Portola Valley Planning Commissioner Judith Hasko expressed frustration on Dec. 7 with having to recuse herself from a discussion about the town's housing element — which the town is racing to complete by Jan. 31 — because of a potential conflict of interest. Residents have urged Hasko not to step back from the topic.

Hasko, who is set to join the Town Council next week, said she consulted with her counsel and Town Attorney Cara Silver at the start of a four-hour Wednesday, Dec. 7, meeting. Ultimately, she decided to wait on a response back from the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPCC) on whether she is allowed to take part in decisions regarding the state-mandated plans for housing.

She expects a letter in early 2023. The town is trying to move quickly to modify its housing element, which covers planning for new homes for 2023 through 2031, so it can maintain local control and evade the so-called "builder's remedy."

Hasko lives on Applewood Lane within 1,000 feet of two Nathhorst Triangle properties, 4370 and the 4394 Alpine Road, that the town plans to upzone as part of its housing plan. The two sites could produce up to 23 new housing units.

"Unfortunately today it remains unclear to me if I can participate or not," Hasko said, noting that she appreciates the sentiments of residents encouraging her to not recuse herself. "It is important I figure this out. ... As you can imagine, I am frustrated with the situation as I want to participate in all these important discussions as much as possible. ... I would far prefer to participate."

Two residents urged Hasko not to recuse herself during the public comment period of the meeting. Several other residents at the Nov. 30 Planning Commission meeting also implored Hasko to participate.

"I encourage Judith to participate," said resident Marcin Pawlowski, noting that she was the top vote-getter in November's council race. "The town overwhelmingly trusts her voice, but at the end of the day it's her decision."

Resident Sandra Patterson said Hasko was elected to the Town Council because of her talent on the Planning Commission and that residents need her to participate in housing discussions.

"Everyone believes in Judith's integrity," said Patterson. "Nathhorst is not the only neighborhood affected (by the housing element)."

Some residents again urged the town to slow down its housing element process, with former Town Council candidate and Emergency Preparedness Committee Chair Dale Pfau calling the builder's remedy fears a "red herring." The state did institute the builder's remedy in Santa Monica after it failed to submit a compliant housing element.

With builder's remedy, cities and towns could be required to approve any project that has 20% of its units designated for affordable or low-income households or 100% moderate income households even if the project exceeds the zoning and general plan density requirements, according to a Nov. 10 staff presentation to Portola Valley's Ad Hoc Housing Element Committee.

Feedback on Nathhorst sites

Town staff presented three possibilities for developing 4370 Alpine Road during the meeting after receiving a petition opposing three-story development of the site, along with other requests to decrease development. Staff met with neighborhood residents and developed conceptual approaches based on public comments.

The first plan would allow for up to nine units, each averaging 1,200 square feet with ground-floor parking, along with 12,800 square feet of commercial space and public space. The second plan calls for reducing density to four units per acre, or 10 units total, limiting building heights to two-stories, and increasing setbacks to limit development at the rear of the property.

The third plan would establish setbacks of 30 feet on the Nathhorst Avenue side, and 25 feet on the other two sides of the property.

The commission opted for a modified version of the second option: four units per acre, with preference for limiting housing at the back of the property that borders the neighborhood. Town staff plan to work with the property owner to come up with a plan that works.

The owner of 4370 Alpine Road, Rich Thesing, said he found out about the town potentially designating nine units of housing for his property through an article in The Almanac a couple of months ago.

Thesing said he thinks townhomes — three-bedroom, 2.5-baths for about $2.5 million to $3 million — would fit into the neighborhood well. He believes potential buyers would include longtime Portola Valley residents who own larger properties looking to downsize as they retire, as well as young families who grew up in the area and cannot afford to live in town at a price point in excess of $6 million. Residents would have a quick walk to Robert's Market next door, which would be of interest to a lot more than nine people, he noted.

"You have to tell me what you want and I'll decide whether it makes sense for us to pursue it," he said. "I understand neighbors complain all the time, but it makes it sound like we're trying to build something in the middle of the neighborhood. This isn't the middle of the neighborhood. You come up on Alpine, you pass an office building that's adjacent to a commercial strip. You would transition to townhouses, then you would enter the neighborhood."

The 4394 Alpine Road site could be up to three stories, an average 1,280 square feet per unit, with 1.5 spaces per unit, plus nine guest spots. Parking would be tucked underneath the housing.

Fire maps

Some residents have asked the town to hold off on completing its housing element until the Woodside Fire Protection District has finalized its fire hazard maps, which will outline fire risk in Portola Valley and update the fire code.

"We all wish the maps were already done," Planning and Building Director Laura Russell.

Since fire maps of the town are outdated, Fire Marshal Don Bullard said on Dec. 1 that he worked with the district's mapping consultant, Flame Mapper, to assess the five housing inventory sites on Alpine Road, according to a staff report.

Flame Mapper said that all of the parcels, except the Stanford University site (known as the Stanford Wedge) would fall under moderate fire danger. The sites are not in the "very high" or "high" fire danger areas. Once the sites are built, then the moderate rating would be reduced to low. In regard to the Stanford site, with no building the site would be considered high fire risk, but once built out, it would be reduced to a moderate, staff said.

Next steps

The Planning Commission had planned to make a formal recommendation to the council on the housing element on Dec. 13, but staff moved the next meeting to Jan. 4 to give people more time to review the plans.

The Town Council will review the housing element package for adoption over the course of two or three meetings in January before resubmitting the document.

Watch a video of the meeting here.