New Emerald Hills fire station gets go-ahead New Emerald Hills fire station gets go-ahead (May 08, 2002)

By Andrea Gemmet

Almanac Staff Writer

After a protracted eminent domain lawsuit, plans to construct a new Emerald Hills fire station on the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Wilmington Way are moving forward, according to a Woodside Fire Protection District official.

The new fire station would replace the existing Emerald Hills station, which fire officials say is too small and outdated, just a short distance away on California Way. Both station sites are in unincorporated San Mateo County, near Woodside.

Residents living near the new site, which cost the fire district $1.7 million, said they are concerned about noise, traffic and safety issues if the station is built on the two undeveloped lots, and that they want fire district officials to work with them to make sure the new fire station is compatible with their residential neighborhood.

The county's Planning Commission granted general approval for the new station to be built, voting unanimously April 10 that the project is not contrary to the general plan, said county planner Alison Sand.

The Woodside fire district is currently soliciting proposals from architecture firms to draw up plans for the new station, according to Peter Berger, a member of the district's board of directors. As soon as plans are completed, the district may apply for a use permit and design review, according to Ms. Sand.

"In the next three to six months, we hope to be fairly far along on the planning," said Mr. Berger.

Jeff Poetsch, who lives on Wilmington Way and was one of more than a dozen residents who attended the meeting, said the neighborhood had been hearing rumors about plans for the fire station for some time, but that the Planning Commission meeting was their first official notice.

"Rather than waiting until they go to the Planning Commission for a permit, we would like them to come to us," said Mr. Poetsch. "We want them to participate with the neighborhood so they can get something that meets their needs, and accommodates the neighborhood."

Anne Campbell, who lives right across the street from the proposed fire station location, said she is concerned about plans for 28 parking spaces, and wonders why a training facility is included. She said she is hesitant to express a strong opinion about the plan, because she still knows so little about it.

"I want to be informed, I don't want to be surprised and wake up one morning and find that the trees are being taken down," said Ms. Campbell.

Mr. Berger said there is still no definitive number of parking spaces proposed.

"We're not trying to create a park and ride, but we want something that is adequate so employees can park, and the visitors can park, so there are not parked cars on the adjacent street," he said.

Currently, three firefighters are on duty at the California Way station at a time, but the number at the new station may increase to four in the future, said Mr. Berger.

He said the training room would be used both for the firefighter-paramedics training and community training, such as CPR classes and neighborhood-based disaster-response programs like CERPP.

The existing station, he said, "is adequate for emergency facility, but not for CERPP training."

"We have lots of neighborhood groups come to the main fire station," said Mr. Berger. "We should be able to provide the same level of service for the Emerald Hills community and not have to worry about getting a room at the Elk's Club."

Woodside fire district's tentative plans call for a drive-through garage for the fire trucks, with the entrance on Wilmington Way and the exit on Jefferson Avenue, to avoid the noisy process of backing in, he said.

Mr. Poetsch said that the proposed fire station location is on a fairly dangerous corner, and he thinks the county should require a traffic study before allowing the station to be built. He said he is concerned that in order to warn oncoming traffic, the sirens would have to be turned on as soon as the fire engines start to leave the proposed station. Currently, firefighters at the California Way station wait until they are heading down Jefferson Avenue before activating the sirens, sparing the neighborhood from a lot of noise, he said.
Property's price tag

The fire district began eminent domain proceedings to acquire the property in January of 2000, according to local realtor Tom Tornquist, who represents the property owners, along with an adjacent third lot. The owners are Ron Grove of Grove Construction, West Hills Development and Mr. Torniquist's wife, Mr. Grove said last year.

A protracted dispute over the fair market value of the two corner lots -- the fire district's appraiser thought the lots were each worth $350,000, while the owners' set the price at $850,000 apiece -- made its way through the courts. The fight finally ended this January with San Mateo County appeals court Judge Tom Smith ordering district officials to pay the owners' price of $1.7 million, plus approximately $75,000 in legal fees, according to Chuck Rible, the San Mateo-based real estate attorney representing the property owners.

"I'm still a bit chagrined that we ended up paying $1.7 million, but the judge said they're right and you're wrong," said Mr. Berger.

The Woodside fire district is paying for the station out of surplus budget money that has been set aside, he said. "We have enough resources to go forward __ it's not going to be a Taj Mahal."

For his part, Mr. Tornquist said he would be happy to return the fire district's money and get the property back.

"There hasn't been another level, 20,000-square-foot lot for sale in Emerald Lake in the last 20 years," he said. "These are premium lots."

Mr. Tornquist said the court battle was not only time-consuming, but it made it difficult for him and Mr. Grove to market the new home they built on their remaining lot, next to the proposed fire station site. They recently closed escrow on the house, which sold for $2.3 million, after warning the buyers that there could be a fire station next door, he said. A similar house on a smaller lot in the same neighborhood recently sold for $3.25 million, he said.

"There's no question that it hurt that value by hundreds of thousands of dollars," said Mr. Tornquist.

For the fire district, the long court battle did have a silver lining, according to Mr. Berger. The economic recession means building contractors aren't as busy, and aren't charging as much, he said.

"It's taken longer than we would have liked, but we haven't suffered because of it," said Mr. Berger.