By Megan Ma
 The Griffin House continues to sit after a judge’s ruling put demolition on hold. TOWN CRIER FILE PHOTO |
The Griffin House, a 103-year-old Craftsman-style home set on the Foothill College campus, is spared from demolition for the time being, a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge ruled June 5.
Judge Leslie Nichols ruled in favor of Friends of Griffin House - a major victory for the local group that filed the public-interest lawsuit against the Foothill-De Anza Community College District August.
Friends’ originally challenged the district’s plan to tear down the house and construct a District and Community Center (DCC) building. The group claimed the district’s needs could be met without demolishing the historical building and recommended renovating the house and adding an adjacent building. Relocating the building was also an option.
In an earlier report, district officials rejected the proposed alternatives as practically and financially infeasible.
Nichols chastised district officials for attempting to proceed with demolition before considering alternatives.
He ruled the district failed to comply with the California Uniform Building code by not obtaining a demolition permit from the town of Los Altos Hills, in effect rejecting the district claim that they were exempt.
He ordered the district to conduct a cost analysis and a traffic impact report, Friends’ attorney Susan Brandt-Hawley said.
According to Friends’ estimates, renovating the Griffin House and adding a companion building would cost $10.2 million - only 2 percent more than demolition and new construction.
“While Foothill-De Anza believed we had prepared all necessary documentation related to the disposition of the Griffin House, clearly the judge felt differently,” wrote Marisa Spatafore, director of District Communications.
Designed in 1901 by architects Wolfe & McKenzie, the Griffin House has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the California Register of Historical Resources and
as a Los Altos Hills Historical Site.
The Griffin House was built for Willard Griffin, a founder of the Del Monte fruit-packing corporation.
