The long-delayed project to build a community swimming pool in Los Altos is moving forward again.

With a 2003 order stopping the project now lifted, a task force of community and council members is scheduled to meet for the first time Friday. Mayor David Casas, who organized the task force, said the group plans to meet each Friday through Sept. 16.

"We will be working to discuss, study and come to a consensus on a pool design concept and its feasibility," Casas said.

The task force will have nine members: Casas and Councilman John Moss; two residents of the Rosita neighborhood; two pool supporters; two representatives from Covington Elementary School, which borders the property earmarked for the pool; and one at-large community member.

The pool project has been the subject of numerous public hearings and private debates for the past several years. The task force meetings, however, will be one of the first chances for interested parties to talk through their concerns, Casas said.

The project has been tied up in court since the Rosita Neighborhood Coalition, an alliance of residents who live near the proposed pool site, sued the city in 2002. Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Leslie Nichols ruled in favor of the residents in February 2003, ordering more environmental study before the pool could be built. Last week Nichols lifted the order stopping the project, saying the city had satisfied all requirements. The neighborhood coalition has not yet decided whether it will appeal the ruling, coalition president Karl Urban said.

An environmental study certified by the city council in December 2004 allows a project as large as two swimming pools, a wading pool or water feature and locker rooms, but all council members have said they'd like to see something smaller.

Pool supporters have argued that two pools would allow for more swimming lessons, improving the complex's financial viability. Many residents have said they could live with a single pool -- like the old Covington Pool, which was located near the proposed new swim center from 1954 to 2001. Roy Presley, a neighborhood coalition member representing the group on the task force, said he plans to bring that viewpoint to the table.

``We wouldn't like to see it there'' at all, Presley said. ``But we're willing to accept it there in the spirit of compromise -- a single community pool that's there for all the citizens of Los Altos, with a heavy emphasis on recreation and teaching kids to swim.''

The task force will stop short of planning details, Casas said, focusing instead on the broad scope of the project. The group's recommendation is scheduled to be presented to the city council on Sept. 27.

``It's only four chances to talk,'' said Dick Thomas, a pool supporter who is representing Swimmers Promoting Los Altos Aquatics, Safety and Health on the task force. ``We have a lot of ground to cover, but hopefully we can come to a consensus.''

Contact Kimra McPherson at kmcpherson@mercury news.com or (650) 688-7557.