What's that sound? Oh, that's just the whoosh of the Gold Line Foothill Extension barreling right along, because it's just settled six lawsuits that had been standing in its way, plus picked up a piece of land it needed to move forward on its quest from Pasadena to Azusa. The Gold Line Construction Authority wants to build a train maintenance facility in Monrovia, partly on the property of a man named George Brokate, and they need to be sure they can build that facility before they can get Metro money to start the bulk of the construction. However, Brokate filed several suits against the GLCA, arguing, "among other things, that the Construction Authority violated state environmental laws in its approvals of Monrovia as the site for the maintenance and operations facility," reports the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. In December, a judge ruled in Brokate's favor on one suit and it looked like the GLCA might have to go back and redo its entire environmental review (the GLCA said the findings were based on bad info).
But yesterday the GLCA agreed to pay "$24 million for Brokate's 4.5 acres of commercial property on the southwest corner of Evergreen and Shamrock." The deal settles four lawsuits Brokate filed against the GLCA and two lawsuits the GLCA filed against Brokate. The chairman of the GLCA Board of Directors says that "Although we feel confident that we would have prevailed on the legal issues over time, the delay caused by the legal process and the uncertainties related to continuing through eminent domain were very risky, making this settlement the best decision for the Authority and our partner Metro." Meanwhile, construction on the line continues.
· Breaking: Gold Line officials reach multimillion dollar settlement with Monrovia property owner [SGVT]
· Monrovian Files 2 More Lawsuits Against Gold Line for Total of 6 [Curbed LA]
Loading comments...