April 21, 2004

Rosita pool environmental study open for public comment

By Linda Taaffe / Town Crier Staff Writer

The pool project planned for Rosita Park, which a federal judge put on hold last July after neighbors sued Los Altos, is back on the council's agenda and open for public comment.

The city this week opened a 45-day public review period of the court-mandated Draft Environmental Impact Report by consultant group David J. Powers & Associates. The study, released Monday after the Town Crier's press deadline, is intended to give insight on whether the city should reject a pool at the site, modify plans or move forward with the proposed three-pool complex.

A single swimming pool complex with tennis courts on site is among the list of scenarios that Powers & Associates reviewed in conjunction with the Draft EIR at the city's request.

City staff is scheduled to include all public comments of the Draft EIR from upcoming community meetings into a report before the Los Altos City Council approves the final EIR.

A federal judge ruled last year in favor of Rosita neighbors who claimed the city did not properly conduct an environmental study of the possible impacts a three-pool complex could have on their neighborhood. Traffic and noise were key concerns brought out in the lawsuit. The judge suspended the project until the city completed further studies. The ruling has set the project back more than eight months.

Members of the fund-raising group Swimmers Promoting Los Altos Aquatics, Safety and Health (SPLASH) had raised approximately $1 million of the estimated $3 million needed to build the project prior to the lawsuit.

That amount is based on a three-pool complex estimate given in 2001.

Spokeswoman Kathy Englar said the community has continued to support the concept of a community pool despite the delay and uncertainty. She called 2003 a successful fundraising year.

SPLASH teamed up with the city in 2001 to bring a community pool to Los Altos after the Los Altos School District demolished the public pool at Covington when it converted the campus back into an elementary school. SPLASH agreed to provide the funding if the city would provide the land and construct the pool.