Portola Valley: Retrofit option for Town Center buildings dealt another blow Portola Valley: Retrofit option for Town Center buildings dealt another blow (January 19, 2005)

** Councilman floats idea of closing most buildings now.

By David Boyce

Almanac Staff Writer

Recent developments are making a retrofit of the building complex at Portola Valley Town Center seem increasingly unlikely, and the eventual closure of the buildings -- including the library, multi-use room, art gallery and classrooms -- may be just around the corner.

Many residents have been writing letters complaining to the Town Council about maturing plans to spend $15 million on the new building complex. Rather than tear down the complex and build a new one, these residents want to retrofit the 50-year-old former elementary school that has served as a civic center for some 30 years.

But a necessary first step -- appraising the existing buildings -- appears to have put the kibosh on a retrofit.

The council recently commissioned an appraisal to comply with a state law that restricts retrofitting of buildings located on or very near an active earthquake fault -- as Portola Valley's complex is. The cost of all such retrofits must be less than one-half the value of the structures.

In a phone call to Town Administrator Angela Howard, the appraiser said the structures have no value. The town may violate the law if it spends so much as a penny on a retrofit. The full appraisal report is due this week.

In an interview, retrofit advocate Allan Brown said he disagreed with the appraiser's views and blamed the council. "The recent councils have authorized no ordinary maintenance to the buildings deliberately," he said.

"They have their agenda and they have done everything to promote it through benign neglect," he added. "We don't think that common sense or forthrightness have been used in approaching this problem."

Mayor Ed Davis called Mr. Brown's statement "downright toxic" and said he will wait to see the report before commenting in detail.

The news on the appraisal is the second blow to the hopes of retrofit advocates. In a December 3 letter, the risk manager for the town's insurer said he will cancel the town's liability insurance if a retrofit proceeds, calling the use of such "high-risk structures" immoral and a violation of the public trust.

Asked what the next steps will be for him and his colleagues who oppose the council's proposals, Mr. Brown sighed and chuckled slightly. "I don't really know exactly what the next approach is," he said. "The council has done a very good job of painting itself into a corner."
Doors closing soon?

The risk manager's letter to the town also called the current occupancy of the buildings "an unacceptable risk." At last week's meeting, Councilman George Comstock recommended in a draft memo that the town close the buildings, including the multi-use room, the library, the artists' studios and gallery, and the classrooms.

Citing the recent 9.0 earthquake in Indonesia and seismic activity around the Pacific Ocean's so-called Ring of Fire, Mr. Comstock urged immediate abandonment of the buildings. "We put thousands of visitors per year at risk in our present Town Center," he said. "It's time for accelerated action."

In the memo, Mr. Comstock suggested leasing a temporary building to serve as a library, and that the town move forward "with all due deliberate speed" on realizing the conceptual master plan for the new complex.

The memo does not mention leasing temporary buildings for ongoing activities, including classes in creative art, martial arts, science and nature, soccer, music and adult fitness.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.