Visitors 17
Modified 20-Apr-24
Created 25-Jul-22
36 photos
PVNU, Portola Valley Neighbors United, sponsored a walk along the Dwight Crowder Trail along Portola Valley's Alpine Road Scenic Corridor. This was an educational experience, not advocacy, though it can inform advocacy. I did learn a lot:
1. From Bob Turcott, a member of the PV Housing Committee: the Fire Safety Committee had 6 subcommittees, each to investigate different aspects and report back to the main committee. The Housing Committee, arguably at least as important in its impact, had none. Instead, they relied on the work of paid staff and consultants. The consultants had done similar work for other Peninsula towns. {My feelings: the resulting report showed this -- cut and paste, generic. Could have been written for any town, with only the numbers changed. A lost opportunity: to involve more of the Town, to deeply consider what we feel is special about Portola Valley. (I do feel that PV is special. But doesn't every grandmother feel her grandchild is extra special? Should I get used to living in Just Another Town?)}
2. Also from Bob Turcott: the Housing Committee did not begin by reading the Town General Plan. {They did reference the General Plan when they said that other parts of the GP should be changed to be consistent with the Housing Element. Is this backwards, or at least one-sided?}
3. Two geologists, Nan Shostak and Peter Lippman (spelling?), remembered the 1906 Earthquake and Fire. Fiery conflagration started by an earthquake. Nan pointed out two (very old) faults, springing from the San Andreas, that cross Alpine Road. {Can we afford to ignore this? Is there any way to deal with the possible disaster of major earthquake, no road access, major fire all at once? We could also be struck by a meteorite...} ps Dorothy Ford Park is on a flood plain, subject to liquefaction in a major earthquake -- my recollection from one of Nan Shostak's talks.
4. David Murdock of Isola Riding Academy told about the affordable housing for his employees he planned there. He was all ready to go when Stanford, his landlord, revoked their earlier approval. This would be truly affordable, and for people who work in Portola Valley. It is ready to go, pending re-approval by Stanford.
5. Nancy Lund, Susan Ford, Gary Nielsen and others discussed the early history of open space in Portola Valley in general, and at Dorothy Ford Park in particular. The early history of the Park, how it was saved from development by private donations to the Town allowing it to be purchased and made into a park. {Is it right to develop this now? Even if the donors did not get a legally binding restriction, their intent is clear.}
6. It was nice to meet neighbors and hear old stories. Here is one from Dr. Miller (?), a long-time Woodside resident, on Stonegate (??) along Bear Creek: rainy season 1989 saw the Pineapple Express bring deluges of rain. Creeks were overflowing. (And I seem to remember, Palo Alto was flooded?) A boy living along Bear Creek put on a wet suit, borrowed an inflatable raft, found a companion, and rafted down swollen Bear Creak, careening through the junction with Corte Madera Creek below Searsville Dam -- the combined creek is called "San Francisquito" -- past Webb Ranch, even under Highway 280 as I remember, finally ending up underwater near the confluence of Los Trancos Creek. A wild ride. Lots of foxes, new to him. Nobody died, though the raft was ripped apart. Sounds like a memorable adventure. (I may have some details wrong. I would love to see a writeup of this.)
7. It was a good walk, along the paved path next to Los Trancos Creek. Even though we were close to traffic on Alpine Road, it felt like country, like Portola Valley. Nice company, nice people.
