Galleria owner files EIR lawsuit

Josh Kleinbaum

Glendale Galleria owners General Growth Properties legally challenged

approved plans for the Americana at Brand development, alleging in a

lawsuit filed Monday that the project’s environmental impact review

violates California law.

The 108-page petition filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court

is the first step in a lawsuit challenging the $264.2-million retail

and residential project’s approval under the California Environmental

Quality Act.

“For the past 18 months, the Galleria has been seeking the same

thing -- open streets, projects that work together, adequate parking

and connectivity, and a project that doesn’t turn its back on its

neighbors,” said Amy Forbes, an attorney representing General Growth.

“At this point, [a lawsuit] is the only thing that’s left for us.

“That’s why we have CEQA -- to have the court review the city’s

actions. We believe that when a court reviews the city’s actions,

they’ll conclude this [environmental report] did not adequately

disclose impacts, apply mitigation and examine alternatives.”

City officials and Rick Caruso, the developer of the proposed

15.5-acre project next to the Galleria, said they expected the

lawsuit and characterized it as an effort by General Growth to

prevent competition.

“The only good thing I can say about General Growth is that

they’re absolutely predictable,” Caruso said. “That’s about it. I’m

very confident that the [environmental report] is going to stand up.

It’s all a bunch of cooked-up issues, and the court’s going to see

right through that.”

General Growth’s petition, which names the city, the City Council,

the city’s Redevelopment Agency, Director of Planning Elaine

Wilkerson and Director of Development Services Jeanne Armstrong,

alleges four major problems with the Americana’s EIR, which examines

the project’s effects on the community.

According to the lawsuit, the environmental review ignores

evidence that suggests old Fire Station 21 is a historic resource and

must be preserved, underestimates traffic generated by the project,

fails to acknowledge a discrepancy between the Americana’s design and

a city prohibition of billboards and does not seriously consider

General Growth’s proposed alternative project.

The lawsuit also alleges that the city’s economic report on which

the Americana’s approvals were based is inaccurate, and that the

Disposition and Development Agreement changes zoning law, requiring

unanimous approval by the City Council. The council approved the

document 4-1.

City officials would not respond to the specific accusations in

the lawsuit until they had time to read and evaluate it, but they

expressed confidence that the environmental review would hold up in

court.

“Everything that went into that [environmental review] was very

carefully researched, analyzed, vetted and reviewed based on current

[California] law, so we feel very confident that this document will

hold up,” Assistant City Atty. Gillian van Muyden said. “We wouldn’t

have presented it for consideration did we not believe it would hold

up.”

According to California law, General Growth, Caruso and the city

must meet for a settlement discussion within 45 days, and General

Growth may request a hearing within 90 days. To prevent construction,

General Growth must request an injunction, which it has not done.

But General Growth might not need an injunction, at least not yet.

General Growth is circulating a referendum petition, an attempt to

overturn the Americana’s zoning approvals through a citywide vote. If

General Growth files a petition with 8,000 signatures by May 27, the

zoning approvals would be suspended until a citywide vote, preventing

Caruso from beginning construction.

“For 18 months, we’ve been trying to get a project that works for

everybody,” Forbes said. “Keep the streets open, don’t wall the

project off from the rest of downtown. That’s the single biggest

issue we have, keeping everything connected.

“We’re still confident that there’s a solution that exists. At

this point, given that there have been no changes [in Caruso’s

design], this is our option. We hope there is a solution out there.”