Suit Filed to Block L.B. Boulevard Section of Trolley

A group of business and property owners have filed suit in an effort to block construction of the Long Beach Boulevard segment of the proposed $600-million Los Angeles-to-Long Beach trolley system.

Leaders of the group, called No Slo Transit Inc., say they are worried that they will be driven out of business while a two-mile stretch of the trolley line is built along the boulevard.

The group filed a lawsuit April 26 in Long Beach Superior Court against the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, which is planning the light-rail system, and the city of Long Beach. Also named in the lawsuit are Jacki Bacharach, chairwoman of the commission, and the entire Long Beach City Council. No hearing date has been set.

In seeking to overturn the Transportation Commission’s decision to route the southern section of the 22.5-mile system along Long Beach Boulevard, the lawsuit challenges the environmental reviews done before the commission vote and asks for preparation of a new environmental impact report.

‘You Start Fighting’

“When you’ve got your back up against the wall, you start fighting,” said Bob Lee, a property owner along the boulevard. “We’re not afraid of the big, bad wolf.”

Lee and Raymond Trupp, owners of a recreational-vehicle supply business located on the boulevard, are leading the effort. No Slo Transit Inc. is composed of more than 15 boulevard merchants and property owners, according to Sandra Evans, a director of the group.

The organization is an offshoot of the Long Beach Boulevard Area Assn., a group of boulevard business owners who battled the trolley for about two years. No Slo Transit is represented by Robert Ferguson, a Pasadena attorney who helped several Long Beach business owners in their successful legal fight with the city over the Westside Redevelopment Area.

Unlikely to Hold Up Construc

tion

Transportation Commission officials said it is unlikely the lawsuit will block the trolley project or hold up construction of the tracks along Long Beach Boulevard.

“It’s always difficult to speculate, but our feeling is that the suit does not have enough substance to hold up the project,” said Chris Funk, a commission attorney.

Funk said he is eager to meet with members of No Slo Transit to attempt to resolve their concerns.

Long Beach legal officials questioned why the city was even included in the lawsuit since the council acted only as an advisory body. Barry Ross, a deputy city attorney, said the city would probably attempt to back out during the preliminary stages of the legal tussle.

Under current plans, the trolley is to run from Long Beach through Compton and the Florence-Willowbrook area to downtown Los Angeles. More than a dozen routes through Long Beach were initially considered for the trolley, including several along Atlantic Avenue. Most, however, were scrapped after residents complained.

In the end, the choices were narrowed to the boulevard, which cuts through the central downtown region, and a route along the Los Angeles River on the city’s western edge.

The commission approved the boulevard route March 27. A week earlier, the Long Beach council had endorsed the route despite complaints from boulevard merchants and a city staff report recommending the river route.

Lee said members of No Slo Transit would like to see the trolley run along the river route or stop at Willow Avenue--anywhere but along Long Beach Boulevard.

‘Viable Economic Base’

“We’ve got a very good and viable economic base along here, and we don’t want to see it destroyed,” he said. If merchants are driven out of business, Lee said, the city might be tempted to declare the area blighted and condemn property.

In a 15-page legal document filed with the court, Ferguson said city officials failed to forward to the Transporation Commission the staff report recommending against Long Beach Boulevard. Because of that, he argued, the commission “was not fully apprised” of possible environmental problems with the boulevard route.

That staff report said the river route could be more easily upgraded “to a true rapid transit system” in the future, would provide better commuter service to downtown Long Beach and would be a better link to a regional system envisioned for the Los Angeles basin.

It also noted that the 55-minute commute time between Los Angeles and Long Beach on the boulevard route would be six minutes longer than on the river route.

Funk said the commission did have that study and other environmental information when it selected Long Beach Boulevard.

Arguments for New Report

Ferguson also argued that a new environmental impact report should be produced because the original study did not address problems with rush-hour traffic or alternatives to the trolley. In addition, there was no review of what effect the construction job would have on boulevard businesses, Ferguson said.

He also said an updated environmental review is needed because the Long Beach Boulevard segment of the trolley will take four years to build, not 20 to 24 months as originally estimated.

Funk said, however, that the estimate for “disruptive construction” is 24 to 30 months. The four-year estimate includes preliminary engineering work that would not hinder business along the boulevard, Funk said.

He pointed to the more than $10 million that will be spent to widen the boulevard, carve traffic turn pockets and provide for median landscaping as proof that the commission is eager to make the trolley palatable to the business owners.

“Our feeling is that one of their greatest concerns is the impact construction will have on the businesses,” Funk said. “If we can demonstrate that the kinds of impacts from construction will be minimal, perhaps we can allay some of the fears they have about the process.”

Lee, however, remained unconvinced. “They tell us that some of the marginal businesses will fail during construction,” he said. “But I don’t know if anyone could survive four years of a bulldozer out in front of their place.”