For much of the past two decades, the sprawling building at 340 Portage Ave. was chiefly associated in the popular imagination with computer parts and TV sets — not canned peaches and tomatoes.

But as plans to redevelop the former Fry's Electronics site in Palo Alto's Ventura neighborhood continue to advance, it is the building's legacy as a cannery that is shaping the conversation about the project. The project is now undergoing a review by various Palo Alto boards and commissions and, at every step of the way, history is looming large. In the space of one week, the city's Historic Resources Board, Architectural Review Board and Public Art Commission were all scheduled to consider the proposed development, the legacy of the existing building and the best way to preserve history.

A key question that each board is confronting is: Can the cannery retain its historic character even if about 40% of the building is demolished to make way for townhomes, as is proposed under The Sobrato Organization's development plan? The question was central to the City Council's negotiations with Sobrato last year over the site's redevelopment, and it's at the heart of the recent environmental analysis for the project, which concluded that demolishing a portion of the building to make way for townhomes creates a "significant and unavoidable" impact on the city's historical resources.

The challenge of balancing the building's past and its proposed future was apparent Thursday morning, where numerous members of the city's Historic Resources Board strongly objected to the current plan, which would demolish a portion of the building close to Park Boulevard to make way for 74 townhomes. Under the terms of the development agreement that the council tentatively agreed to last summer, Sobrato would be allowed to renovate the rest of the cannery building and to retain existing office and research-and-development uses at both the former cannery and a nearby building on Ash Street.

Sobrato also would donate 3.25 acres of land near the Fry's building for a park and a future affordable housing project under the terms of the deal. And it would be required to preserve some aspects of the cannery, including its monitor roof, and make them accessible to the public.

Just about everyone agrees that any new development should recognize the outsized role of Thomas Foon Chew, an immigrant from China who bought the 4-acre site in the town of Mayfield and, in April 1918, constructed the Bayside Canning Company. By 1920, Bayside stood out as the third largest cannery of fruits and vegetables in the world, trailing only Del Monte and Libby, according to an evaluation from the city's historic consultant, Page & Turnbull. When Chew died of pneumonia in 1931 at the age of 42, he was the richest Chinese American in California and his funeral attracted 25,000 people from across the state, according to the report.

Sobrato, which has two separate development proposals for the Portage Avenue site, has committed to preserving the cannery's most distinctive features and has hired the consulting firm Architectural Resources Group (ARG) to develop standards for respectfully modifying the building. The firm has identified key features that should be retained as part of any renovation, including the monitor roof, post-and-beam awnings and metal cladding.

Mark Davis, consultant with ARG, told the board that the portion of the building set for demolition isn't as significant to the historic building as the part that is being preserved.

"The public wouldn't be as fixated on the portion on the north that's being removed," Davis said. "They see the monitor roofs, and they'd want to know about the longer history of the property. I think there's still going to be plenty of sufficient material and structure on site to convey that history."

But for some residents and members of the Historic Resources Board, these measures that Sobrato is taking are grossly insufficient. During their Thursday morning discussion, numerous board members said they are opposed to the redevelopment plan and urged the city to consider other ideas that would keep the cannery intact. David Bower and Mike Makinen both said they were disappointed by the proposed demolition, which the city's consultants had determined would effectively prevent the cannery from being listed on the state's historic registry.

"It distresses me that this is the best Palo Alto can do with a building that represents a part of our community's history that is really unique — that is an Asian American businessman coming to this area and successfully developing a canning business, a cannery, at a time when historically Asian-Americans were not highly thought of," Bower said during the Thursday discussion. "We have a substantial Asian American community living in Palo Alto now, many of them my neighbors, and I'd be astounded if they weren't offended by this."

Both he and Makinen suggested that rather than demolish the building, the city should look at ways to adaptively reuse the former cannery. They suggested that the city look for inspiration in the Presidio, where former military buildings were renovated and repurposed for other uses.

The entire Sobrato project, Makinen said, has been "channeled into a certain direction and manipulated to try to get the historic buy-in that what is being proposed is proper." The plan to demolish a portion of the cannery, he argued, is not proper.

"Once these buildings are gone, they're gone forever," he said. "That's a big part of our heritage in the city of Palo Alto. I'd be very disappointed to see this project proceed as proposed."

The board largely agreed that even if the building will no longer be eligible for the state's historic registry, it should be recognized on the local registry, a designation that would require additional analysis and restrictions for future redevelopments. Board members also agreed that whatever happens to the former cannery, the city should make a greater effort to educate residents about Chew's contributions.

"I don't see why there isn't a lesson in our public schools about this building and this man," board member Christian Pease said. "There should be, because there's lots of other stories that get taught about local history here and this one is a big missing item that I think surprised a lot of people when they heard about it over the last year or so."

The board's Thursday meeting is one of several that will take place this month on the contentious project, which would be the biggest component the city's newly adopted North Ventura Coordinated Area Plan. On Jan. 19, the Architectural Review Board will review proposals for the cannery building's commercial component. Then, later that evening the Public Art Commission is set to consider public art that would be included as part of the redevelopment.

City staff is recommending that the art "celebrate the history of the events that surrounded this site as they relate to the canning industry and the broader cultural context of those events," according to a new report from Planning Director Jonathan Lait.

While public art, plaques and exhibits aim to bring attention to Chew's legacy, some residents argue that this is not enough. Karen Holman, former mayor and consultant on historic preservation, marveled at the city's and developer's failure to consider in the recent environmental impact report any alternatives that would avoid demolition of a large portion of the cannery. The EIR lists the loss of the cultural resource as a "significant and unavoidable" impact of the proposed development.

"It is not just a local impact but a regional impact, given that this is one of the last remaining examples of the Valley of Heart's Delight in the valley," Holman said, referring to Silicon Valley's former status as an agricultural powerhouse.

Winter Dellenbach, Barron Park resident and longtime land use watchdog, called the Sobrato proposal "heartbreaking and distressing" and suggested that it could set a precedent for other property owners who may wish to demolish portions of historical buildings.

"You are being asked to ignore that to demolish nearly half of that building is to destroy its entire historical value," Dellenbach said. "Putting up some plaques and photos will only mock its preventable loss."

The city, however, has only limited leverage when it comes to seeking concessions. Before Sobrato reached its tentative deal with the city, it had filed another application, one that would similarly demolish a portion of the old cannery to make way for 91 townhomes. Unlike the 74-townhome project in the development agreement, this one would not result in any concessions of land or funding by the developer to the city. Furthermore, Sobrato is relying on provisions of Senate Bill 330, which bars the city from adopting new zoning rules or design standards that would delay or prevent approval of the project.

Sobrato and the city had agreed to pause its work on the initial housing proposal while the development agreement proceeds through the city's process. Failure to move ahead with the project in the development agreement will thus likely result in Sobrato moving ahead with its original project.

Even so, the historic board argued that the city should do more to ensure that any future use of the cannery building serves the community. Makinen suggested that any redevelopment include space for art and areas for "reflection" and "cultural enlightenment."

"This is a very unique building in the city of Palo Alto and I think we ought to be very careful that what is going to happen with this building is what the community needs," Makinen said. "Not what the developer needs, but what the community needs."