Portola Valley: Council to forge ahead on affordable housing

I applaud Portola Valley's efforts to site affordable housing on public land! Please do move forward with next steps with a "what would it take to make this work" attitude. In Menlo Park we are exploring putting affordable housing above the library as a way to meet housing demand and to add vibrancy and activity to our community center. I love the idea of adding affordable housing to the PV Town Center. Tiny homes are a great addition to the pool of potential solutions.

lip service

you'll hear nothing more but crickets or frogs from this pond

these comments from someone observing a multi-million dollar pre-school being constructed where the last best opportunity was lost along Portola Rd.

It's obvious what our priorities are and I have a hard time believing anyone who has become a multi-millionaire solely by their home appreciation.

Affordable housing is not a crisis to those who already have what they need.
Their crisis will be the taxes required to hold their castle.

This is THE epitome of NIMBY in PV: not in my backyard

I recall that the town of Portola Valley recently changed the zoning rules to allow for more/larger second homes on existing large parcels. Has this had any impact on the problem of affordable housing in the area?

It's likely the solution lies in paying local employees more so that they can afford to live in the area. Perhaps Portola Valley and other "affluent" communities should demand that more of their property taxes remain in the area to provide for higher salaries and costs.

Please do not develop affordable housing within town limits. Instead outsource to Menlo Park or Woodside where land is cheaper and there is more available space. Trying to do this in the few remaining undeveloped town parcels is ludicrous.

I totally support second units and also affordable housing tied to jobs in the community---teachers, fire, town officials, etc. quoting Steve York about this, though, is a bit misleading. While I like Steve, he is now had multiple opportunities for housing in PV and the surrounding towns within the plater price limitation he posted. Many people have contacted him. Others have suggested looking in other towns on the Peninsula, but he has not wanted to do this, his reason being that he does not want to commute to PV, where he does most of his work. And yet, we are expecting our teachers, town officials, and firefighters to do this. Who is to say what is fair?