La Verne : Suit Filed to Stop Theater

Pharmacist Bob Mastro, who last year won a court ruling that forced the city to undertake further environmental studies on a proposed 12-screen movie complex, has filed a new lawsuit challenging the project.

Mastro’s suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court last week, alleges that the city has failed to adequately analyze traffic problems that would be created by the Edwards Theatre Circuit Inc. project. The movie chain plans to build a 2,800-seat theater complex and two restaurants on Foothill Boulevard.

City Manager Martin R. Lomeli said the theater company has spent $300,000 so far on the project, including $80,000 for an environmental impact study that thoroughly analyzed traffic and other issues. The City Council approved the environmental report earlier this year.