Friends of Glendora loses lawsuit against city

Erica Landmann-Johnsey and the Friends of Glendora had their lawsuit against the city rejected Friday by a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge. The judgment may signal the end to a case against a proposed assisted living facility in Glendora that Johnsey and her group felt was approved without the city vetting it the necessary environmental process. The court disagreed.

Johnsey is a regular speaker at City Council meetings, along with others who are apart of the Friends of Glendora group.

There is a scheduled council meeting for Tuesday night, and it could be expected that this decision may come up during the public comment portion of the evening.

It should be a fun time to kick off the long Christmas weekend. Here is an excerpt from today’s story and look for more online and in the paper tomorrow.

GLENDORA – A lawsuit against the approval of 125-bed assisted living facility was rejected Friday by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge.

The lawsuit brought against the city of Glendora by a group called the Friends of Glendora claimed the project didn’t meet environmental standards and failed to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act.

But the court saw it differently as Judge James C. Chalfant denied the claim.

“We are disappointed in the decision and we are weighing our options for an appeal,” said Friends of Glendora Attorney Cory Briggs. “I think the judge simply views the law differently from the way we view it. Judges are human, sometimes they make mistakes. We think he made a mistake.”

The living facility is intended primarily for seniors and is a two-story, 97,000 square foot facility on the northwest corner of Gladstone Street and Bonnie Cove Avenue. It was approved in February by the council and Planning Commission. The lawsuit originated shortly after that decision.

“Certainly, from the city’s perspective, per the city council’s direction, we undertook extensive investigation and analysis on the project, not just once, not just twice, not just three times, but four times to ensure all the environmental impacts were reviewed and analyzed,” said Glendora City Attorney D. Wayne Leech. “We feel the city not just met the level of expectations required by (California Environmental Quality Act) but went over and above that.”