Pasadena Wants Amtrak Station : City Would Acquire Depot by Eminent Domain for Use as Commuter Center

Over objections of the property owner, the Pasadena Board of Directors voted this week to go to court to acquire the Amtrak train depot and a neighboring vacant lot for a commuter transportation center.

James G. O’Gara, senior vice president of Santa Fe Pacific Realty Corp., which owns the property at Raymond Avenue and Del Mar Boulevard, asked the city to postpone action to give his company time to prepare a development plan that would incorporate a transportation center “without the use of city funds.” O’Gara suggested that a rail station might be operated on the ground floor, with commercial development on upper stories or below ground.

Developer Could Submit Plan

The city, with financial help from the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, wants to acquire the property for a boarding station for proposed light-rail and commuter train lines and for a park-and-ride lot for commuters who ride buses to Los Angeles.

Mayor William E. Thomson said the authorization to acquire the property by eminent domain would not prevent the property owner from submitting a development proposal, which the city could consider.

Thomson said that there will be ample time to consider any plan but that if the city delays acquisition, it runs the risk of paying a higher price as property values rise. The board voted unanimously to authorize acquisition by condemnation.

O’Gara said the condemnation action would “cast a pall over the discussions” and raise doubts within his company about the wisdom of spending thousands of dollars on a development plan.

The city has obtained an appraisal that sets the value of the 3.6-acre property at $6,835,000 and attempted to negotiate with Santa Fe Pacific, but the company rejected the appraisal as inadequate.

Train Stops Once a Day

The Atchison, Topeka & the Santa Fe Railway Co. originally owned the land but sold its interest to its real estate subsidiary, the Santa Fe Pacific Realty Corp. The train depot, a one-story white stucco building with green trim and a red-tile roof, is leased to Amtrak, which uses the Pasadena stop once a day for a train en route to Chicago.

The station and the vacant lot are divided by the Santa Fe railroad tracks, which the company has offered to sell to Los Angeles County for a commuter train service between Los Angeles and San Bernardino. The railroad right of way is also under consideration for a light-rail line from downtown Los Angeles through Pasadena.

David Barnhart, city engineer and transportation manager, said that once the city purchased the land, it would continue leasing the depot to Amtrak and would use the adjoining vacant property for a park-and-ride lot for 200 cars.

Eventually, he said, the property could be developed into a transportation center for light-rail and commuter trains, interstate buses or other transit services.

Both Barnhart and O’Gara agreed that any development of the property should retain the railway depot, which was built in 1935. “We’ve never contemplated taking down the depot,” O’Gara said. “We think it enhances the site.”

The county Transportation Commission, which plans to operate the light-rail line, has offered to contribute up to $4,740,000 to help Pasadena acquire the station. The city is negotiating an agreement with the commission for a joint purchase. If the purchase price is $6.8 million, the city would contribute $2.2 million, using funds from its share of the half-cent countywide sales tax for transportation.

Competition for Funds

The light-rail line would enter Pasadena on the Santa Fe right of way at Fair Oaks Avenue, proceed north past the Amtrak station to the Foothill Freeway and then eastward to a terminal in East Pasadena.

The Los Angeles-Pasadena line is competing for Transportation Commission funds with other proposed lines, making it uncertain when it will be built. But completion is at least 10 years away.

The light-rail service would be designed to carry commuters and other passengers from Pasadena to Los Angeles. The proposed commuter train service would permit longer trips, from Los Angeles through Pasadena to San Bernardino.

In addition, the city is considering creation of a local trolley line. The city Board of Directors this week deferred action on hiring consultants to prepare economic and route studies for the trolley line after some directors raised questions about what should be included in the studies.