By Clyde Noel

Downtown aesthetics and the boutique hotel slated for First and Main streets were key topics at last week’s Los Altos City Council candidates forum sponsored by the Los Altos Village Association and the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce at Main Street Cafe & Books. More than 60 downtown retailers attended the Oct. 15 forum. Local attorney Ken Kaye moderated the event.

What is your position on the Apricot Inn planned for First and Main streets?

What do you think about the physical appearance of the downtown areas?

What do you think about a downtown movie theater?

Eight candidates are vying for three, four-year seats in the Nov. 4 election.

Candidates Christopher Frinedly Nicholson and Steven Smiley did not participate in the forum.

• David Casas, a financial manager and vice president of the Los Altos School Board, said the two new hotels on El Camino are not achieving their expected occupancy and that the city should sell its property on First and Main streets and use the money for other things downtown.
• Curtis Cole, an engineer and member of the Los Altos Planning Commission, said the site was purchased for parking and that a hotel in combination with Safeway would be good. He proposed selling the land to the developer and providing more parking.
• Incumbent Francis La Poll said he could not reveal what had been discussed, but the hotel wouldn’t do much for the community. “We are getting $250,000 right now, and if we sold the property we would only get about $60,000,” he said.
• Von Packard, sitting in for his brother Ron, an attorney and member of the Los Altos Citizens Financial advisory Committee, supported the plan for the hotel with a ground lease and suggested the city proceed with developer Roxy Rapp and get out of the real estate business.
• La Poll recommended cleaning up downtown and making merchants responsible. He is in favor of dressing up the Main Street-San Antonio area because 35,000 cars pass there every day.
• Packard said that LAVA and the chamber of commerce should address assessments and procure larger trash bins. He is against additional take-out restaurants.
• Carpenter said we have a beautiful downtown and all the problems are fixable. She said we need larger garbage cans.
• Casas would encourage more landscaping and have the sidewalks steam-cleaned. “Find out what is working and what worked in the past,” he said.
• Casas said it would be a wonderful thing but a six-plex would be out of scope.
• Cole doesn’t want the city to get involved in a movie theater. What could it do for downtown? he asked.
• La Poll supports a small theater, but not a 20,000-square-foot or a nine-screen operation.
• Samani said a good place for the theater would be the vacant Bank of the West building on Third Street.