As of September 1, 2011, ALL 1,875 retail establishments are prohibited from providing light-weight, single-use plastic carryout bags to customers at the point of sale. MORE

By Jason Islas
Lookout Staff

September 8, 2011 -- Santa Monicans got a chance to weigh in on the latest Expo line maintenance yard designs Tuesday night.

The Exposition Construction Authority held a community meeting at Virginia Avenue Park to show residents two redesigned versions of the Expo Line maintenance facility that will soon be in their backyard.

Metro representatives asked the residents to “identify a preferred site scenario” at the meeting, giving the audience a chance to state their preference between the two designs.

“It's evident that the comments made at the June meeting were reflected in the designs tonight,” said Kristina Lizama, co-chair of the Pico Neighborhood Association.

“We've come a long way since the FEIR [Final Environmental Impact Report],” added another Santa Monica resident.

The location and design of the facility have been points of contention since a location at Stewart Street was first proposed in 2009.

A schematic displayed at the meeting showed the facility as it was envisioned in 2009. It was bounded by Stewart Street, Centinela Avenue, Olympic Boulevard and Exposition Boulevard, with its main and service entrances along Exposition Boulevard. It offered only a sound wall to dampen noise for the neighborhood to the south.

Residents in 2009 thought plans for the facility were unacceptable.

The two options presented at Tuesday's meeting addressed some of the residents' worries, but people still weren't entirely sold.

Both designs move the main and service entrances off of Exposition Boulevard, directing traffic to enter from Stewart Street or Centinela Avenue instead. The new designs also move the “buffer” zone to Exposition Boulevard from its original proposed position on Stewart Street. In both plans, none of the facility's buildings would be higher than 30 feet.

From there on, the scenarios diverge.

Scenario one separates light maintenance and cleaning into two different buildings. Administrative offices share the same building that services trains with light maintenance. The offices will run along the south end of the facility.

The buffer zone in scenario one – approximately 100,000 square feet – only runs about three-quarters of the facility's length along Exposition Boulevard but is consistently 105 feet deep.

Scenario two differs in that the buffer zone runs the full length of the facility along Exposition Boulevard, but in the middle, contracts to about 60 feet deep, a point that raised some eyebrows at Tuesday's meeting.

The second scenario also put almost all maintenance activities and administrative offices in one larger building along the south side of the facility.

Metro's Director of Capital Projects Tim Lindholm, who supported the second option, said that a larger building on the south side would block the sound from the yard.

One of the consultants at the meeting agreed. “Scenario two is significantly better for the community,” at least in terms of noise dampening, said Marlund Hale, an environmental noise and vibration expert working with Metro .

Lindholm said that Metro also prefers the second scenario because the single building design allows for more efficiency and less moving trains around.

“It's easier to be a good neighbor when there are fewer train movements,” he said.

The audience was also concerned by the location of the traction power substation (TPSS). Both plans had it located too close to the south side – and to the neighborhood – for some people's comfort. Metro representatives noted their concern and said they would see about moving the TPSS closer to Olympic Boulevard.

At the end of the meeting, residents were asked to fill out a card with their preference, either scenario one or two. The results, Lindholm said, should be available on the website www.buildexpo.org within a couple of days because Metro hopes to start developing plans for the station next week.

To see both scenarios, click on the complete Metro power-point.