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The town of Woodside received a monumental donation of $2.5 million from two anonymous donors to fund a beautification project on Woodside Road. This is the largest private donation gifted to the town in over 20 years, said Mayor Brian Dombkowski.
The project will landscape the rundown road medians on Woodside Road from east of Highway 280 to Alameda De Las Pulgas, clearing weeds and dirt from an area that recently has seen minimal maintenance.
“(This project) would greatly improve a vital public corridor in our community and turn it into a welcoming, calmer and safer thoroughfare,” said Dombkowski at the Town Council’s Jan. 13 meeting. “(It will) create an enduring and lasting civic asset for our citizens and the surrounding residents of our community here.”
The proposed design includes natural boulders and native, drought-tolerant plants such as manzanita, rockrose and coffeeberry. The final design and selection of plants will be reviewed by the Landscape Committee before final approvals by the Town Council.
Prior to the donation, the town had already allocated $200,000 for this exact project, marking it as a priority on its list of capital improvements for 2026. The generous donation will allow the town to complete the entirety of the project, said Dombkowski.
The median on Woodside Road is within Caltrans’ right-of-way, meaning the town must obtain an encroachment permit from the state agency once it completes the design process. The town will then be responsible for the maintenance, including irrigation, regular cleaning of the medians and its surrounding areas.
This project is part of the Woodside Beautification and Safety Project from 2023, which tackled a cluster of weeds and litter at the median across from Caltrans Park & Ride lot on Woodside Road. The process to beautify the town’s “front porch” was funded by a community donation of $165,000.
“We’ve already seen the first stage of the beautification project, which is really lovely,” said Councilmember Jenn Wall. “It really transformed the way Woodside looks when you enter and it was tastefully done.”
The anonymous donation was made to the Woodside Community Foundation, a nonprofit organization that administers funds established by tax-deductible contributions. In 2003, the town received a $2.1 million community donation through the foundation to pay for the construction of Barkley Fields and Park — Woodside’s only town-owned park and playing field.
During the Jan. 13 Town Council meeting, council members unanimously voted to approve a resolution authorizing an agreement between the town and the Woodside Community Foundation to transfer the donated funds.
Town staff and council members commended Dombkowski for his involvement in finding the donors and communicating the impact that this project will have on the town.
Town staff anticipates the project will break ground in the spring of 2027, after a year-long design and permitting process.
