The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority's (VTA) construction of an operator's facility for its vehicle drivers near its West Valley College transit center have been on hold for about seven months, ever since neighbors across from the construction site discovered what the college and the city of Saratoga apparently didn't know—an operator's facility is VTA's term for a bathroom.

Construction on the bathroom began after VTA showed its plans to the other organizations to receive their go-ahead. Assuming that an operator's facility was a storage or maintenance room, both the college and the city council OK'd the building on Allendale Avenue across from Yerba Santa Court, which is located about 10 feet off the sidewalk.

When the foundations began to be laid and plumbing was installed, however, Yerba Santa residents got curious and learned that the building was to be a bathroom. Then they got concerned.

So they began to talk with the VTA and the college, expressing their opinion that the location on a busy road directly across from residences and within sight of the civic center might not be the best one for a bathroom. Construction on the bathroom was halted and discussions between those parties, city staff and Councilwoman Ann Waltonsmith led to the identification of six alternate sites for the facility.

The group has narrowed that list down to two—the bathroom could be moved onto the other side of the grassy knoll where it currently resides and be nearer the parking lot, hidden from Allendale by the turf. Or it could be moved into a nearby hill, within a retaining wall, and further concealed from view.

Neighbors prefer the second option. But now VTA is getting worried about the money it is losing with the project sitting on hold for so long and says it doesn't have the necessary funds to complete either of the relocation projects.

At the July 17 city council meeting, VTA's director of planning and development, Jim Pearson, said construction would not continue until an agreement among all the parties is reached. Reaching an agreement on paying for the final plan, however, is less straightforward.

"We are down primarily to an issue of funding," Pearson said. "Funding is extremely difficult for us to come by right now."

He said the VTA might be able to free up about $225,000 to pay for the relocation. But the actual relocation cost is unclear, with projected amounts for the two options ranging from about $200,000 to more than $600,000.

Neighbors said they couldn't believe that a 250-square-foot cinderblock building could cost that much, and city staff and the city council expressed confidence that the amount could be lowered.