Council Members Rebecca Flynn, Judith Hasko, and Helen Wolter Town Manager Darcy Smith
Dear Mayor Taylor, Vice Mayor Hufty, Council Members, and Town Manager, I want to thank the Council for considering whether and how to engage with Midpen to better align the Hawthorns Area Plan with the values and principles of Portola Valley for protecting the environment, public safety, and scenic corridors. The Hawthorns is a very significant open space resource, and Midpen has the capacity to make it a gem in the regional open space network. But the Hawthorns is small (by Midpen standards), entirely within Portola Valley, historically significant, and located near the Town’s center and busiest intersection. Portola Valley has a large and valid interest in insuring that the Hawthorns Area Plan is consistent with the town’s General Plan and the needs of the community.
As a member of the Open Space Committee, I have looked closely at many of the Hawthorns documents. In this letter I am expressing a personal perspective that arises less from what I saw in the documents than from what I did not see—that even where I would expect the Town and Midpen to be in greatest alignment, they are not.
I’ll focus here on the Plan’s parking designs, which have been a source of concern to residents and committees in Portola Valley. I think many people have concluded that the Hawthorns Plan would create more parking than is needed, without addressing parking that is clearly needed for lower Windy Hill. I agree with that assessment. The Hawthorns Plan should address Windy Hill’s inadequate parking because the Hawthorns is not a preserve in itself, it is the “Hawthorns Area of the Windy Hill Open Space Preserve.”1
That context—Hawthorns is part of Windy Hill OSP—
means the Hawthorns parking plan should not be acceptable if it doesn’t address the overflow parking from Windy Hill. Overflow parking is a public safety issue for everyone—people getting in and out of vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians, equestrians, motorists, etc. The Hawthorns is part of Windy Hill OSP, and the Hawthorns Plan should address the existing parking problem.
Proximity creates some options that should have been at the top of Midpen’s list. The two main Windy Hill entrances in central Portola Valley—the Windy Hill entrance on Portola Road and the Alpine Rd entrance near Willowbrook Drive—are a mile or less from the Hawthorns, either by road or by trail (Figure 1). In both of those access locations, overflow parking onto public roads is a routine problem (Figures 2, 3). A glance at the lower Windy Hill area (Figure 2) makes one parking solution apparent. The Windy Hill meadow northwest of the parking lot is a nearly level grassland of more than 3 acres which would allow vehicle egress, with good visibility, onto Portola Road. The depth of the property would allow enough vegetation to screen an overflow parking lot that could be opened on weekends or as needed. A parking area there could take the place of parking at the Hawthorns.
1 https://www.openspace.org/sites/default/files/ATT%201-PAWG%20Summary%20Report.pdf; cover page 51 2
Figure 1. Windy Hill Open Space Preserve, including the Hawthorns Area. 2024 Image source: Google Earth.
Midpen has described designs like this in a general, forward-looking document on Parking Area Design Guidelines that includes overflow lots, special event lots, and off-site lots to address growing parking demands.
2 Windy Hill OSP could be a case in point for those guidelines. Midpen could go even further with, for example, a weekend shuttle loop along a triangle from the 2 https://www.openspace.org/sites/default/files/0.1%20-%2020240508_ParkingAreaDesignGuidelines_R-24-55.pdf 52 3
Figure 2. Windy Hill Lower
Parking Lot (detail 1) and
adjoining meadow (existing
easements need to be
identified).
Figure 3. Willowbrook
parking area (detail 2).
Parking routinely overflows
onto Willowbrook Drive
from a small lot around the
corner on Alpine Road.
53 4
Windy Hill lot, to Willowbrook Drive, then Alpine Road, and then back to the Windy Hill lot, serving the three Windy Hill OSP access points (including Hawthorns) near the corners of that triangle (Figure 1). A shuttle is a flexible option that could be expanded, altered or ended as needed. A shuttle or even more sustainable solutions (e.g., public transit, ride-sharing, rideservices, and use of e-bikes, etc.) would minimize parking to what is required for accessibility.
Portola Valley residents have weighed in with other parking solutions that deserve a hearing.
Safe, sustainabile parking solutions are compatible with the Hawthorns Area remaining a Midpen property within Windy Hill OSP. However Midpen’s decision to proceed with environmental documents, forgoing discussion with the Town, suggests that most options will be off the table for Midpen until the permitting process begins. I have emphasized the parking plan here because it has received so much attention, and because it seems like an obvious element where Midpen and the Town would align in perspective. It is not the only example. Nothing has surprised me more about Midpen’s parking schematics than their failure to envision a safer Alpine Trail where it adjoins the Hawthorns.
Engagement with Midpen now, followed by a rigorous permitting process, should lead to safe and environmentally appropiate parking and trails. Other fundamental elements, such as the historic district, are simply outside Midpen’s mission. If acquisition of the Hawthorns by the Town is the only way to align with the Town’s General Plan on all the major elements of the Hawthorns, I hope it can and will be pursued.
Respectfully,
Nona Chiariello
54