El Monte : Town House Suit Dismissed

A Superior Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit by two residents to stop construction of the 142-unit El Monte Villas town house development in a redevelopment project on Ramona Boulevard.

Judge Norman Epstein last week dismissed the suit, which challenged the adequacy of the city’s environmental impact report on the project. The suit contended that the report does not accurately reflect the project’s potential impact on traffic and that the buildings will be too close to neighboring houses.

The action was filed against the city in May on behalf of Christine Hernandez and Janet Laich, who live near the site, a strip of abandoned Southern Pacific Railroad right of way along Ramona Boulevard between Cogswell and Peck roads.

Former Mayor Tom Keiser, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs, said he plans to appeal the ruling, which did not specify the reasons for the judge’s decision.

Meanwhile, Allwest Development Corp. of Pasadena has started work on the first phase of the project, City Atty Sidney Maleck said. Maleck said construction has been held up since last summer because a lender was hesitant to release funds until the judge ruled on the case.