Battle over sites near future San Jose BART station may go to trial

SAN JOSE — A fight over sites near a BART station east of downtown San Jose might be headed to a jury trial that would pit small business owners against the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.

The VTA is attempting to seize properties it says are needed to construct the 28th Street/Little Portugal BART Station near the interchange of U.S. Highway 101 and East Santa Clara Street. The site is bounded by North 28th Street, East St. James Street, North 30th Street, and Five Wounds Lane.

A business already ousted from the BART site, Monarch Truck Center, moved in 2024 to a new location at 1015 Timothy Drive in San Jose because it was forced to swiftly decamp from its longtime spot at 195 North 30th St. at the request of VTA officials, according to Monarch Truck Center Chief Executive Officer Nicole Guetersloh.

“We were told we needed to leave so construction could start, but it has been almost two years, and nothing has happened,” Guetersloh told this news organization. “The building is still standing. They haven’t even taken down our signs. The extra time could have made a huge difference for us in terms of finding a new location.”

In 2021, the VTA filed a lawsuit against the owner of the site as well as Monarch and other businesses at the location as part of an eminent domain proceeding to seize control of the property so the BART station could be constructed.

The transit agency at one point even asked a Santa Clara County judge to order the businesses to vacate the site before a judgment was issued authorizing VTA to take ownership of the property.

“To meet the current construction completion schedule and ensure critical path activities are not compromised, the subject property is needed by April 2023,” Gary Griggs, the VTA’s chief program officer for the BART extension in the South Bay, stated in court papers filed in 2022. “Securing possession by this date will allow the contractor(s) to begin building demolition work and site preparation, followed by archaeological testing.”

The VTA has yet to begin any meaningful work on the site in the face of worsening delays that haunt the BART extension in the South Bay.

Following the VTA filing, it has been disclosed that massive funding shortfalls have engulfed BART’s extension to three San Jose train stops and one in Santa Clara.

For Monarch Truck Center, finding a new site and setting up shop wasn’t straightforward.

“Moving a company like Monarch Truck Center isn’t easy,” Guetersloh said. “There were very few available properties that fell within the boundaries we must adhere to. Even fewer were properly zoned and capable of supporting a full-service truck dealership like ours. Every time I drive by our old location, I can’t help but wonder what was the rush.”

The VTA’s lawsuit is now headed for a jury trial within the next few weeks, absent an out-of-court settlement of the case, court papers show.

“After VTA condemned the property, Monarch was forced to relocate to a subpar site with significant limitations,” Monarch Truck stated in a background document regarding the case. “The business has suffered a measurable loss of goodwill and is seeking just compensation. VTA has valued the company’s losses at $0, and the case is headed to trial.”