Portola Valley: Review board favors lower profile for Town Center rebuild Portola Valley: Review board favors lower profile for Town Center rebuild (December 14, 2005)

By David Boyce

Almanac Staff Writer

Drawings showing pitched rooflines on the corners of Portola Valley's proposed new library, Town Hall and community hall have been a particular irritant among residents who prefer gabled roofs and low-profile buildings that don't draw attention to themselves.

Perhaps they can breathe a bit easier. On Monday, December 5, a majority on the town's architecture review board studied four alternative designs and expressed a preference for gabled roofs facing the lawn at the Town Center and pitched roofs only at the back entrance to the community plaza.

On a 3-2 straw vote, with Chair Laura Chase and Commissioner Danna Breen dissenting, the five-member Architecture & Site Control Commission recommended to the Town Council a design that replaces pitched roofs with gabled roofs except at the western end of the library and at the northeastern end of Town Hall, areas that face each other.

The design team will come before the ASCC at least twice more and probably three or for more times, said Ms. Breen. The ASCC's preferences are not binding on the Town Council, which has the last word on a design for the complex of new buildings estimated to cost $20 million.

The complementary pitched roofs "frame a better entrance," said ASCC Commissioner Carter Warr, who voted with a majority that included Commissioners Sam Gelpi and Mike Schilling. "The roof is folded up. It's more contemporary," said Mr. Warr.

But it wasn't contemporary enough for Ms. Chase and Ms. Breen, who preferred pitched roofs at both ends of the library. "I think (the roofs) contribute to a more wonderful and interesting interior, more light and airy," said Ms. Breen in an interview.

The design team -- from Emeryville-based architectural firms Siegel & Strain and Goring & Straja -- will return at the January 23 meeting with changes that reflect the commissioners' comments. At that meeting, the commissioners will also address the topics of fences, landscaping and lighting.

Other discussion points for the ASCC commissioners at the December 5 meeting included:

** Windows: in a choice between large storefront windows and wooden frame double-hung windows, the commissioners said they preferred storefront.

** Siding: in a choice between siding made of fiber cement or of redwood, the commissioners said they preferred redwood.

** Number of buildings: the commissioners agreed that three buildings -- a library, Town Hall and community hall with activity rooms -- is better than having a fourth building housing the activity rooms.

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