"Building on Dorothy Ford Park encroaches on our recreational resources," Karen Askey, a member of the Town's Ad Hoc Site Evaluation Committee, told the Town Council in March 2025, as The Almanac reported. Eighteen months later, the park is close to coming out of Portola Valley's housing plan. In a letter dated September 14, 2026, the state Department of Housing and Community Development found that the Town's draft amendment addresses its earlier comments and that the Town continues to comply with Housing Element law.
The replacement sites still need final Town action, but the state has reviewed them and the Council has backed them since December 2025. Funding is much less certain. The Town's draft affordable housing fund, at the per-unit caps it proposes, covers about five of the 50 units being moved. Whatever gets built along the Portola Road corridor will depend mostly on property owners and on capital from outside the Town. For anyone weighing Portola Valley against Woodside or Atherton, that is the real question underneath the zoning map.
Fifty units on paper, less land than the paper implied
The Housing Element certified in January 2024 listed the vacant portion of the Town-owned Dorothy Ford Park and Open Space for up to 50 very-low-income units. When staff looked at what it would take to actually build there, the number fell apart. In the Town's words, the primary reasons were "the limited development area when creek and scenic setbacks were considered and the irregular shape of the remaining area."
Feasibility was not the only pressure. In April 2025, after residents spoke up for the park, the Council voted 3–1 for zoning language excluding the existing Little League field and the surface parking lot next to it, according to The Almanac. Work on the amendment started in late 2025. It went to the Council on December 4, 2025, and to HCD on January 23, 2026. A second draft went to HCD on July 16, 2026, after the state's March comments.
The same gap between a parcel's acreage and the housing it can hold shows up at every replacement site.
Three sites, each counted at the bottom of its range
The amendment moves the units to three sites. All three would go into a new Mixed-Use High Density district. Nothing like it exists in the Town's zoning code today. In December 2025, the Council directed staff to set the district's density range at 20 to 25 dwelling units per acre.
| Site | Parcel size | Developable area | Units in draft inventory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Village Square, 884 Portola Road | 2.3 acres | 1.25 acres | 20 very-low-income, 5 above-moderate |
| Christ Church, 815 Portola Valley Road | 2.93 acres | 0.75 acre | 14 very-low-income, 1 above-moderate |
| Skyline Open Space, north of 19501 Skyline Boulevard | 14.65 acres | about 0.8 acre | 16 very-low-income |
Do the multiplication and the inventory figures turn out to be the floor of the range. Twenty units per acre times 1.25 acres is 25. Times 0.75 acre it is 15, and times 0.8 acre it is 16. Every site is counted at the bottom of the proposed density range, applied to its developable area in the draft inventory.
The Skyline parcel shows the gap most clearly. Of its 14.65 acres, the draft inventory counts about 0.8 acre as developable. Christ Church was already in the inventory for six above-moderate-income units. The amendment changes it to 15 units, mostly very-low-income. The three sites add up to 56 units. Take away Christ Church's original six and you get a net 50, the same number Dorothy Ford carried. The townwide inventory stays at 120 units.
All three sites sit within a defined developable footprint on parcels that already have a use or an owner with plans. Two are on the Portola Road corridor, and the third is up on Skyline. The draft proposes the new density for these three parcels.
What the Town's fund can actually pay for
The September 23, 2026 Council packet includes a draft Notice of Funding Availability for the Town's Inclusionary In-lieu Fee Fund. It describes "approximately up to $2 million in available funds," meant to support awards across fiscal years 2026/27 and 2027/28. To favor the three replacement sites, the draft adds $100,000 to the maximum per-unit subsidy at Skyline Open Space, Village Square and Christ Church.
The draft's caps make the arithmetic simple:
- Rental developments: $300,000 per unit, or $400,000 per unit on priority sites. Two million dollars at $400,000 is five units.
- Homeownership developments: $400,000 per unit, or $500,000 per unit on priority sites. At the higher cap, the fund covers four units.
The inventory moves 50 very-low-income units. At full priority-site subsidy, the Town's own money reaches roughly a tenth of them. The draft makes the same point in plain terms: "Applicants should seek additional funds to minimize the cost to the Town of Portola Valley." It sets a minimum award of $20,000 per unit or $1,000,000 per development, whichever is less, so projects can meet County of San Mateo funding thresholds. The fund is built to be one piece of a larger financing stack, not the whole of it.
All of this is still a draft. The September 23 session was a study session with no vote, and the Council sent staff back to refine the notice before releasing it. Some history matters here too. The packet notes that the Council approved a $1.35 million grant from this fund for Willows Commons on September 10, 2025, and that distribution was later held up by legal-compliance issues.
Where the rest of the capital would come from
If the Town covers about a tenth, each site's prospects depend on what its owner brings. The three are at very different stages.
Village Square. The Town describes the owner as "a local developer" interested in housing that fits with the main commercial building and its tenants. In March 2025, The Almanac reported a larger concept from the owner, 50 affordable units plus 25 market-rate units intended to subsidize the affordable housing. The owner's reported concept is three times the Town's 25-unit inventory count for the site. Market-rate units paying for affordable ones is the same mechanism the NOFA asks applicants to find. The Almanac also noted the site's access to the Town Center, library and parks.
Christ Church. The Town says the church "has received a grant to explore housing development and is currently reviewing potential options." LISC's Bay Area Faith and Housing program report lists Christ Church Portola Valley as a six-unit project at the concept stage. The Almanac described the property as a flat 2.9 acres.
Skyline Open Space. The parcel at 19501 Skyline Boulevard is part of the Thomas Fogarty Winery property. When it was first discussed in 2025, The Almanac reported that it has no sewer. Interim Planning and Building Director Terrence Grindall said the Town would work with a developer on whether a water system, well or septic was possible. Of the three sites, it carries the most infrastructure cost before any housing can go up.
Put the three side by side and the likely order of activity follows from the money. The site with an active owner and a market-rate component to help pay for it is set up differently from a church still exploring a grant-funded concept, and differently again from a hilltop parcel with no sewer connection.
What is still on the calendar
Under the HCD letter, continued compliance after the amendment depends on the Town adopting it, submitting it and getting the state's review. HCD also urged the Town to finish the new mixed-use rezoning at the same time as adoption or before it. The remaining steps:
- Planning Commission public hearings on the amendment and the new district.
- Town Council hearings and final action.
- Submission of the adopted amendment to HCD for review.
- Release of a revised NOFA, followed by Council approval of any individual award.
As of the Town Manager's September 23 recap, staff were still finalizing the hearing schedule, and the Council's October 14 regular meeting had been cancelled. The next regular meeting on the calendar, October 28, is set for the Finance Committee's audit recommendation. The Town's Housing Element page says more public meetings will take place in 2026 before the Council considers final action.
A few questions that come up often
Does this change Ford Field? The housing designation covered the vacant portion of Dorothy Ford Park, not the Little League field. A separate restroom and concession project near Ford Field is in design review. None of its options are fully funded yet, and it is expected back before the Council for further review and funding consideration later this year.
Where does the Town stand with the state today? The Town says HCD recertified its Housing Element on May 28, 2025. HCD's September 14, 2026 letter says the Town continues to comply now. Under the same letter, the amended element stays in compliance only once it is adopted, submitted and reviewed, which is the sequence listed above.
Could the new density spread to other parcels? The draft proposes the 20-to-25-unit range for the Village Square, Christ Church and Skyline Open Space sites only.
This post is general information about public planning documents, not legal or financial advice. Please confirm how any rule applies to a specific property with the appropriate professional.
If you are weighing a Portola Valley home near Portola Road or Skyline and want to understand how these pending decisions could affect a particular property, Stephanie Elkins can walk you through it in a confidential conversation. Request a Private Valuation.
