By Elizabeth Cloutman

The Los Alto Hills City Council is set to finalize plans for the construction of a new town hall next month.

Mayor Bob Fenwick said Thursday that one of his goals as mayor for 2002-03 is to have residents make donations toward the $3.9 million its construction is expected to cost. However, some residents remain unhappy with the proposed plans.

LAH Outrage, a group of town hall neighbors and other residents, believes the new town hall is too costly. Members resent the lack of public input in its planning. The group also said that the new town hall’s siting could damage the environment and that the traffic flow from one proposed parking lot’s entrance directly onto Fremont Road is dangerous.

“We unanimously object to the plan in general,” LAH Outrage member Mark Breier told the council Thursday. “We are especially concerned about the parking lot entrance by Heritage House. I shared the plans with residents at the town picnic. There was an overwhelming preference for a single entrance at Fremont and Concepcion, where there is a four-way stop.”

Breier’s wife, Rhonda, said that while she agreed a new town hall is necessary, she was “a little surprised there has not been a lot of neighborhood input (solicited by the council).” She also objected to the proposed catering kitchen, which, she fears, would mean the new town hall would be used for many more social functions and thus would greatly increase the amount of traffic in the area.

While Fenwick met with some LAH Outrage members to hear their concerns, none of the council members has expressed an interest in making major alterations to the plans for the new town hall.

Councilwoman Toni Casey told the Town Crier three weeks ago that she and Fenwick, who comprise the council’s town hall subcommittee, had solicited input from 60-70 residents on the new town hall last fall. She noted these residents were all members of various town committees, “everyone who had ever used the town hall for any reason.”

Material from LAH Outrage noted that the proposed construction cost of nearly $500 per square foot is at least twice, possibly four times, that of typical office construction. The group also noted that the siting of the town hall would necessitate the Purissima Hills Water District constructing a new facility separate from the new town hall, which could mean higher water rates.

Water district officials told the council in May that they do not want the district office to be located in the new town hall and plan to construct a separate facility. The district wants to locate its new building near the existing Esperanza Drive parking lot.

The group is also concerned about the environmental impact of the proposed town hall. Building a larger parking lot would mean Heritage House would have to be relocated, group members said. Heritage House would most likely be resited to existing open space, they added.

Town hall neighbors also noted that because the new town hall won’t be sited in the existing buildings’ footprint, the 30-year growth of trees and other vegetation would no longer shield town hall from the neighbors’ view.

Council members had hoped to review the architect’s cost estimate, as well as an agreement for construction documents, bidding and administration at Thursday’s meeting. However, the council had to defer the discussion until the July 18 meeting because the town staff hadn’t received the documents from John Goldman Architects in time for staff review.

“We just received the cost estimate last week and would like a chance to review it before presenting it to the council,” City Attorney Dan Seidel said Thursday.