By Lauren McSherry

Pinewood School, which failed to keep its part of an agreement with the city of Los Altos Hills to present plans for the Winbigler property by the end of July, is contesting the nuisance abatement order issued by the city.

The city gave the new owner of the 7-acre property, zoned for residential use, 30 days as of Aug. 3 to take care of the unfinished structure classified by the city as “unsightly and abandoned.”

According to the order, Pinewood was required to (a) demolish the entire structure and restore the site’s natural grade, or (b) cover it with a protective material such as Tyvek to save the exposed wood from further weathering and apply for a site development permit to construct a structure that conforms with the city’s building code. Pinewood was also required to clear construction debris.

In a letter to the city dated Aug. 18, Scott Riches, president of Pinewood, asked for a hearing with city council to appeal the notice of nuisance abatement.

In the letter, Riches claims that Pinewood cleaned up the site well before the city issued the notice of abatement and that the school is working diligently to cover the exposed wood and apply for a site development permit for a structure that conforms to the city’s building requirements.

School officials want to retain the structure’s $4.5 million basement and $1 million above-ground portion until they determine their plans for the site. The loss of any section of the structure that could be used as part of Pinewood’s development “would be a tremendous waste,” Riches wrote.

The city council will consider Pinewood’s appeal at its regular meeting scheduled 6:30 p.m., Thursday.