Conservation panel launches subcommittees to update approved plant list and redwood guidance

The Portola Valley Conservation Committee voted informally to form two parallel working groups to update the town’s plant and tree guidance and to document where current permit workflows diverge from codified requirements.

One subcommittee will update the committee’s approved plant/tree lists. Committee members said the town’s most recent consolidated native plant list was assembled in prior iterations but that the “approved” list in the municipal record dates to 1988 and is out of date. They discussed the need to produce two related products: (1) an objective regulatory list that can be cited by code (for design review or other regulated situations) and (2) a broader set of homeowner guidance and discouraged/invasive species lists for general outreach.

The committee emphasized the difference in audiences: objective lists would be short, unambiguous and adopted through council action; guidance lists could be broader and used for education and the newsletter. Members recommended a concise, photo‑driven outreach approach (QR codes to more detailed resources) for the July newsletter and an October/December timeline for any council adoption of updated lists.

Separately, committee members agreed to form a subcommittee to refine redwood planting and removal guidance and to create an objective checklist for the committee’s conservation assessment. The goal is to make clear what the conservation review addresses (ecological/health criteria) and what constitutes structural or other practical reasons for removal (foundations, power lines, solar access), reducing appeals and improving consistency.

Next steps: Megan will lead the plant‑list subcommittee with Teresa and Maryanne; committee and staff will set a two‑hour working session to extract the relevant code sections and map current practice for the code review group. The committee proposed a draft review in August and potential council consideration in October or later in the year.