By Tim Seyfert

Los Altos Hills residents got one last chance to check out four proposed new town hall plans last week before the April 11 deadline to vote on a design.

Architects assigned to draft new looks for the Fremont Road building presented their designs at a public hearing April 3. Residents have until 5 p.m. Friday to mark their selection in a town-issued survey.

Results of the survey, which were mailed out to LAH residents last month, will weigh heavily in the council’s decision.

Council suspended plans for a previously approved mission-style design last year, after residents complained they hadn’t been given a chance to voice their opinions and that the style was too costly and not fitting with the town’s character.

The council’s more democratic approach in choosing the new building was met with appreciation by much of the audience.

“I’d just like to thank the council on the way they’re going about this,” resident Dan Alexander said.

The proposed designs include Craftsman, a linear structure combining stucco and wood; sustainable, a cluster of separate buildings with a galvanized steel roof; rural, a simple wooden design; and a revised mission style.

All proposals are for a building around 8,000 square feet, to be built on an approved $3.5 million budget.

The existing town hall was built in 1957, and decades of water damage, termites and earthquakes have left their mark. The building does not meet mandated safety and public access standards and lacks sufficient meeting space, according to a new town hall committee brochure. Council is aiming for a more spacious and updated structure with modern electrical wiring, more storage and increased audience seating.

“After all the e-mails and letters expressing concern, this is your chance to have a say,” Councilman Breene Kerr said.