NBC 7’s Steven Luke report shares why the San Diego Association of Governments is filing a lawsuit against a La Jolla shopping center.
The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) has filed a lawsuit against a major La Jolla shopping center and its tenants in connection with the Mid-Coast Trolley extension.
The Blue Line Trolley service from Santa Fe Depot in Downtown San Diego will be extended to University City and run through areas such as Old Town, UC San Diego, and Westfield UTC.
According to SANDAG, the project will alleviate traffic congestion on freeways and roadways, especially during peak travel times.
The organization filed a lawsuit for eminent domain against the owner of La Jolla Village Square and all of its current tenants.
Those tenants include Ralph's Grocery, AMC Theatres, Best Buy, Marshalls, Ross, Ulta, Trader Joe's, Supercuts, Urban Plates, Daphne's Greek Cafe, California Pizza Kitchen, and Chipotle Mexican Grill among other stores and restaurants.
The city of San Diego and San Diego Gas & Electric are also named as defendants in the lawsuit because they hold easements on the property.
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While none of the actual stores or buildings will be impacted by the extension of the trolley service, part of the parking lot will be turned into a new Trolley stop and a parking structure.
SANDAG is hoping to settle out of court.
But to avoid any construction delays with work on the property scheduled to start in five months, the organization has started the condemnation process.
Part of that process included notifying all tenants inside the shopping square
Construction on the Mid-Coast Trolley project began last year and service is expected to begin in 2021.
La Jolla Village Square is located on Nobel and Villa La Jolla drives near UC San Diego.
