Stanford University has submitted an application to the Town of Portola Valley to develop a portion of University property. The proposed "Portola Terrace" development project consists of  27 single-family residences for Stanford faculty and 12 workforce housing units that would be available for below market rate rents. Approximately 10.8 acres would be developed and the remainder of the 75-acre site owned by Stanford would be preserved as open space. The proposed development would be clustered on a small portion of the property along Alpine Road, which is the flattest portion of the site. The entire site would be subject to a Vegetation Management Plan to address fire safety.

The Town is beginning its public meeting process for this project, which will include up to five public meetings of the Town’s Committees and Commissions, and environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). No meeting dates have been yet set but are targeted to begin fall 2024.  Please check back as this web page will be updated as dates are set. 

Completed

1. Planning Application Submittal

2. Application Deemed Complete

3. Environmental Review

Next steps

4. Public Hearing

5. Approval

6. Construction

Get an overview of the Environmental Impact Statement Process.

Final Environmental Impact Report

FEIR Notice of Completion (NOC) 

The Final Environmental Impact Report is available. the FEIR includes response to public comments received on the DEIR and other revisions to the DEIR.  No revisions constitute " significant new information" as defined by CEQA.

Draft Environmental Impact Report

The Draft Environmental Impact Report was prepared for review and comment.  The comment period ran from March 30, 2022 through May 13, 2022. 

Public Comments received can be viewed here.

EIR Scope 

Notice of Preparation

Cover Letter for Notice of Preparation

A Planning Commission public hearing for the draft EIR was held on May 4, 2022, at 7:00. 

The Final Environmental Impact Report is available. the FEIR includes response to public comments received on the DEIR and other revisions to the DEIR.  No revisions constitute " significant new information" as defined by CEQA.

In late 2022, the Town issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to several experienced economic consulting firms with a request to prepare a comprehensive Fiscal Impact Analysis for the proposed project.  The intent of the FIA was to evaluate the proposed project’s fiscal net benefit (if any), total Town general fund costs/expenditures (if any), and general fund fiscal balance (if any) potential utilizing industry standard approaches and methodologies.  Further, the FIA is intended to be a resource document to disclose such information to the community, as well for the Town Council to use in their ultimate decision making on the project. In early 2023 the Town retained the services of Land Econ Group to prepare the FIA.

The final Fiscal Impact Analysis (FIA) can be viewed here. A hard copy of the FIA is also available for viewing at Town Hall and the Town Library.

The public comment period on the DEIR was from March 30 - May 13, 2022.  During the required 45-day review period, the Planning Commission held a public meeting on May 4, 2022 to receive verbal comments.  

The Town Council will be the final decision making Town body for the proposed project. Per State Law, the Town is required to implement California Senate Bill 330 (Housing Crisis Act of 2019). SB330 removes certain restrictions to ensure timely processing of housing projects, including preventing jurisdictions from conducting more than five (5) public meetings.    The proposed Portola Terrace development project is subject to the limitations of SB 330, thus prohibiting the Town from conducting more than five (5) public meetings. The proposed project is still under review and no decision has been made. Public hearing dates have yet to be finalized but are anticipated to begin in fall 2024. The public meetings will be:

• Subdivision Commitee Meeting, October 17, 2024
• Architectural Site Control Committee Meeting, November 4, 2024
• Planning Commission Meeting, November 18, 2024
• Town Council Meeting, December 5, 2024

For more information on the forthcoming public meetings and SB 330, please see the August 2024 Project Update Memo here

Planning Commission May 4, 2022

Agenda Packet

Meeting Recording

Joint meeting of Planning Commission and Architectural and Site Control Commission (ASCC)

Wednesday, June 30, 2021

View  Agenda packet

Architectural & Site Control Commission

Monday, January 25, 2021

Zoom Recording

Planning Commission Study Session

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Zoom Recording

Environmental Impact Report (EIR) Scoping Meeting- Special Planning Commission Meeting

Thursday, January 30, 2020

• Agenda is posted here
• Minutes
• The January 30th meeting was not  on the merits of the project in general. Instead, it was focused on just the scope of the project’s environmental review. Future Commission and Committee meetings later in the process will be scheduled to review the overall project. Residents are invited to attend and participate in all public meetings.

See separate document with a version of this map with more detail     

If you would like to provide comments at any time in the process, please feel free to email us at portolaterrace@portolavalley.net.  Please include “Stanford Portola Terrace Project” in the subject line. Also, please note that written correspondence is typically considered a public record and may be attached to staff reports, which are posted on the Town’s website. 

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