Portola Valley: Decision made on new town complex Portola Valley: Decision made on new town complex (February 18, 2004)

** Portola Valley council plans to abandon the current complex of offices, library, and other facilities, and rebuild them at the back of Town Center.

By David Boyce

Almanac Staff Writer

A lot of lines have been drawn in the dirt recently regarding the future of the park-like 11.2 acres at the Portola Valley Town Center.

Some were metaphorical, opposing any major change in the site's layout or use. Others were literal lines in the dirt, as in the latest round of trenching by geologists hired by the town to search for earthquake faults.

But on Monday, February 9, based on the latest geologic findings, the five-member Town Council unanimously drew its own line by deciding to abandon -- on a yet-to-be-determined schedule -- the current complex of offices, library, multi-use room, corporate yard and other facilities and rebuild them at the back of the Town Center.

"Focus on the positive aspects," said Councilman Ted Driscoll, citing the town's reputation for leading the way. He said he hopes the community will sign on to build a world-class complex for a town of Portola Valley's size.

"We've spent a helluva lot of money and time studying the project," said Councilman Ed Davis. "I'd like to get the process moving."

The likely location for the new complex is the northwest corner of the site, where the tennis courts now are, according to previous council statements.

The tennis courts, soccer field, volleyball field and playground area -- four acres in all -- are suitable for "structures of human occupancy," said geologist William Lettis in a presentation to the council.

Such structures should not be built on most of the Town Center, Mr. Lettis said, particularly between Portola Road and the eastern edges of the soccer field and tennis courts -- an area that is crossed by both the Woodside and Trancos trace faults and that contains nearly all of the town structures.

A notable exception is the Historic Schoolhouse, which sits on a narrow peninsula of "safe" land that runs between the two faults.

Playing fields displaced by new construction can be rebuilt where the current buildings now are, the council concluded.
Contention over facts

Mr. Lettis's presentation was ostensibly factual, but also raised a few hackles.

Allen Brown, who along with his brother and former mayor Bob are longtime critics of rebuilding the complex, peppered Mr. Lettis with questions and took issue with his conclusions as to what land was suitable for human occupancy.

"Who says it's a no-build zone," Mr. Brown said as the presentation drew to a close. "That's an arbitrary definition."

"I think we should look at the facts," said Mayor George Comstock.

"The facts are, you don't know," Mr. Brown retorted.

"It would be extremely foolish to build anything between these traces," Mr. Lettis said.

"I think that pretty well summarizes the findings for which we paid $250,000," Mayor Comstock said in closing the discussion.

Mr. Brown and his brother have argued that the town should spend about $10,000 to commission a failure analysis of the current buildings. Such an analysis should compare the risks of working in a building in close proximity to an earthquake fault with the risks of driving a car, they have said.

Before casting his vote to move ahead with rebuilding the complex, the mayor responded to Messrs. Brown. "A scientific analysis of risk levels really wouldn't mean a thing to me," said Mr. Comstock, who has previously expressed a primary concern for the safety of the town staff.
First things first

Now that the council has decided on a site, creating a design for the complex is squarely in its sights.

The council's plan is to use a "charrette," a process by which a group of professionals collaborates with interested members of the public in a tightly scripted schedule to create a master plan, phase-by-phase diagrams, cost analyses and images of the buildings, all to be shown publicly at an open house.

The length of the process is flexible. In this case, the plan is for four days and evenings, according to previous council statements.

The council planned to formally begin the process of looking for an architect on Friday, February 13, with a deadline for submissions of March 26. The charrette should take place sometime this summer, Councilman Davis told the Almanac.

In December, CJW Architecture of Portola Valley prepared a proposal of $83,115 for the four-day event. Not all architects are familiar with running a charrette. The council will make its choice based on the judgment and capabilities of the architect, Mr. Davis said.

Councilman Richard Merk noted at the meeting that while he "agrees very much" that the project needs to move ahead, he was skeptical of using a charrette, given the town's unfamiliarity with the process.

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