September 28, 2005

Task Force Recommends Smaller Pools

By Linda Taafe / Town Crier Staff Wrier

Los Altos is still considering a center with two swimming pools and a wading area at Rosita Park - but this time on a smaller scale than the one that neighbors challenged in court.

The Rosita Pool task force - a mix of swimmers, neighbors and city officials that convened last month to look at alternative pool layouts - recommended Monday night that the Los Altos City Council move forward with two pools 20 percent smaller, or 2,040 square feet less than the city can legally build at the site.

The smaller plan would still allow swimmers access to two different water temperatures, a key component to competitive swimming, according to pool proponents, while addressing the neighborhood's concerns over the scope of the project. The original layout included 10,650 square feet of water space.

Part of the group's recommendation includes moving the center away from the tennis courts near the Covington School property boundary at the end of Rosita Court to where the soon-to-be-demolished gymnasium is located.

The shift would preserve the tennis courts and provide a larger buffer area between the center and the school, according to the task force report.

The council was scheduled to decide Monday night after the Town Crier's press deadline whether to accept the task force recommendation. If accepted, city staff would

have to evaluate construction costs, hours of operation, recreational swim time and operational costs.

A smaller center with reduced programming could mean the city would have to subsidize some of the recreation programs.

The center's location shift would require an addendum to the Environmental Impact Report.

Los Altos Mayor David Casas convened the task force last month after a Superior Court ruled in favor of the city, allowing it to move forward with the two-pool complex initially proposed.

The pool complex had been tied up in a legal battle since 2003 when neighbors sued the city over unresolved traffic and noise concerns identified in environmental studies related to the project.

Casas said the council wanted to build something feasible for both pool proponents and opponents rather than move forward with a center that the majority of surrounding neighbors disputed.

The council directed the task force to look at 11 items, including the center's layout, programming scope, and pedestrian and safety improvements along Rosita and surrounding streets.

Other alternatives the task force considered were either one pool with a wading area or two separate, one-pool facilities to be located at Rosita and Hillview Community Center.

Neighbors said they would still prefer one pool over the proposed two-pool center.