Central Portola Valley

Steep roads lead up from Alpine and Portola roads to housing subdivisions, some of which date back as far as the 1920s: Alpine Hills, Arrowhead Meadows, Oak Hills and Stonegate and Westridge. This area has a distinctly rural feel with oaks and chaparrals covering the hillsides. The hilly terrain creates a wide variety of lot shapes and sizes. Many homes are built into hillsides with multiple levels to take advantage of views which can include Windy Hill Open Space Preserve, Mt. Hamilton, Moffett Field and the lower Bay Area.

In the 1940s, the Westridge Company purchased 750 acres of the old Ormondale ranch, was home to a famous race horse, Ormond. The Westridge neighborhood backs onto Stanford’s Jasper Ridge nature preserve. Each lot is a minimum of 2 ½ acres and bridle path easement on each home creates a sense of continual open space. There are many restrictions and rules in the subdivision deed which are listed in a little blue booklet called “Protective Restrictions and Regulations at Westridge” that covers everything from how many horses a property owner may keep (five), to a prohibition of hogs, to the approval of all landscaping and home designs.

Today, a good balance between modern development and pastoral quiet exists in the community. Portola Valley is home to 4,500 residents in 1,700 households. Nineteen hundred acres of permanent open space exist within the town. Residents continue to treasure the town’s environmental and historic heritage, its excellent public schools and its town government staffed by a multitude of volunteers.