I would use here:

```php
JPath::find($paths, $file)
```

Something like:

```php
$tplFolders = array(
    $base . '/view/' . $view . '/tmpl',
    $base . '/views/' . $view . '/tmpl',
);
$path = JPath::find($tplFolders, $layout . '.xml');
```

You save file checkings and is easier to add / edit / remove paths.