By Megan Ma

The Friends of Griffin House at Foothill College is moving toward challenging the proposed demolition of the historic home.

Friends of Griffin House are pushing forward with a lawsuit that challenges the Foothill-De Anza Community College District argument for tearing down Griffin House, once the home of Willard Griffin, a founder of Del Monte Packing. The brown-shingled house, situated near the entrance of Foothill College, was bought for the college in the late 1950s.

Judge Leslie Nichols will preside over the hearing in Santa Clara County Superior Court June 5. The lawsuit was filed Aug. 30 and argues that the district should follow the “environmentally superior” alternative, which involves keeping the house intact and adding an adjacent building.

In a 35-page opening legal brief released by the Friends of Griffin House April 3, the group alleges the college district, which announced plans to raze the house last August, has not addressed feasible alternatives.

Citing the state’s environment quality act of 1970 (CEQA), attorney Susan Brandt Hawley representing Friends stated that as a historic resource, protected by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Griffin House is like an endangered species in that its removal affects the environment around it.

According to an environmental impact report (EIR) prepared by the district, restoring Griffin House is infeasible because the construction would be too expensive, is physically impractical and would not centralize district administrative functions.

Foothill-De Anza board of trustee members did not return Town Crier phone calls by deadline.

Outlined in the brief are district claims that it is more cost effective to raze the house and erect a new administrative building approximately 8,000 to 9,000 square feet than keep the existing structure and add an adjacent building.

Griffin House advocates said that the cost figures the district provided are inaccurate. Cost figures for preserving the house with an additional building are comparable to the price tag of completely rebuilding it, said Friends supporter Jonathan Baer.

Bill Vesaci, project manager of Gilbane Building Co., advised the college on an initial cost assessment in 2000 and conceded that, “it’s based on some assumptions that we literally pulled out of the air.”

Friends of Griffin House assert that district cost assessments were never clarified and a final study of costs was not finalized.

In a final report published in May 2005, the district responded it had no plans to “perform additional studies about the utilization and restoration of the Griffin House.”

John Shultz, district executive director of facilities, operations and construction management, said officials considered whether the facility would be fit to support growing administrative needs. Practical concerns came first, he said.

“I think the main difference is that they look at it as restoring a house, we look at it as constructing a school type of building-different type of structure that’s going to be in heavy use all day, every week for many years,” said Shultz.

In the brief, Los Altos Hills Mayor Breene Kerr decried the district’s contention that their educational mission justifies tearing the house down.

“Traditionally, colleges have been able to create an environment that’s conducive to learning by preserving some of their tradition,” he said.

The district has 35 days from the brief filing date to respond to the allegations.