Portola Valley, California — On a Sunday afternoon a few years ago, a dozen or so neighbors held a meeting with then-Portola Valley Mayor Craig Hughes. The backyard rally in the small, wealthy Silicon Valley enclave was peaceful, but voters left an unmistakable message, Hughes said. If Hughes and other town leaders create state-mandated affordable housing plans that don’t meet residents’ preferences, expect a series of lawsuits that could lead to Portola Valley’s bankruptcy. It should be. As a sign of their seriousness, one couple had already hired a lawyer who was a former San Jose mayor and was well versed in California politics.
“That was a warning,” Hughes recalled.
A car passes the Portola Valley town sign on Alpine Road.
(Paul Clodagh/For the Times)
Now, after years of housing disputes, Portola Valley is on the verge of bankruptcy. The town of 4,400 has spent more than $1 million on consultants and 150 hours in public meetings, but still has not been able to produce an affordable housing blueprint that passes consultation with the state. According to Portola Valley’s recently retired town administrator, more than 70 percent of town employees have retired in that time, and the remaining employees are “literally just keeping the lights on.”
Last month, the town cut its $10 million budget by 25 percent, slashed road repairs and cleared vacancies. Still facing future deficits. Some people in Portola Valley have raised the possibility of merging with a neighboring town.
Along with spending issues, conflicts over housing projects dominate town politics. Residents are opposing a proposal to build homes for Stanford professors and low-income residents through a partnership between local churches and Habitat for Humanity.
Construction workers build Willow Commons in Portola Valley.
(Paul Clodagh/For the Times)
The outline of Portola Valley’s development debate will seem familiar to many communities across California. Tensions over existing residents’ concerns about parking, crowding and atmosphere are at odds with pressures for new housing. But Portola Valley is one of the few places where town residents’ bank accounts far exceed the town’s finances, and where individuals are given outsized power to shape their surroundings and exert pressure on their leaders. Hughes said.
It’s as if the adage about never fighting City Hall has been turned on its head. In Portola Valley, city hall can’t fight you.
“There’s no area where there aren’t billionaires who might sue you,” Hughes said.
Portola Valley is located in one of the most economically productive regions on earth, eight miles from Stamford and less than an hour’s drive from San Francisco. But the town’s towering oak trees, winding mountain roads, and ranch-style homes on acres of land give Portola Valley a secluded feel that makes it one of Silicon Valley’s most sought-after addresses.
According to Zillow, the median home price is approaching $4 million. Technology giants Reid Hoffman of LinkedIn and Vinod Khosla of Sun Microsystems have homes there. On the streets, you are more likely to come across not only people driving Porsches, but also people riding horses.
Robin McCreight prepares for winter by shoveling wood to put in her horse Early’s dirt stall in Portola Valley.
(Paul Clodagh/For the Times)
Recent state legislation has strengthened zoning requirements for all California communities to create more housing. In Portola Valley, the allocation has quadrupled compared to the previous planning period to 253 new homes.
Newly-elected City Councilor Rebecca Flynn said the numbers would further exacerbate Portola Valley’s housing crisis when finalized in late 2021, but take into account the town’s safety concerns and lack of infrastructure. It said it provided unrealistic standards for denser development. The San Andreas Fault bisects the town, and many residential areas rely on septic tanks rather than sewer systems. Flynn said her home insurance company recently refused to renew her policy because of the risk of wildfire.
“The state just doesn’t understand,” said Flynn, founder of the popular online Town Bulletin Board. “They say, ‘Well, there’s a billionaire living here, so he should be able to build all kinds of things.'”
A horse’s bridle hangs in a meadow in Portola Valley.
(Paul Clodagh/For the Times)
Still, Flynn said some residents, especially the wealthiest and longest-serving residents, are resistant to any change.
The Stanford development plan, which calls for the construction of 27 single-family homes for faculty and staff and 12 apartments for low- and moderate-income residents on a portion of 75 acres owned by the university, will take eight years to pass before the town approves it. It was discussed above. It’s this month.
Flynn recalled that residents blocked the project after opponents objected that the housing could impact the sensitive habitat of the small rodent, the San Francisco brown rat. Flynn said this is an example of trying to do whatever it takes to do so. She said she did the same thing on the town’s Architectural Review Board, where she previously served.
“No matter what project comes up, we get complaints from neighbors about what people want to do on private property,” Flynn said. “They feel entitled.”
Portola Valley’s first affordable housing project is currently under construction, with 16 apartments located in a series of small buildings next to a grocery store. A resident and venture capitalist noticed a lack of housing options for his daughter with Down syndrome and purchased the property to develop it for adults with developmental disabilities. To secure approval, the project took advantage of state laws that limit the town’s ability to intervene.
Mike Smith, lay leader at Ladera Community Church; The church hopes to partner with Habitat for Humanity to build six affordable homes for sale on the land.
(Paul Clodagh/For the Times)
Less certain is a suggestion regarding religious property on the outskirts of town. Ladera Community Church partnered with Habitat for Humanity to develop six homes for sale to low-income residents. Mike Smith, the church’s lay leader, said the church, which has housed foreign refugees in cottages on its grounds for decades, sees the project as an extension of its mission.
A shed in the old gardens of the Ladera Community Church.
(Paul Clodagh/For the Times)
However, in October 2023, the Westridge Building Oversight Committee, the homeowners association that covers the neighborhood, wrote a letter stating that the project violated the association’s private restrictions, which require only single-family homes on a minimum of 2.5 acres. sent to the church.
“We are responding here based on our responsibility to and mutual commitment to the 224 Westridge homeowners,” the letter reads.
The church and association have not yet reached an agreement, but it is likely one of many needed before the project can break ground.
“I think some people need to get off their high horse and realize that there are people out there in need,” Smith said. “There is no change in quality of life.”
Representatives from the homeowners association could not be reached for comment.
Rita Comes Whitney founded the organization in 2019 after she said town leaders weren’t answering questions about wildfires, earthquakes and other safety risks from projects like Stamford. He runs the nonprofit organization Portola Valley Neighbors United. Cams Whitney, who lives in the Westridge neighborhood, said she had to follow detailed homeowners association and town procedures to get permits to build her home in 2009.
She insisted other projects should follow the same standards.
“We really want people to cooperate with the fire district,” Kams-Whitney said. “I want them to think about geology and the distance between their homes.”
Rita Comes Whitney is the president of Portola Valley Neighbors United.
(Paul Clodagh/For the Times)
Whitney said she understood why those who met with then-Mayor Hughes a few years ago came to his defense. Unbeknownst to them, their property will be featured on a draft zoning map that could potentially be rezoned from allowing single-family homes only to higher density, impacting future land use. .
“Everyone has a right to speak up for themselves,” Whitney said.
Hughes said the spring 2022 meeting was held during trying times. The town council, advisory committee members, consultants and staff looked for a location that could accommodate growth and identified the area because it was a relatively flat area. This proposal was not reflected in the final plan.
Chuck Reed, who served as San Jose’s mayor from 2007 to 2015, filed a massive public records request with the town on behalf of homeowners Robert and Karen Allen to document the past eight months. I asked for some communication regarding the zoning plan. In an email to Hughes at the time, the Allens denied pushing the town into bankruptcy, insisting they hired Reed simply to protect their rights. Mr. Allens and Mr. Reed could not be reached for comment.
Politics in the town exploded soon after, as well documented in the Almanac local newspaper.
A group of residents created a political action committee for Hughes and two other City Council members who were pushing for a broader rezoning effort. The PAC raised more than $40,000, compared to the $2,000 Hughes raised for his campaign, and distributed papers by mail to voters. Two of Hughes’ colleagues declined to run for reelection, and Hughes lost his candidacy.
When the housing plan was scheduled to be voted on in spring 2023, councilors instead called for further consideration. At that point, Portola Valley’s staff exodus was in full swing, and the town became even more reliant on expensive consultants to develop proposals.
State regulators signed off on the town’s housing plan in January, but rescinded the approval less than two months later after finding Portola Valley had missed a rezoning deadline.
Horses graze in a pasture in Portola Valley.
(Paul Clodagh/For the Times)
This fall, the town’s Finance and Audit Committee cited the time and money spent on housing projects as a major cause of the financial problems, along with the increased costs of police contracts with the local sheriff’s department. In addition to budget cuts, the town is considering tax increases for a vote in 2026, and council members are considering merging with the neighboring town of Woodside.
“We don’t have a good source of income,” said Flynn, the new City Council member. “We are essentially a bedroom community.”
The town continues to struggle to get the housing plan re-approved before financial or other penalties are triggered.
At a recent meeting, the town’s interim planning director recommended that the council rezone the parkland for low-income housing to appease the state. He acknowledged that many people in Portola Valley do not want the park developed and that another volunteer committee was meeting to find an alternative. But even if the land is rezoned, the town still owns it, the planning director emphasized.
Therefore, Portola Valley’s government and residents will continue to have control over whether housing is built.
