October 3-7, 2022

Week 40
Happy Indigenous Peoples Day
Town Hall Closed in Observation - Monday Oct. 10
www.losaltoshills.ca.gov/cmwr
Stay connected
Receive these weekly updates, sign-up here

City Manager

Neighborhood Watch Leader Meeting

Earlier this week, the Sheriff’s Office hosted a virtual meeting for the Neighborhood Watch leaders in Town to learn about recent residential burglaries that have been occurring in Los Altos Hills. Leaders from every active Neighborhood Watch group in Town received information to pass out to their individual groups. The discussion included crime totals for the Town, a map of where residential burglaries are occurring, an explanation of the process the Sheriff’s Office undergoes when a crime has been committed, information on package and mail theft, and how the Sheriff’s Office uses the Automatic License Plate Readers in Town. A recording of the meeting is available HERE and the presentation HERE. If any resident would like to set up a Neighborhood Watch Group in their area of Town, please reach out to Town Staff Cody Einfalt, ceinfalt@losaltoshills.ca.gov to learn more.

Broadband Listening Session

The Town’s Broadband Consultant, Government Technology Group (GTG), hosted a Public Listen Session to hear from the residents on their thoughts regarding deploying broadband internet in the Hills. A postcard was mailed to every resident several weeks ago. Over 70 residents attended the meeting in-person as well as on zoom. This meeting served as an important information gathering step in GTG’s Broadband Feasibility Study that they are compiling researching for the Town. To listen to the discussion, please visit the following hyperlink.

City Manager Tour of Committee Meetings
Throughout this week the City Manager has been attending committee meetings to prepare each committee for the annual City Council Priority Setting Session which will take place on January 25, 2023. At these committee meetings the City Manager is discussing the goals that were set by each committee earlier this year and starting the conversation on what goals should be set for 2023. So far, the City Manager has met with the Community Relations Committee, Environmental Initiatives Committee, Finance and Investment Committee, Pathways Committee, and the Parks and Recreation Committee.

Captain Valenzuela
The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, in collaboration with the City Managers for Cupertino, Los Altos Hills and Saratoga are happy to introduce Captain Neil Valenzuela as the selection for the next West Valley Patrol Division station commander. On December 12, Captain Neil Valenzuela will transition into the leadership role currently held by Captain Rich Urena, who has been the longest tenured and well-beloved West Valley Captain since August of 2016. Click on the following hyperlink to read the full Press Release.

Progress of the Art Sculpture
Construction of the art sculpture in the roundabout of the Town Hall parking lot has continued throughout this week. Concrete is tentatively scheduled to be poured early next week and the delivery and installation of the sculpture will follow soon.

Provide Feedback to new County Office on Disability Affairs
If you have a disability or are a caretaker for a person with a disability, please visit www.wid.org/scc to complete a survey to provide input to the new Santa Clara County Office on Disability Affairs on prioritizing disability needs. The survey gathers community feedback about how the Office can best prioritize the needs of people with disabilities who live, work, or receive services in the County. This anonymous survey will be open until approximately October 21^st and is available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Tagalog.

CHAC JPA Member Workshop
Today, October 7th, Mayor Tyson and City Manager Pirnejad, including members of the CHAC JPA meet to create a better understanding among the JPA members regarding the structure, funding and services provided by CHAC as well as identify questions, issues and concerns and finally to identify next steps regarding the development of consensus around continued JPA partner support, including funding strategies/philosophies

Past Brown Act Meetings:
October 3: Finance and Investment Committee Meeting
October 3: LA/LAH Senior Commission Meeting
October 3: Special Joint City Council/Planning Commission Special Meeting
October 5: Community Discussion on Fiber
October 6: Planning Commission Regular Meeting

Upcoming Brown Act Meetings and Events

October 8: Native Plant Garden and Heritage House Orchard 10:00 am - Noon
October 8: Los Altos Library Presents a Fire Safety Awareness Event 2:00-4:00 pm
October 10: Indigenous Peoples' Day - Town Hall Closed
October 10: Public Art Committee Regular Meeting- 5:00 pm
October 11: Environmental Design and Protection Committee Regular Meeting -5:45 pm
October 11: Emergency Preparedness & Response Committee Special Meeting-6:00 pm
October 12: Open Space Committee Regular Meeting-9:00 am
October 12: Technology Committee Regular Meeting-5:00 pm

*Agendas will be posted a minimum of 72 hours in advance

For a complete list of and more information, visit www.losaltoshills.ca.gov/calendar

Last and Next Week's Non-Brown Act Ad Hoc Meetings
No ad hoc meetings were or are scheduled to be held.

Fire Safety Awareness Event this Saturday, October 8 2-4 pm

Regional Updates

Los Altos Library Presents...A Fire Safety Awareness Event

Saturday, October 8 from 2-4 pm at Grant Parks Community Center 1575 Holt Avenue, Los Altos
Co-sponsored by the Town of Los Altos Hills, City of Los Altos Recreation Department, Los Altos Hills County Fire District, Santa Clara County Fire Department. A special thank you to Friends of the Los Altos Library for generously funding this event. The GoGoBiblio will be in attendance for book checkouts!

Planning and Building

Planning Permits*
Applied: 10
Approved: 1

Building Permits*
Applied: 16
Issued: 8

Inspections*
Building: 60

Code Enforcement Cases*
Open: 1
Closed: 0
*September 30-October 6, 2022

Public Hearings on Development Projects

Planning Commission Public Hearing
On October 06, 2022, Planning Commission held a public hearing to review the following two (2) items:

24020 Oak Knoll Circle – File #SD22-0015 – Lands of Xie

Site Development Permit for a new 1,350 sqft swimming pool and spa within a 1,976 sqft sunroom, deck, and related hardscape improvements; and a request for a grading policy exception for the swimming pool deck.
The project was approved with conditions.

24490 Amigos Court – File #APL-0003 and APL22-0004 – Lands of Teng

Appeal of conditions of approval for a landscape screening site development approval for a
new residence at 24490 Amigos Court (SD22-0018) to modify Conditions #2, #3, and #4 for a
36-inch box size minimum for all screening trees and eight (8) 36-inch box Canyon Live Oaks
along the northern property line.
The appeal was denied.

Housing Element
There was a Joint City Council and Planning Commission Meeting on Monday, October 3rd, 2022, at 6 pm to discuss the Public Review Draft of the 6th Cycle Housing Plan 2023 – 2031 Housing Element for the Town of Los Altos Hills. The video recording of the meeting can be found here:
https://losaltoshillsca.portal.civicclerk.com/event/2785/video

There is another joint meeting scheduled for October 26^th at 6 pm. The agenda will be posted on https://losaltoshillsca.portal.civicclerk.com/

Other updates

Senior Planner, Elaine Ling, and Associate Planner, Areli Perez, attended American Planning Association (APA) California 2022 Conference.
Senior Planner, Elaine Ling, attended Santa Clara County Association of Planning Officials (SCCAPO) Monthly meeting on October 5, 2022.

Public Works

“Thank you for doing Magdalena Ave. and part of Magdalena Rd till Ravensbury plus Camino Hermoso. It looks great and it is a pleasure driving on them.." - resident Eduardo Arias.

Click Here to review a full weekly report from the Public Works Department

Grading Moratorium – Grading Moratorium in effect from Oct. 1, 2022 to April 30, 2023.

Permits Issued:

Encroachment Permits: 6
Sewer Permits Issued: 0

Maintenance:

After hours or weekend callouts: 0
Fallen trees/major limbs down: 0

PW Maintenance Crew

Paving project along La Paloma

Maintenance Crew working at the Barn

Maintenance Crew working on the baseball fields

Finance, Human Resources, IT Services

Accounts Payable/Budget/Payroll/Receivables

Bi-weekly payroll liability of $106,707.
Received $81,872 in cash receipts and/or electronic funds transfer (EFT).

Human Resources Open Recruitment
Open Recruitment:
Maintenance Seasonal Help in Public Works. Recruitment open until filled.
Maintenance Worker I. Recruitment open until filled.
Deputy Building Official/Plan Examiner. Recruitment open until filled.
Conducted interviews for the Accounting Technician.

Touch a Truck Highlight Video

Community Services

Community Events & Activities.
Sign up for the Parks and Recreation mailing list here.

Touch a Truck
This event was well attended! Thank you to all the trucks that attended: Town of Los Altos Hills Public Works, Santa Clara County Fire, Santa Clara County Sheriff, GreenWaste Recovery, and Palo Alto Animal Services! Check out the video here and photo album from the event.

Trick or Treat at Town Hall
Friday, October 28 from 2-4 pm
Open to Trick or Treaters of all ages! This is an exciting opportunity for your child to dress up in their Halloween Costume and trick or treat at Town Hall offices. Trick or Treaters may run into our elected officials.

TEDxLosAltosHills

The Town of Los Altos Hills is hosting our very first TEDx event on January 28, 2023. Speaker application forms available, with a deadline of October 10. Theme: Power of Creativity & Innovation in Silicon Valley. To apply, to purchase tickets, and for more information visit tedxlosaltoshills.com.

Foothill College Magical Bridge and Partnerships
Mayor Tyson and staff met with Interim President of Foothill College, Bernadine Fong and staff to discuss potential community partnerships.

CalCities Parks and Recreation Roundtable
Staff attended webinar this week discussing the following topics: Holiday Season: planned activities and challenges (Fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving), summer program success stories, and at-risk Youth.

Crime Prevention & Home Fire Safety
This lunch and learn program was held on Thursday and hosted by the Town with speakers from the Santa Clara County Fire Department and Palo Alto Animal Services. See photo below.

Be Ready Be Prepared for Disasters Presentation

Sheriff's Weekly Report

Visit the link to view the Sheriff's weekly report for September 26 - October 2, 2022.
The Sheriff’s weekly report is always for the week prior to the City Manager’s report

Mail Theft Suspects Arrested

On Tuesday, October 4, deputies responded on a report of possible mail theft that had just occurred near Arastradero Road and Liddicoat Drive.
Deputies located and stopped a vehicle matching the description provided by the reporting party.
An investigation revealed the two occupants were in possession of numerous items of mail stolen from over 20 local residents.
The investigation also showed the vehicle was previously reported stolen out of Santa Clara and one of the subjects had a warrant related to identity theft.
Both subjects were arrested for various charges, including mail theft, possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of stolen property, and outstanding warrants.
Sheriff’s Detectives are working on contacting and identifying further victims in hopes returning stolen property.

This is a great example of a resident immediately reporting suspicious activity in their neighborhood resulting in the apprehension of criminal suspects. As a reminder, if you observe any activity you feel is suspicious, immediately notify the Sheriff’s Office to have a deputy respond and investigate.

Sheriff’s Dispatch can be reached by calling or texting 9-1-1, or by calling the dispatch non-emergency line at (408) 299-2311.