Woodside gets OK on fire station Woodside gets OK on fire station (September 01, 2004)

By Andrea Gemmet
Almanac Staff Writer

A new fire station for the Emerald Lake Hills community adjacent to Woodside got the San Mateo County Planning Commission's unanimous approval last week.

The new, two-story station will be built on undeveloped land at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Wilmington Way. Plans for the 9,200-square-foot station call for a community training room, living quarters for four Woodside Fire Protection District firefighters, and parking for 19 vehicles and up to eight fire trucks.

The new station is to replace the existing Emerald Hills firehouse on California Way, located kitty-corner from the new site. Woodside fire officials have said the old station is too small and outdated. It houses three firefighters, and has no space for community meetings or training events, they said.

Planning Commission members put a number of conditions on the project at the August 25 meeting, including limiting the hours of evening activities or meetings and capping the number of meetings that can be held at four per month, said county Planner Dave Holbrook.

"The design was very well received overall," he said.

Chief Mike Fuge said he is pleased by the commission's reception of the project.

"It was very smooth," Chief Fuge said. "We're excited, because now we can move forward."

The Woodside fire district acquired the property through eminent domain proceedings initiated in 2000, and the project was delayed by a legal challenge from the property owners over the fair market value of the land. The district's appraiser said the land was worth $700,000. The owners disagreed. The owners won, and the district ponied up $1.7 million for the two parcels that make up the new station's 38,600-square-foot lot.

Chief Fuge said he hoped construction will begin in early spring. The cost of building a station has changed from the initial estimate of $350 a square foot as construction and materials prices have fluctuated, he said.

The district can pay for the station out of its reserves, but is looking into financing options, he said.

"With this current economy, I don't feel comfortable taking that much money out of reserves," Chief Fuge said.

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