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NEW CITY COUNCIL ACTION AND UPDATE ON NEW TOWN HALL PROJECT- 1/14/03 On Thursday, December 19th, 2002, the new City Council appointed 7 residents to a newly-formed New Town Hall committee to developing a process for deciding on a new Town Hall design, including architecture style, financing, floorplan, etc. which would be based on Town-wide resident input. The New Town Hall Committee is composed of 3 Council members (Mike O'Malley, Breene Kerr, Dean Warshawsky), 2 Planning Commissioners (Bill Kerns and Carl Cottrell), and 5 Town-residents (Jim Downey, Jean Mordo, Victoria Oldberg, John Radford and Al Whaley). On Tuesday January 14th, 2003, the New Town Hall committee met and agreed to the following:
PREVIOUS CITY COUNCIL ACTION AND UPDATE REGARDING THE TOWN HALL PROJECT- 7/18/02
The need for a new Town Hall was based on the findings and recommendations of a Council appointed building committee and a 1999 building inspection and structural engineering report that indicated that existing Town Hall structure suffers from significant structural damage as a result of termite infestation and water intrusion at the foundation and roof. The structure has also become obsolete with regard to building code seismic requirements and mandated handicapped accessibility standards (ADA). On July 26th, 2001, architect John Goldman, Goldman Architects, was hired by the Town and directed to prepare architectural renderings and plans for a new Town Hall. The California Mission style of architecture was chosen as it reflects the heritage of the region, the Town and the site. The plans, including the site plan, elevations and floor plan, and renderings have been available for public viewing in the Council Chambers since December 6, 2001. The project has been a matter of public discussion since it became the Town’s stated #1 goal in June 2001. Public hearings have also been held. Numerous changes to the site layout and building design have been made as a result of public input. These changes include relocating the south driveway entrance to minimize impacts on neighbors, reversing the floor plan layout to screen roofline architectural elements from the neighbors, preservation of the Heritage House and removal of the north parking lot and driveway to save open space and enhance pedestrian safety. The 2.72-acre site will remain two-thirds open space and the proposed Town Hall building will use less than half the maximum allowable floor area for the site. The Town also prepared an Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration, pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to identify, publicly disclose and mitigate any potentially significant environmental impacts that might occur as a result of the project. The Town Council also voted on a project budget not to exceed 3.5 million dollars from Town General Fund reserves. The project will not result in any assessments or new taxes to property owners. The Town Council has also committed to raising at least 1 to 1.5 million dollars in private donations. This is in keeping with Town tradition. The 2.72 acres of land for the Town Hall site and the original Town Hall building were both provided as a result of private donations. Such generous donations in today’s dollars would be in the millions. To date, $201,000 in private donations for the Town Hall project have been publicly pledged. The next steps of the project include preparation of detailed bid specifications based on the architect’s construction drawings. Award of the contract for the construction of the project will be subject to a public bidding process. The Council will also initiate a vigorous public donation and fundraising campaign in order to meet the proposed fundraising goals to support design amenities beyond minimum general public facility requirements to better serve Town residents for many years to come. New Town Hall Design Details: (Click on photo to see expanded view) From Southwest From Southeast From Northeast
(with heritage oak tree in center) (with heritage oak tree in center)
BACKGROUND On January 27th, 1956, the Town of Los Altos Hills was incorporated. The one-room Purissima School House on Duval Way served as the Town’s first Town Hall for 13 months. On February 23, 1957, the present Town Hall was constructed with donations of land, materials and labor. The newly formed Town envisioned a facility that would house an office for one Town employee and a public meeting hall. In fact, a vigorous and near successful effort was made by some residents to dissolve the newly incorporated Town when a second employee was hired. In 1962, the Water District office was constructed. Major additions to the Town Hall over the years include the City Council Chambers and the City Manager’s Office that were constructed in 1974 and 1976 respectively. A use permit for the then 20-year old Town Hall was approved in 1977 (8027-77) establishing the allowable use. The Heritage House was added to the site in 1985 and the use permit was amended (CUP-3-85). The original Town Hall has experienced significant structural damage over the years mostly due to water intrusion and termites. The structure has also become obsolete with regard to building code seismic requirements and handicapped accessibility standards (ADA). The space limitations of the existing Town Hall have become apparent especially with regard to public meeting space. Much of the floor area increase for the new Town Hall is devoted to public meeting space including the Council chambers, a front counter and conference room. Aisles and walkway areas have also increased measurably in order to meet ADA requirements. Site and Project Data Net Lot Area: 2.72 acres (118,483.2 square
feet)
* Includes Heritage House and Water District
Building. As shown in the table, the institutional
project complies with the Town’s residential floor area and development area
limitations. The parking area and driveway consume a major portion of the
allowable development area and far exceeds the paved area needed for residential
parking. Development area figures shown are actual total impervious surface
calculations. Some neighbors have claimed that the project would pave over open
space. However, approximately 78,000 square feet (1.79 acres) or approximately
two thirds of the site will remain unimproved open space. In addition, If the
residential zoning standard of counting only the first 100-feet of driveway were
used, then 5,600 square feet could be deducted from the proposed development
area figure shown in the table above.
The table above and the attached bar graph show how the proposed Town Hall office space will be allocated and how it compares with the existing Town Hall facility. The Council chambers, hallways and the front counter area expand significantly. More than one resident has complained that the proposed Town hall structure is too large and that the larger Town Hall might result in additional employees and/or that staff members would be indulged with opulent offices. Actual staff office space in the new Town Hall will increase by a total of 36 square feet as compared to the existing facilities that include the Heritage House. While the Heritage House is expected to remain on-site, it would not be used for staff office space.
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Copyright 2008- Los Altos Hills Civic Association |
New Town Hall Project Status
