By Tim Seyfert

After months of deliberation, Los Altos Hills residents narrowed down a preference last week for a new town hall design.

Results from town-issued surveys mailed out to residents last month favored the “rural” look: a simplistic wooden design characterized by low pitch roofs, wide-eave overhangs, exposed rafters and numerous casement windows.

Councilman Breene Kerr unveiled the tally April 17 during the council’s regular town hall meeting.

Other proposed styles included mission, craftsman and sustainable. Among the nearly 25 percent of residents who responded to the survey, 258 preferred the rural design; 173 favored the mission; craftsman received 122 votes; and sustainable picked up 83.

Council scrapped plans for a previously approved mission design last year after residents complained about not getting a chance to have a say in the design process.

“We’ve crossed the threshold,” Kerr said. “We will integrate the input gathered from (these ballots) into the final new town hall design.”

Kerr noted that a number of ballots had to be disqualified after several residents voted on more than one preference.

In addition to the survey, council will consider proposed cost figures and time estimates from architects before finalizing a design.

The four architects who drafted the initial proposals earlier this year will each submit a fee structure and timeline by April 30 before council selects one of them to revamp the Fremont Road building.

Council will make its decision at a public hearing May 15.

All designs will be for a structure measuring around 8,000 square feet, to be built on an approved budget of $3.5 million.