By Greg Kozocas

After more than a year of planning and hearing from concerned residents, Los Altos Hills town officials last Tuesday presented four new designs for town hall.

The designs were unveiled at the town hall committee meeting, allowing residents a first glimpse before voting in a new poll to be distributed next month. All residents will have a chance to vote on one of the four styles.

The proposals included Craftsman, sustainable, rural and revised mission-style town halls.

The prior mission-style design, which the city council had previously approved, drew heavy criticism last year from residents who claimed it was too massive and too costly. The town suspended plans after residents complained that they did not have enough time to weigh in before the final decision was made.

Mission style

San Francisco architect John Goldman presented a plan that still has a stucco, Spanish-like appearance but calls for overall height reductions. The plan calls for the elimination of the 35-foot-high clock tower, which previous residents noted as gaudy, in violation of city height limits and not in keeping with the rural character of the town. The originally proposed round columns were also removed to cut costs.

“Lowering everything down has made it less massive’ less formal and less costly,” Goldman said.

Rural style

Barry Nathan of Palo Alto presented his rural plan, which has been regarded by many in the town as the “resident’s design,” mainly because of its simple wooden look. Nathan’s design has been said to cost less than the others, although all architects were allowed by the new town hall committee to allow for $3.5 million to be spent on the project.

Craftsman style

The similar Craftsman-style design, presented by Peter Duxbury of Los Altos, has wooden features. The linear-looking building, Duxbury said, is a “very simple building and not overly detailed.” The design would be a combination of stucco and wood exterior.

Sustainable style

The final plan was presented by Albany architect David Arkin, who presented a sustainable design. He proposed a roof of galvanized steel, which, he said, would last longer than wood.

The approximately three dozen residents at Tuesday’s meeting sat mostly silent, commenting briefly to one another but not to the architects or the individual committee members. About a half dozen residents raised questions.

“How does the plan fit into the neighborhood?” asked Richard Lamparter of Viscaino Road, Los Altos Hills.

Arkin responded by saying his design is comparable in height with the surrounding neighborhood homes. But he suggested the new town hall should have its own character as well.

“In some ways we want it to look like neighboring homes, and in other ways we want it to stand out,” Arkin said.

All designs are similar in height, meet the 8,000-square-foot requirement and call for open space and the preservation of Heritage House. Interior floor plans will be decided after the final exterior plan is chosen, committee members said.

An additional public hearing is set for April 3 at the town hall.