Negotiations Underway to Settle Lawsuits to Clear Way For Gold Line

The city of Monrovia has engaged in negotiations with a property owner on behalf of the Gold Line Construction Authority (GLCA) in an attempt to settle two lawsuits seeking to stop a $120 million rail maintenance yard project from being built in town.

George Brokate, who owns a strip of property along Evergreen Avenue in Monrovia, against the city and GLCA in an effort to block a planned maintenance facility that is critical for the Gold Line Foothill Extension to progress.

The GLCA would need to purchase Brokate's land or take it via eminent domain as part of the 24-acre rail yard project. But Brokate's attorney said during an April 5 council meeting that his client remains "vigorously opposed" to the project.

Under Los Angeles Metro provisions, the GLCA must acquire 50 percent of the property before they can receive Measure R funds, according to Doug Tessitor, Glendora Mayor and Board Chairman for the Construction Authority. A second phase of the project will take the Gold Line from the Azusa-Glendora border through to Montclair.

"At this time the Authority Board has given our CEO instructions to do whatever is necessary to limit significant scheduling delays and added costs," said Tessitor. "The Authority Board will consider scheduling impacts and revisions in the months ahead."

Earlier this month, Gold Line officials approached the city of Monrovia and asked city staff to enter into settlement negotiations with Brokate, according to Monrovia City Manager Scott Ochoa.

Monrovia Mayor Mary Ann Lutz said Friday that the city has met with Brokate and described the negotiations as "collaborative" but declined to comment on the substance of the talks.

"The Gold Line asked us if we could talk to them on the Gold Line's behalf and so we are having conversations," Lutz said. "I can just tell you that we’ve had discussions with them and we believe those discussions to be collaborative but in the end these are discussions on behalf of the Gold Line and any formality they would have (to handle)."

Brokate's attorneys argue that the city they made with him in 2004 if they sold land to the GLCA, which would then have the authority to seize the land using eminent domain. Brokate is also accusing Gold Line officials of that paved the way for the maintenance yard project.

"We just want to make it clear that the litigation is ongoing and we intend to fight until we have a resolution," Brokate's attorney Christopher Sutton said during the April 5 council meeting.