On this beautiful Saturday morning in the San Francisco Bay Area I wanted to share about a really cool town called Portola Valley.

Portola Valley is a bedroom community situated in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountain Range, within southern San Mateo County. The town lies along the San Francisco Peninsula, a few miles west of the southern end of San Francisco Bay. Town boundaries are formed by Woodside, the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, and the unincorporated community of Ladera to the north; by Los Trancos Creek (boundary of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties) to the east; by the unincorporated Los Trancos Woods area to the south; and by the Windy Hill Open Space Preserve and other sparsely populated, wooded hillsides to the west.

Significant development did not occur in Portola Valley until after World War II. The community incorporated in 1964, with the primary goal of maintaining local control over development and preserving the area's rural character. In addition to an original and continued anti-growth sentiment among the local population and community leaders, major factors limiting development have been the town's rugged terrain and the existence of the San Andreas Fault running directly through parts of the town. Portola Valley has about 4,500 residents in 1,772 households, representing a very low population density spread over about 10 square miles.

Although Portola Valley has large amounts of vacant or minimally utilized land, there is little developable land. Strict zoning controls (the vast majority of the town is zoned for minimum lot sizes of one acre or more) limit development possibilities. Furthermore, portions of the town are affected by difficult terrain, geologic issues, and/or a lack of available public utilities. New development is generally confined to lots where old improvements are torn down or to marginal sites located on steep ground. Additionally, there are a few buildable lots available from subdividing larger lots in prime areas.

The town is primarily a residential community, and the vast majority of development consists of detached, single-family homes. Commercial developments are confined to a small shopping area at the Nathhorst Triangle (at Alpine and Portola roads) and to a few shops at the Village Square development, on Portola Road near town hall. Additionally, a small shopping center and adjacent office development are located on Alpine Road in adjacent, unincorporated Ladera. Other commercial projects are the Sequoias retirement community on Portola Road, which includes assisted living and skilled nursing facilities, and the Alpine Hills Tennis and Swim Club, a private facility located on Alpine Road.

The prime residential districts are central Portola Valley and Westridge. The former is zoned primarily for one-acre lots, while the latter is zoned for 2½-acre lots. Central Portola Valley includes the area bound by Westridge Drive to the north, Alpine Road to the east and south, and Portola Road to the south and west. The Westridge area is bordered by the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve and Ladera to the north, Alpine Road to the east, Westridge Drive to the south, and Corte Madera Creek and the Hidden Valley neighborhood of Woodside to the west.

Portola Road commences at Alpine Road and meanders through Portola Valley into Woodside, where it splits into an extension of Woodside Road and into Sand Hill Road. By local standards, Portola Valley carries moderate auto traffic, as it is the major collector street for the west side of Portola Valley. Still, auto traffic would be considered light by most objective standards.