Point Reyes Light- October 22, 1998
Grandi owner agrees at last minute to fix building
County supervisors Tuesday unanimously approved an agreement with Grandi Building owner Ken Wilson, who at the last minute signed a settlement promising to stabilize the crumbling Point Reyes Station structure.
In exchange, the county agreed not to take legal action against Wilson.
"We were afraid that he wasn't going to sign [the settlement]," said county planning coordinator Scott Davidson after the supervisors' hearing. "But he did - just before the hearing," Davidson added. "I think Supervisor Steve Kinsey is understandably happy that we've made a firm agreement."
Indeed, Kinsey hailed the agreement as a solid step towards the overall restoration of the Grandi. County staff now have "final say" as to the building's future and will ensure that the restoration proceeds in a historically sensitive, seismically sound way, he said.
The settlement ensures that the crumbling Grandi will be retrofitted against earthquakes - even if Wilson fails to do the work; Wilson meanwhile agreed to post some form of financial security equal to 130 percent of the estimated cost of stabilization.
Wilson now has 30 days to submit his application for a building permit, and must start securing the Grandi's bricks within 60 days after the permit is approved by county staff.
Following the hearing, Wilson said he "felt good" about the settlement and that he would visit the Grandi this week with county staff and Caltrans workers to discuss how to barricade the building prior to retrofitting it.
The settlement, however, failed to satisfy everyone at the hearing. Wiebke Buxbaum, a member of the Point Reyes Village Association, complained that Wilson's proposed repair work is exempt from California Environmental Quality Act requirements.
This exemption might enable Wilson to begin retrofitting the building "with less than state-of-the-art techniques" and inadvertently desecrate the historic hotel, Buxbaum said.
"We have never seen the so-called retrofit plans...I believe that they need to be very specific," she said. "I think the community would be willing to raise funds for a peer review...This is our last chance."
After the hearing, Davidson said that a community "peer review" of the owner's plans for retrofitting the Grandi is unlikely, but he stressed that county staff will be looking over Wilson's shoulder as he proceeds.
"It's not like we're going to take his plans and say, 'Sure, okay,'" Davidson said. "We think the agreement is set up to guard against any environmental impacts, but we'll be looking critically before we authorize any construction."