Magnitude of the Expansion of “Program” Space?
There are no liars or deceivers here among us, just skilled people doing their job (especially at City Hall). Looking at row one of the table below per ABA architects, the Rec. Dept. sees itself as increasing program space at the new 55,000 gross square feet Community Center building by a mere 6.7% and “all usable interior space” which it chooses to dub “recreation space” by 43.2%. [ABA presentation says that at the new 55,000 gross square footage building 6,350 would be used for circulation.]
The Rec. Dept. sees itself as increasing “program space” by a mere 6.7%
Los Altos Measure A – no liars about the magnitude of the expansion
Continuing across row 1, with Lalah using a definition of Rec. Dept. “program” which excludes leased/loaned space and overhead — the same definition the NO side uses — but applying it to Lalah’s assembled version of the available data, not theirs, I get a 151% expansion. That is a little closer to a 2X than a 3X. In the fourth row, with Lalah’s preferred definition of “program” which excludes “tenants” but includes overhead, I get a 124% expansion, somewhat over 2X.
OK, a 2X Space Expansion. So What?
So what if the 55,000 gross square foot building to be financed by Los Altos Measure A, will permit a more than 2X expansion in Recreation Dept. space / courses / activity at the Civic Center?! As Lalahpolitico groks the current scanty and confusing parameters of the project, that is the space expansion I see. Well, maybe that is absolutely a great thing. [And Lahla is not even considering the expansion in space = activity made possible by adding a pool complex.]
The City has marketed Los Altos Measure A as a replacement of the decrepit Hillview Buildings, underplaying the 2X space / activity EXPANSION in City Rec. Dept programming. Lots of people support a Hillview replacement with a smaller footprint on the land. But Lalah is not sure the majority of the public believes that “the demand is there” for what looks like 2X more new programming from the Rec. Dept. And the new building, with it’s modern storage and more flexible spaces, will allow even more programming to be provided in a given space. Is the Recreation Dept. perhaps ambitious? Or do Los Altans deserve more and more Rec. Dept. choices in North Los Altos at downtown?
Los Altans have always loved their recreation and already get a lot of it. A friend has said this a town with a leisure vibe, whereas, Palo Alto is a town with a work vibe. There are lots of ways to get recreation, even affordably around here. The issue is how much recreation is the right amount for the City to provide or subsidize. And another issue is how affordable will courses be once they are housed in a new building?
The Rec. Dept. Hillview Community Center leases and loans a large fraction of the interior space. Here is the Los Altos Youth Theatre, which is allowed to store its props and costumes here. Most citizens don’t think of LAYT as City Rec. Dept. program. Do you?.
Lalah has heard that if Measure A passes, the Los Altos Youth Center Building behind the Heritage Orchard could be converted to a storage center and cease to be used for activities. Some of the current Hillview Center “tenants” like Friends of the Library and Los Altos Youth Theatre would use it for their storage. The Police Department would also use it to store its stuff. That’s about 3000 feet less recreation programming space removed. Therefore the 2x Rec. Dept EXPANSION that would be created by Measure A is arguably maybe a tad smaller if Los Altos Youth Center is converted to storage space.
LALAHPOLITICO: Do you think the nearby neighbors have a legitimate beef when they worry about the traffic the 55,000 square foot building plus the pool will generate? We could take a pause and design something that does not diminish their enjoyment of their homes and communicate that plan to them. Or we could hurry ahead and just say “majority rules.” New social/civic engagement rooms would be so nice.
After the new council was seated and began serious work in January 2015, Lalahpolitico saw the council discussion evolve over the months from the original simple idea of replacement in place. It grew… to moving the new replacement to a possibly different location on the Hillview parcels, to expanding it to 55,000 gross square feet, to including the pool(s), to paying for the pool with the bond. With normal residents paying attention to their careers, families and friends — and there was that pesky school bond last fall — they might not have noticed which way the wind was blowing at City Council. I’m sure a lot of residents are very surprised at Los Altos Measure A contents or lack of contents.
What do voters in South Los Altos think of all this?
