Start Planning Rail Yard at Verizon Site, Expo Officials to Tell Council (Source: www.surfsantamonica.com)

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Start Planning Rail Yard at Verizon Site, Expo Officials to Tell Council

By Jorge Casuso

August 4, 2009 -- After more than a year unsuccessfully scouring the Westside for available land for a maintenance yard for the proposed light rail line to Santa Monica, Expo officials next week will ask the City Council to begin planning for the facility at the Verizon property neighboring residents oppose.

Expo Construction Authority officials said they will ask the council members to scrap their plan to split up the yard after vocal opposition from area residents and a key landowner at a council meeting last month. ("City Council Greenlights Alternate Plan for Rail Yard," July 17, 2008)

Approved 4 to 2 on July 14, the plan would have used a city-owned parcel at 1800 Stewart Street and a Santa Monica College-owned parcel, as well as the originally proposed site currently owned by Verizon near Olympic and Stewart streets.

"There was no support for the hybrid site as was being proposed," said Samantha Bricker, the chief operating officer for the Expo Construction Authority. "The concern was that (we would) pursue and environmentally clean a site that had no support.

"We're all in favor of looking for things that make sense for our project, and this seemed to stoke more opposition," Bricker said. "I think the City heard that as well."

Expo officials said they -- as well as City officials -- have exhausted the hunt for a property adjacent to Phase 2 of the line, which will run from Culver City to Downtown Santa Monica.

"Unfortunately on the Westside, there are not many parcels adjacent to the line that meet the criteria," said Bricker. "We need an evenly shaped parcel" that is big enough.

"The City hired their people (consultants), we hired our people, we searched everywhere and didn't find anything," said Rick Thorpe, the Expo Construction Authority's CEO.

"We've spent over a year going over 32 different locations," Thorpe said. "Now I think we're at the point" of deciding on the Verizon site and start planning ways to make it work.

City officials, who are in constant contact with the Construction Authority, said they are continuing to explore options, but are also moving ahead with plans for the Verizon site.

"We're working on other things, including what the Verizon site wo