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A project to build a new city gymnasium in Menlo Park's Civic Center complex has cleared another hurdle, and now faces a vote of the City Council before construction can begin.

A divided Planning Commission voted at its June 29 meeting to approve architectural plans for the gymnasium, with a number of conditions and recommendations, including a set-aside of parking spaces designated for library patrons.

The 4-3 vote opened the door for the council to give the final stamp of approval at its July 21 meeting, when it's scheduled to review the project.

Funded jointly through a bond measure and by donor John Arrillaga, the gym would front on Alma Street, and would be nestled between the recreation center, the skate park, and the parking lot adjacent to the library.

After construction is complete, the existing gymnasium, which faces Laurel Street, would be razed and replaced with a new gymnastics center.

City officials, however, are quick to point out that the city hasn't yet committed funds to that facility.


Plans incomplete?
Over the past month, the city has been accused of failing to think through the gym's placement and design. Members of the Planning Commission and the library community have criticized what they see as the city's failure to consider the impact the gym will have on library users, and on others who park in the adjacent lot.

The commission approved architectural plans for the gymnasium. The action, subject to City Council approval, requires the city to address the parking situation before the gym opens for use.

Under the commission's requirements, the city would have to set aside designated parking areas for library patrons. Parking would be provided elsewhere for city employees. The city would also have to institute time restrictions on parking spots, and to coordinate major events on the Civic Center campus.

In addition, the city would remove existing landscaping in the lot nearest the library, to allow for more parking spaces.

The requirements weren't enough for the three commissioners who voted against the plan: Melody Pagee, Vince Bressler, and John Kadvany. Ms. Pagee and Mr. Kadvany also took issue with the architectural plans for the gym itself.

The plan for parking and traffic circulation is "simply incomplete," Mr. Kadvany said in an interview. "Everybody wants to see the project go through, but the difficulty is that there still seem to be some significant unanswered questions about how this is going to operate, when it comes to circulation and parking. ... It would be prudent to figure this out now, rather than create insoluble problems later."

Mr. Kadvany said he thinks the gym is too large for the site, and that he isn't in favor of removing the landscaping from the library lot.

He was also the only commissioner to dissent in the vote to certify the environmental impact report, saying he believes it doesn't address the real issues in play.

Responding to concerns from Mr. Kadvany and others that the gym had been "shoehorned" into the proposed site, commission chair Henry Riggs argued that the gym would have the least impact on the rest of the campus at the proposed location than at any of the sites considered by the city.

"I would like to say, at least from my point of view, that the architecture fits the site," he said during the meeting. "They are attractive buildings -- I realize not everyone agrees. I also think the scale is appropriate on Alma Street."


Recommendations
The commission recommended that the City Council consider building underground parking beneath the gym. Mr. Bressler made the motion.

"I just think it would be very nice to do underground parking here, and to do this right," he said. "And I don't know whether the donor would like to do this right, or not. .... Somebody needs to ask the question, not just accept that there's no other option."

City staff members have said that if the city wants to implement underground parking, the city not Mr. Arrillaga -- would have to pay for it.

The commission made several other recommendations to the City Council:

• Address left-turn safety from Laurel Street onto Ravenswood Avenue, possibly by adding a turn signal.

• Adjust the signal timing to make it easier to turn left from Middlefield Road onto Ravenswood Avenue.

• Instruct the architect to maximize natural ventilation, and to consider methods that would minimize energy use.

• Consider going through the environment-oriented LEED certification process.

• Consider adding a second entrance to the gym. In current plans, the only entrance would face the parking lot adjacent to the library. Adding a second entrance might require paving over the skate park and outdoor basketball court, adjacent to the southern end of the proposed gym site, to create a drop-off area.

Another motion, for the City Council to re-examine the gym's architecture -- adding windows, revamping the entrance, and breaking up the "boxy" design -- failed in a 3-3 vote, with Commissioner John O'Malley absent after leaving before the vote. Ms. Pagee, Mr. Kadvany, and Kirsten Keith voted in favor, with Mr. Riggs, Mr. Bressler, and Katie Ferrick dissenting.

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