City, San Mateo County
© McCormack's Guides
Zip Code: 94028
As the
Santa Cruz Mountains move south
down the Peninsula, some flatten into small hills and plateaus. The Bay hills
rise to the east, the mountains to the west, and in between sit Portola Valley,
Woodside and the Crystal Springs Reservoir. www.mccormacks.com
Portola
Valley, population 4,639, is a pretty town, high income, a prestige address.
Great deal
of attention paid to schools. In 1998, voters approved a $17 million bond to
renovate elementary schools and wire them for high tech. The money also paid
for 10 more classrooms, a music room and a language lab. In 2001, voters agreed
to extra $6 million to finish the job. Residents also tax themselves to keep up
the quality of instructional programs and in 2004 renewed this tax.
Construction-renovation bonds have also been passed for the high-school
district.
Click for regional or detailed map
Large lots, tall trees, lot of foliage,
big to giant homes, a few small vineyards. Woodsy hills mixed with open space.
Quail flit in and out of the bushes. Deer graze on the side of the road and don’t
even bolt when cars stop near them. Look you in the eye as if to say, can I
help you, and then go back to dining.
Miles of
trails in the hills. Playing fields at the town hall and at several other
places. Swim club. City has recreation person that coordinates activities. Golf
courses, shopping in Palo Alto and other cities. Library, town hall.
Two
shopping sections, the first along Alpine Road, near the freeway. The second,
smaller, also along Alpine Road, a few miles to the west. Old roadhouse, the
Alpine Inn, nothing fancy but mildly famous in the region. www.mccormacks.com
A lot of
the housing is built along Westridge Drive, which starts at Alpine Road, rises
into the hills and does a lazy half circle down to Portola Road, the other “boulevard”
in town. Many streets spin off of Westridge and curl around hills and ravines.
Many custom homes here, some with views of the Bay. Possibly because of the
steep terrain, many houses limit themselves to four-six bedrooms that blend
into the trees and foliage.
Another,
smaller neighborhood, starting near the middle school, winds down Indian Valley
Crossing Road. Not as opulent as Westridge Drive but nice, stronger feeling of
country, four to six bedrooms.
Many of
the older homes are large one-story ranchers. Some horse setups, large home,
small corral.
Horses
popular. Stop signs that say “Whoa.”
Equestrian center. Annual Equestrian Festival (hunter/jumper competitions)
draws about 500 horses and riders from around the world.
Town was
named after Spanish explorer and boosted by Andrew Hallidie, inventor of cable
car, who bought property in valley and donated land for school and post office.
Fearing large-scale development, residents in 1964 incorporated into a legal
city and took control of planning and zoning. www.mccormacks.com
Portola
Valley started the 1980s with 3,939 people and finished with 4,194, an increase
of 255 — peanuts by California standards. The 2000 census counted 4,462
residents. Between 2000 and 2007, the town added 156 residents and issued 56
building permits.
Another
single-home town — 1,810 residential units, of which 83 percent or 1,502
are single homes, 33 single-family attached, 275 multiple and no mobile homes
(2008 state count).
A long
commute to San Francisco. A short commute to Silicon Valley, Palo Alto and
Stanford. One freeway, the scenic I-280.
Portola
Valley, by reputation, is popular with Silicon Valley and Stanford types. The
Stanford Linear Accelerator sits just over the city border, and Stanford owns
much of the adjoining land.
Many
residents probably can be found in their rocking chairs: 36 percent are over
age 55, about 23 percent under age 18. Kids under 5 number 223. Median age of
all residents is 48. www.mccormacks.com
These
figures do not include Ladera, an unincorporated subdivision off Alpine Road,
near Interstate 280. It’s considered part of Portola Valley but is actually
outside city limits.
For public
schools, the Portola Valley Elementary District, which has two schools:
Ormondale, kinder to 3rd, about 310 students, Corte Madera, 4th
to 8th, 360 students. Academic rankings, usually in the top three
percent in the state. Corte Madera has won a national blue ribbon for academic
excellence.
Older kids
attend Woodside High or other schools in the Sequoia High School District.
Woodside High scores in the 70 the 80th percentile. Scores often
follow demographics, Woodside High draws from low-, middle- and high-income
neighborhoods. See Schools.
Two
private schools in town, Woodland, kinder to 8th, and Woodside
Priory, 6th to 12th.
Through a private foundation, residents
have raised several million to buy equipment, upgrade classes and improve the
curriculum. In one benefit auction for the elementary schools, parents raised
$1,050,000 — big bucks, and a good indication that residents strongly
support education. www.mccormacks.com
FBI doesn’t
track crime stats but Portola Valley almost never makes the news. Thieves would
have a hard time finding the place. Zero homicides between 2000 and 2007. See Crime.
• Portola
Valley imposes a 2 percent tax on utility rates to buy open space.
• Among
the town’s residents is a fellow who collects and restores military vehicles —
tanks, self-propelled cannons, armored personnel carriers, about 220 in all.
Shelters them in a building about the size of a football field. “I am a student
of history,” says the owner. Machines are operational but, conforming to law,
are missing parts that would allow them to be fired.
City web
site: www.portolavalley.net
