By Linda Taaffe

More traffic controls and less development are what most downtown residents told the Los Altos City Council they would prefer to see at the city-owned lot on the corner of First and Main streets. A special council meeting last week drew about 60 property owners living within a 1,000-foot radius of the proposed project site.

The city targeted the .78-acre site earlier this year for either a movie theater or hotel development and is waiting for an economic report before deciding on one of four proposals currently on the table.

Neighbors told the city council that they were concerned about the scope of each of the four proposals that the city is considering for the site. Three proposals include plans for a three-story hotel/restaurant/retail mix, and one includes plans for a three-story movie theater/housing combination.

Several of the neighboring property owners seemed confused as to how the council had narrowed its options to projects of such high density.

“Personally, I am alarmed that the council is considering a project of such extraordinary bulk at the main entryway to the downtown area,” said neighbor Charles Geschke. “The debate within the council seems to be focused solely on the potential functional use of the site without sufficient regard for the bulk and size of the development and its impact on the historic nature and architectural standards of the downtown area.”

Concerns about additional neighborhood traffic that such development potentially could generate also surfaced. Residents along University Avenue signed a petition earlier this year asking the city to conduct a traffic-calming study on their street.

At the meeting, residents told the council that the street is already plagued with cut-through traffic and speeding cars. A mega-development across Foothill Expressway would only exacerbate the problems, they said.

University resident Keith Gutierrez said he supported placing a movie theater on the site, but suggested that the council include traffic controls as part of the project. “You could put some speed bumps and stop signs near Redwood Grove to slow cars down and stop people from using University as a shortcut,” he said.

The call for a small project came a week after urban designer David Gates told the council it should consider a development of “size and importance with lots of use” for the site in order to create an obvious gateway into downtown.

The neighbors asked the council to make public opinion a top priority before choosing a development. “You were selected as our representatives,” said resident Ken Kaye.

The city purchased the First and Main street property in 1995 with the long-term goal of improving the appearance of Main Street and creating more downtown parking. The city has been negotiating with developers since 1999 to find a project that would best fit the lot, which houses the Home Consignment Center, Nielsen’s Martinizing Dry Cleaning and a 55-space parking lot.