Category: Volunteering

Around the Terrace: February 18, 2023

Here are some recent announcements and news stories of interest to College Terrace and the surrounding area.

  • College Terrace Library Open on Wednesdays Starting February 22
    The Palo Alto City Library continues to expand hours at the branch libraries and starting next week, our College Terrace Library will be open again on Wednesdays from 10am to 6pm. (The library will now be open four days a week, Wednesday through Saturday, 10am-6pm.)
  • Board and Commissions Recruitment Now Open
    The City is now recruiting for positions on the Historic Resources Board, Human Relations Commission, Parks and Recreation Commission, Planning and Transportation Commission, and the Utilities Advisory Commission. Members volunteer their time and expertise to review items and make recommendations to the City Council. If you would like to contribute towards helping our City continue fostering recovery, make progress on city priorities, and further the city’s legislative process, please consider applying for these open positions.
  • University Avenue Streetscape Workshop on March 1
    Similar to the discussion held about California Avenue back in December, the City invites the community to give input and ideas about the University Avenue corridor. This in-person community workshop will take place March 1 at 6pm at the Downtown Library

Read the CTRA Spring Newsletter

Our Spring 2022 newsletter, Views from the Terrace, is here!

📰 Download the CTRA Spring 2022 Newsletter

In this newsletter, CTRA president James Felix Cook recaps the major events that occupied the CTRA this past year. There are also reports from each of the CTRA’s four observers.

The newsletter also includes biographies of the 2022-23 CTRA board candidates. We are still looking for volunteers for multiple open roles for 2022-23. Reach out to James at ctra-president@collegeterrace.org if you want to support your neighborhood by serving on the board. It is a low-committment, high-impact way to learn about city issues and help keep College Terrace a fantastic place to live!

We are planning to deliver printed copies of the newsletter to every doorstep in College Terrace next weekend (March 19-20), but wanted to make it available online as soon as it was ready, and well in advance of our IN-PERSON annual meeting on Saturday, March 26 at 10am at University Lutheran Church.

Finally, a HUGE thank you to neighbor Susan Wilson for all her work on this year’s newsletter!

ECR Community Cleaning on Saturday

Some families living on El Camino Real have been moving to the newly-opened “safe parking” site at 2000 Geng Road near the Baylands. (Not all, though; the site only has space for 12 vehicles.) As families move, the KSP and its community partner Kafenia have decided to bring the community together this Saturday, February 27, for a street cleaning day.

The goal is to bring RV dwellers and other community members together to interact and get to know each other while lightly cleaning the street. This will be an outdoor, COVID-safe event from 10:30am to 1pm this Saturday. Sign up here and bring a pair of gloves. If you can’t make it, but want to support the clean-up day and RV families, you can donate online.

Interested in Palo Alto Housing Issues?

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We know many neighbors are interested in housing and zoning issues, not just here in College Terrace, but throughout the city. Fortunately, the city is currently looking for people who can make a difference by helping shape housing policy in Palo Alto.

The City Council recently approved the establishment of a Housing Element Working Group to help the City update its Housing Element.  The Housing Element is the City’s strategic plan to meet the housing needs of the City’s current and future residents and the Working Group will be responsible for helping the City select housing sites, preparing housing policies and programs and other duties as part of the update process.

The City is looking for volunteers who are interested in housing in the the City, bring energy and passion to the group and a willingness to meet on a monthly basis. If you are interested in participating in the Working Group, please fill out the online application. Applications are due by 5pm on March 5, 2021.

The City is also currently recruiting for one position on the Planning and Transportation Commission. The Planning and Transportation Commission advises the City Council on the City of Palo Alto’s Comprehensive Plan, land use, zoning, subdivision and other related policy matters. The deadline to apply is Tuesday, February 23, at 4:30pm. Click here for the application and more information.

College Terrace Volunteers Needed for City’s Emergency Response Team

Palo Alto Emergency Services is looking for one person on every block, or pair of blocks, in College Terrace to volunteer as a temporary Block Preparedness Coordinator (BPC). BPCs are Palo Alto’s most local level of emergency response. Their job is to check in with their neighbors in the case of major emergencies and report needs up the emergency response chain of command. There is supposed to one BPC per block across the city, but College Terrace has only three active at present. So we need some help!

During the shelter-in-place BPCs are being asked to knock on people’s doors about once a week and check that everyone in each house is okay. If people need help, BPCs can help them direct them to the resources they need.

Is this something you can do for either your own block or one near by?

If you volunteer, the city will supply you with an ID, a fluorescent vest, and informational materials to share with neighbors. You can also run through a brief online training module to help you understand what BPCs do.

BPCs report to a central Neighborhood Preparedness Coordinator (NPC) in each neighborhood. College Terrace’s interim NPC is local resident Andrea Edelman, who also works for the city’s Office of Emergency Services. Please contact Andrea if you are able to help keep our community connected and resilient at Andrea.Edelman@CityofPaloAlto.org.