Portola Valley has become the first city in the Bay Area, to have its housing element decertified by the state Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). 

The decertification occurred because Portola Valley violated one of the most unambiguously clear areas of housing element law: Rezoning deadlines. If a housing element is not certified by May 31, 2023, then rezonings must be completed by January 31, 2024 or a city cannot possibly be in compliance with state law. As of March 26, 2024, the date of its decertification, Portola Valley had still not rezoned. 

HLC remains committed to helping jurisdictions achieve and keep housing element compliance. We believe that HCD, which gave Portola Valley almost two months after the deadline to complete its rezoning, will work with jurisdictions to get back on track with delayed policies before revoking certifications. 

Portola Valley received certification from HCD on January 31, 2024, although the town had not yet completed its rezoning. The town received certification in large part because of years of effort by the council, staff, and community leaders to create a credible plan for the first multi-family housing in the town’s history. Some of the commitments in Portola Valley’s program, such as the dedication of a 2.5-acre publicly owned site for affordable homes, will create more tangible housing opportunities, while others, including an opt-in rezoning program, are downright innovative. 

After the 2022 election, some of the newly elected leadership delayed the plan and watered down some of its most impactful policies, repeatedly pushing back the housing element adoption date. Politically motivated delays led the town to fall behind on its housing element update. By the time Portola Valley achieved certification, it was already supposed to have completed its rezoning, but the town lacked the resources to pursue both the housing element update and rezoning simultaneously. 

On one hand, the resources required for housing element updates can absorb a city’s available capacity. On the other hand, Portola Valley has held 47 meetings related to its housing element, as reported by The Almanac, and they are short staffed after resistance to housing by the council caused most of the planning department to resign. 

HLC hears from local elected officials that they want local control over land use, that their city can solve the housing crisis given enough time and resources to plan. The housing element gave cities the opportunity to plan for housing on their own, and many cities, including Portola Valley, used the opportunity to plan for more affordable homes. But local control only works for housing when cities actually follow through on pro-housing policies. Now, despite the hard work by so many community members and elected leaders to create a realistic housing plan, Portola Valley faces consequences due to delays. 

From Portola Valley’s city notification announcing their decertification, “The proposed tentative schedule [for rezoning] is as follows:

• April 3, 2024 – Continuation of the March 20, 2024 Planning Commission meeting as a joint Planning Commission and ASCC meeting to review ASCC’s feedback on the draft amendments.
• April 17, 2024 – Planning Commission meeting for the Commission to complete its review of the draft amendments and consider adopting a resolution recommending approval to the Town Council of the zoning amendments.
• May 8, 2024 (tentative) – Town Council meeting (first reading).
• May 22, 2024 (tentative) – Town Council meeting (second reading).”