What do your neighbors say?

Over 300 Portola Valley residents have demanded that Stanford University withdraw its proposal to build 30 residential buildings at the mouth of the steep, heavily vegetated Alpine Canyon along Alpine Road in Portola Valley.  Read the neighbors' February 12 letter to Stanford here.

Portola Valley’s residents have also written Portola Valley’s Town Council demanding faster, fuller disclosure of the fire risks Stanford’s proposed project would create, and designation of the Woodside Fire Protection District as the lead governmental agency to review and resolve the project’s fire danger.  Read the neighbors' February 12 letter to the Town Council here.

Why are 300 neighbors demanding Stanford withdraw its proposed housing project?  And why are residents demanding the Town designate the Woodside Fire Protection District as the lead governmental agency to review and resolve the project’s fire danger?

In early September 2019 the Woodside Fire Protection District wrote to Stanford and the Town warning that the site proposed by Stanford created an extreme fire risk to the surrounding community.  Read the District’s September 1, 2019 letter here. Due to the extreme fire hazard of the site and the risk it poses to surrounding properties, the Fire District also asked both Stanford and the Town to find a different location for the proposed project. Read Fire Marshall Don Bullard’s February 2019 statement to the Almanac regarding the Fire District’s request in Fire District Turns Up Heat on Stanford Housing Project.

In a town whose fire danger rating is almost as high as that of Paradise, California just before the Camp Fire, the threat of wildland fire in Portola Valley looms large and dangerously close. Read the Almanac’s September 2019 article comparing the fire danger rating in Portola Valley to that in Paradise here.

Neither the Town nor Stanford chose to disclose or publicize the Fire District’s fire safety concerns and relocation request.  Rather than inform the public or respond to the Fire District’s warnings and request, Stanford and the Town have instead aggressively pushed the project forward.  In October 2019 the Fire Marshall told Stanford and the Town that the project should have a minimum of 100 feet of separation between all housing structures on the site, and that Stanford should provide two independent District-approved modeling studies of fire behavior in and around the canyons and hills surrounding the site, and a fire protection plan for the canyon and steep surrounding hills.  Read the District’s October 15, 2019 plan check for the preliminary project proposal here.

In November 2019 Stanford formally submitted its proposed project to the Town of Portola Valley.  Stanford's submittal simply ignored the District’s requirement for 100 feet of separation between all structures on the site and did not respond to the Fire’s District’s requirement for two independent fire behavior studies or a fire protection plan for the canyon and surrounding hills.  Instead, Stanford proposed the construction of 27 houses and 3 multifamily residences on 3 acres of a 7 acre parcel, with buildings separated by as little as 8 feet. In early January 2020 the Fire District reiterated its requests for a minimum of 100 feet of separation between structures, two independent District-approved fire modeling studies and a fire protection plan for the canyon and surrounding hills.

Incredibly, at a January 30, 2020 hearing of the Town’s Planning Commission, the Commission’s chairman stated that the Commission had not considered the Fire District’s long-stated concerns and would not address or resolve them before proceeding with an environmental impact study of the project as proposed.

Such extreme indifference to the safety of neighboring residents and the Town as a whole immediately prompted 300 residents to write Stanford demanding withdrawal of its “dangerous and needlessly reckless” proposal.  

"As the Fire District warned you, the construction of housing in such a combustible and dangerous setting as the southern mouth of the Alpine Canyon is a 'root cause' of the catastrophic wild-land fires now plaguing California.  Those hazards are greatly exacerbated by the construction of high-density housing in such settings, which increases significantly the number of potential sources for and risk of fire ignition and spread.  Particularly in this era of increasing temperatures, unpredictable winds and lengthening dry spells following seasonal rains, we believe it is not only imprudent but dangerous to increase the density of human habitation and fire ignition sources in such a vulnerable and flammable setting.”

That extreme hazard and the grave risk it poses to neighboring homes throughout the hilltops and canyons above the proposed site is only heightened by the fact that 

"the residents of Portola Valley have only limited and increasingly congested escape routes from town in the event of earthquake, fire or other natural disaster.  Those escape routes are heavily dependent on unobstructed passage along Alpine Road and Westridge Drive.  The increased fire risk posed by Stanford’s proposed development immediately adjacent to Alpine Road and Westridge Drive, all within 1 mile of the San Andreas fault, greatly increases the risk that one or more of those escape routes will be blocked during an emergency.” 

As the residents said, “the construction of 30 high density residential structures on six acres of the steep, heavily vegetated 75 acre parcel in Alpine Canyon against the recommendation of the Fire District and the express warning conveyed in this letter would not only constitute willful recklessness, but would also demonstrate Stanford’s utter disregard for the safety and interests of its neighbors.”

Portola Valley residents also demanded to know why the Town’s government had neglected to inform its residents of the Fire District’s concerns over the project’s increased fire risk, and why the Town government had not acted to address and resolve those concerns before pushing the project forward.  

"Failure promptly to alert Portola Valley’s residents to the Fire Marshal’s stated concerns about the proposed project’s high fire risk deprives residents of the opportunity to respond to Stanford’s proposed project in an informed and timely manner, and calls into question the integrity, transparency and effectiveness of the Town’s review process for this project."

"The Town and its staff need to demonstrate their respect for and support of the Woodside Fire Protection District’s professional, independent assessment of the increased fire risk Stanford’s proposed project poses to its immediate neighbors and our entire community, and they need to do so by compelling Stanford to address and satisfy the Fire District’s documented concerns and requirements.”

"The fact that the Planning Commission claims ignorance of the Fire District’s stated concerns with the proposed siting of the project and its stated requirements for structural separation months after those concerns and requirements were transmitted in writing to the Town is utterly inexplicable and unacceptable.  And the fact that the Planning Commission sees no reason to address and resolve those critical concerns and requirements before proceeding with an environmental assessment of the project as proposed is similarly disturbing and unacceptable."  

"Why are the Town staff and Planning Commission ignoring the Fire District’s stated minimal requirements for this project?  Why has the Town staff not compelled Stanford to address and resolve in writing the Fire District’s minimum requirement for structural separation?”

“The residents of Portola Valley depend and rely upon the Woodside Fire Protection District to protect and defend the safety and well-being of our families, homes and properties.  It is incumbent upon the Town government to similarly demonstrate its trust and reliance upon the Fire District by respecting and promptly engaging with the District’s stated concerns and requirements for this and any other development project.”   

According to the Fire District, if Stanford will not withdraw its proposal, only the Town has the authority to stop this hazardous project from proceeding as proposed.  Join your neighbors and insist that Stanford withdraw its dangerous proposal. Insist that the Town put safety at the very top of its priorities. The safety of both residents and the wildlife that inhabit and depend on the the Wedge is more important than increased, reckless development. Make your voice heard. Read and sign PVNU’s letters to Stanford and the Town Council.