Haystack Landing Property Owner Fighting SMART Over Private Crossing

The incoming SMART train will pass many private properties requiring the agency to pursue easement rights from owners. The agency will also put in crossings so that property owners can safely cross the tracks.

But over the past year a dispute has arisen over who should pay for these private crossings, which total about 100 over the entire length of the rail line.

In Petaluma, the fight is over the crossing at Haystack Landing and being spearheaded by Glen Ghilotti, president of Team Ghilotti, an engineering contractor. 

Ghilotti says that since the rail line is a SMART project, the agency should pay for any modifications to the crossing. But SMART says it would be unfair to have taxpayers foot the bill for something that benefits eight residents whose properties are adjacent to the tracks.

“The fact is, when a private entity demands that SMART pay for a private crossing, they are in fact asking taxpayers to pay for their private benefit,” said Carolyn Glendening, a spokeswoman for SMART. “SMART cannot legally make a gift of your public tax dollars to private entities.”

The improvements include a flashing light signal with automatic gate arm, a new crossing surface and paved approaches, which will cost the eight property owners at least $625,000.

The agency says making private owners pay for the changes is consistent with a California Public Utilities Commission determination that a private crossing only supports the private activity of users, and the people who benefit from it should bear their share of the costs directly attributable to the crossing. 

Not so, says Ghilotti, who is rallying his neighbors to a community meeting Thursday night at the Rooster Run Restaurant at 6:30pm. Ghilotti could not be reached by phone Wednesday evening, but Dave Bailey, whose father, Mike Goldberg, is one of the property owners being impacted, said the owners are frustrated by SMART's "hardball tactics."

"None of us are anti-SMART and we don’t want to have a smear campaign," Bailey said. "But the way it was done has created a lot of problems for people who are now facing having to pay a lot of money. They (SMART) haven’t taken into account that there are real people behind these properties."

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