Editorial: New Town Center moves ahead Editorial: New Town Center moves ahead (August 31, 2005)

Portola Valley moved a step closer to beginning construction on a new Town Center earlier this month, when the 45-day comment period on the project's draft environmental report ran out. The public will have one last chance to comment at a Town Council hearing in the fall, when the project could be certified to move ahead.

The push to build a new Town Center was not universally loved when the idea was introduced about two years ago. But council members were convinced that it was time to move from the 50-plus-year-old complex of school buildings that sit over a potentially dangerous segment of the San Andreas Fault.

The response from the majority of the community was decidedly muted. Most residents seemed willing to wait to see how the town handled the outcry from a small group, led by former mayor Robert Brown, who believed the old buildings could be upgraded and saved. But as discussions continued, it became clear that concerns for the safety of city staff, state laws prohibiting upgrades in such situations and the likely loss of insurance coverage on the threatened buildings made it impossible to continue in the old location.

Many opponents cite the town's lack of funds to build and furnish the new complex - estimated to cost $20 million, or $15 million more than is currently available in town coffers. But project backers are optimistic that the funding gap will be filled by residents willing to contribute. Longtime resident Bill Lane has already donated $1 million, which could be seen as an inducement for others to follow suit.

Whatever the cost, there is no doubt that many residents will grieve at the loss of the old school buildings that have housed Town Hall for nearly the entire life of the community. To see them leveled will be a hard pill to swallow, even though the resulting green space will replace what will be taken for the new complex at the rear of the 11.2-acre site.

But whatever feelings residents might have when bulldozers push down the old Town Hall - and the library, art gallery, classrooms and multi-purpose room -- there is no doubt that they would shed more tears if the leveling had been done by a major earthquake ripping along the dreaded San Andreas Fault with town staff or school children in those buildings.

The council has been correct all along to move the process forward, and did so deliberately, with major town meetings, a design charrette and then the 45-day comment period for the first environmental impact report. And although this draft report could have been more widely circulated, the fact that few comments were received indicates that most residents are ready to see the project move along.

The final "focused EIR" was made necessary when it was determined that the current buildings may have historical importance, although the only mitigation called for was to photograph them for posterity and salvage materials for possible display or use in the new complex.

Building a new Town Hall and library will be by far the largest project ever tackled by this town of just over 4,000 residents. It is a major undertaking that will be the community's focus for several years. Next will come the final design of the buildings and then contractors' bids, which are likely to present the next big hurdle.

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