As Portola Valley is in the midst of finding replacements for key town hall positions recently vacated, another top staffer has announced her resignation.

Town Attorney Cara Silver sent her notice to the Town Council in a Friday, April 21, letter and said that she plans to leave her post on May 22. Silver, a partner at Jorgenson, Siegel, McClure & Flegel in Menlo Park, began serving in the Portola Valley role in 2017 and plans to continue working with her firm.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed working for visionary Town Councils who have sought to find the right balance between the rural and built environments," she said. "I have been honored to work alongside intelligent, creative and caring staff who have chosen public service as their career path."

She said it's been inspiring to watch new commissioners and committee members become subject matter experts on a range of community issues.

"Portola Valley has many challenges ahead," Silver wrote. "In parting, I wish the council, staff and community well and hope civility and respect for one another can be restored."

Silver told The Almanac in a Tuesday email that it's a difficult time for local governments.

"Many changes are coming down the pipeline and under-resourced cities are struggling to understand the breadth and impact of them," she said. "Communicating and implementing change is even more difficult. Portola Valley has an amazing town staff with expert knowledge in their subject fields. My hope is that community debate on these issues will leverage that expertise in order to comply with state mandates in a way that respects town values — I know it can be done."

Mayor Jeff Aalfs said in a Tuesday statement: "I have had the privilege of working closely with Cara Silver since she became town counsel in 2017. Cara has served Portola Valley tirelessly and honestly, always mindful of her duty to provide Portola Valley with the best legal guidance based on her knowledge of the law. I wish her all the best going forward."

Portola Valley Town Manager Jeremy Dennis left his role on March 17. Public Works Director Howard Young is filling the position on an interim basis while he continues to head the Public Works Department. Assistant Town Manager Melvin Gaines left in January to become the city manager in East Palo Alto. Town Clerk Melissa Thurman resigned on March 20. She is now serving as the city clerk for Los Altos.

Council member Judith Hasko, who was elected to the council in November, said that the council is reaching out to staff to identify any areas of concern, or functions that need special near-term support with the department heads leaving.

When asked how a lack of a fully functioning staff impact the town's safety, a huge concern for some residents, Hasko said that the town has its "eyes keenly trained on making sure our safety networks and capabilities are working well and at the highest standards."

"Our interim Town Manager, Howard Young, has extensive experience in Public Works, which gave him particular insight into the town's safety operations," she said. "I know he was personally involved in solving many of our recent storm-related problems in town, and believe he will continue his admirable work in this and other capacities."

Housing development has been a major point of contention in town. The Town Council missed the state deadline for submitting a compliant housing element, choosing to further refine its plan.

Last year was a busy year for Silver. Nathhorst Triangle residents filed a massive public records request with the town after they were concerned about the potential for a multifamily housing development in their neighborhood. The town also begrudgingly settled a lawsuit alleging Brown Act violations over text messages between town staff and advisory committee members, saying it was necessary to save the town the cost of expensive litigation.

A vitriolic election led to Town Council member Craig Hughes losing his reelection bid in November.

Silver recently faced criticism from the volunteer-led group Portola Valley Neighbors United, which came out against Stanford University's plan to develop land along Alpine Road known as the Wedge, in its April 16 newsletter.

PVNU questioned if Silver had the town's best interests at heart by advising the town Council at the end of March not to approve binding California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) mitigation measures recommended by the Planning Commission and the Woodside Fire Protection District (WFPD).

"If the Town Council adopted the measures requested by the fire district and Planning Commission as CEQA 'mitigation' measures, the measures would become required, enforceable parts of our new housing element," the group wrote. "By refusing to adopt these measures as CEQA mitigation measures, the three approving council members are not only freeing the town from any binding commitment to implement these important measures. They are also weakening and possibly undermining the town's ability to adopt and enforce such critical public safety measures going forward."

Silver said the statements by PVNU contain misinformation. For example, fire mitigations do not need to be incorporated into the housing element's initial study/ mitigated negative declaration (IS/MND), which the council adopted in late March, in order to to be enforceable.

"The town of Portola Valley and the attorneys representing WFPD specifically for CEQA purposes worked together and agreed on the final resolution approving the IS/MND," she said. "Moreover, they agreed that the fire marshal's requests, which the town has agreed to implement, do not belong in an IS/MND but in other town codes and policies."

Prior to her time in Portola Valley, Silver held senior positions with the cities of Palo Alto and Santa Monica.

The Portola Valley Town Council is set to hold a closed session in the coming days to discuss the process for hiring a new town attorney, as well as the possibility of hiring an interim town attorney, according to an April 25 press release from the town.