Compton Sued Over Light Rail Opposition

Los Angeles County transportation planners filed suit Thursday to force the City of Compton to grant permits for initial construction of a $675-million light rail system linking Long Beach and Los Angeles.

In a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, the county Transportation Commission claims that Compton’s opposition to the project has set back initial construction work that was to have begun last month. Compton officials maintain that the project threatens long-planned redevelopment.

Compton filed a $200-million complaint with the state Public Utilities Commission last month seeking to halt construction of the rail system, designed as a relief valve for heavy freeway traffic into downtown Los Angeles, until more environmental studies are done.

Pending resolution of that complaint, Compton has decided not to cooperate in attempts to begin construction, chief deputy city attorney Legrand H. Clegg II said.

Compton city officials contend that the two light rail lines, to run within a quarter of a mile of City Hall and a major new shopping center downtown, together with planned increases in freight train traffic, will lead to significant congestion in the city.

“The tragedy of this is, unlike other cities which are only peripherally affected, we are dissected in the heart of the city,” Clegg said. Total rail traffic in the area is expected to double within the next few years with completion of the rail line, he said.

Compton officials have asked the Transportation Commission to reroute some freight traffic to a single track that would be depressed through much of the city, alleviating surface street backups and preserving the city’s redevelopment area.

Transportation commission attorney Darold D. Pieper said the commission has attempted to resolve as many of the city’s concerns as possible, “but we’re not in a position where we can relocate the entire project around the city of Compton.”

“I don’t know that we’ll ever be able to completely accommodate their needs,” Pieper added.

The suit filed Thursday concerns permits for initial rerouting of utility and water lines to make way for the rail project, permits that the commission contends the city is obligated by law to issue. A hearing on the suit will be scheduled in the next few weeks.

County officials have said they expect the rail line to be in operation in 1990.