By Joan Garvin

joe hu/town crier The city will renegotiate the contract with a community group over the Neutra Cottage.

The Los Altos City Council and the Los Altos Community Foundation (LACF) decided at the June 27 council meeting to renegotiate a contract for lease of the Neutra Cottage after a missed filing deadline had threatened to jettison the agreement altogether.

Neutra Cottage was one of three built on Marvin Avenue in the 1930s, designed by Richard Joseph Neutra, an influential modern architect. Under an agreement between the city and LACF, the structure was relocated in front of Hillview Center.

LACF was to have filed a bill of sale for the building June 1, but missed the date - automatically triggering termination of the agreement. LACF delivered the bill of sale June 20, but by the mutually accepted provisions of the document, no city employee was authorized to change the June 1 deadline.

City officials considered the missed deadline a breach of contract, while LACF representatives defined it as an “administrative detail.”

A bitter debate tinged with distrust and misunderstandings on both sides ensued. Public discussion referred to misinformation that the city planned to bulldoze the house.

Roy Lave, executive director of LACF, called the contract “only a piece of paper” that the council “shouldn’t worry about.”

Councilmembers and the city attorney reflected their obligation to fulfill legal requirements.

Chip Leon, an attorney with LACF, escalated the debate when he said, “If (the council) scraps the project, we may have to sue.”

Councilmember David Casas said the statement was a threat directed to the council in a public forum, “even if unintended.”

Councilwoman Val Carpenter, a founder of LACF, former member of the Historical Commission and supporter of preserving Neutra Cottage, deflated the

discussion. She spoke of the community members who had contributed toward the preservation of the house and urged moderation.

Leon withdrew any implied threat, and the council agreed to renegotiate.

Mayor Ron Packard wrote in an e-mail to the Town Crier: The decision was that neither the city nor the foundation will waive any of their legal rights, but we will renegotiate the contract and the foundation will agree to reasonable timetables for raising the money and completing the project. I am well pleased with the results.”