By Megan Ma

Joe Hu/town crier The Los Altos Communty Foundation needs to raise $140,000 to renovate the Neutra House.

Last year, the city conditionally approved removal of a small building known as Neutra House from a private residence to city-owned land near the Hillview Community Center. Since June, city officials and the Los Altos Community Foundation (LACF) have been negotiating a lease contract.

Friday, Mayor Ron Packard and Councilman Kurt Colehower met with LACF board members, including pro bono attorney and foundation secretary Henry Roux. While the legal language is not yet final, the foundation has agreed to take responsibility for Neutra House renovations and ongoing maintenance once it’s ready for community usage, Roux said.

A “conservative estimate” for the completion of the project, Roux said, is December 2007. In keeping with city council wishes, the foundation agreed to spruce up the lot’s appearance with basic landscaping before interior renovations - a new timeline revision, he said.

“The city now has a clear view as to how the project will proceed. The foundation will take responsibility for complete renovations. … The de facto position is that there’s no other real choice,” Roux said.

Currently, the construction crews are waterproofing the building’s exterior ahead of the winter rains and affixing a new roof to the 980-square-foot home - one of the smaller creations of architect Richard Neutra.

The LACF was scheduled to file a bill of sale June 1 but missed the deadline, because they “frankly forgot about it,” said LACF Executive Director Roy Lave.

The city staff then prepared a revised contract in July and Neutra House advocates, headed by Roux, recently countered the proposal with a new document. That the contract has gone through several revisions is not unprecedented in the legal world, Roux said. After the meeting Monday, Roux estimated total project costs at $320,000 - significantly lower than previous estimates.

Before Friday’s meeting, Packard said his prime concern was that the foundation is held accountable for the project. He would also like to see more progress on renovations of the house, slated as a community meeting space when finished, he said.

The original contract was a provisional agreement that allowed LACF to move, restore and operate the home, slated for major exterior and interior renovations this summer.

Roux said he was “absolutely confident” that the team could raise funds and assured city officials that the construction progress had never been stalled due to ongoing talks with the city. On Monday, he said both sides had reached an understanding on how to proceed.

“The basic thrust of what came out of the meeting … was that there was a lack of clarity. We’ve resolved that,” said Roux, who plans to work with City

Attorney Jolie Houston to finalize the foundation’s lease contract.

Former Councilman King Lear, who heads the fundraising effort, said the foundation has reached $180,000 - more than half its goal.