The owners of Tempranillo in Basalt are seeking $700,000 as well as damages from businesses over infrastructure work in downtown Basalt that they say violates a 1987 easement agreement.
As construction nears completion at Basalt Center on Midland Avenue, the owners of the building that houses Tempranillo’s restaurant are continuing their lawsuit against the city over the loss of parking, seeking more than $700,000 in damages.
GBM LLC, the restaurant’s owner, filed a lawsuit in June against the city of Basalt, alleging it violated a 1987 easement agreement between the previous owner and the city.
The agreement allowed the city to grant “a permanent easement and right-of-way for the installation, maintenance, repair, replacement, operation, inspection and monitoring of public utilities, public sidewalks and street improvements on the owner’s property.”
A filing by GBM on Sept. 5 in Eagle County District Court says part of those improvements will include seven parking spaces in front of the property. Those parking spaces were torn down as part of a major infrastructure project that lasted nearly two years in downtown Basalt.
As part of the Midland Avenue Streetscape Plan, infrastructure such as a “public gathering area, bike racks, a WeCycle waste and charging bin, and a bike storage station” will replace parking spaces.
GBM seeks a declaratory judgment stating that the City may not use the easement area for purposes not expressly set forth in the easement, extinguish the easement, and relinquish ownership of the area except for a 6-foot sidewalk.
GBM’s lawsuit asks the city to compensate them $100,000 for each of the seven lost parking spaces. The filing also states that GBM intends to “seek damages for loss of business income resulting from significant interference with access to (Tempranillo).”
The town’s response says its actions did not violate the easement agreement and says the property’s previous owner entered into the agreement with the town “voluntarily.”
In 2005, several plaintiffs, including GBM, filed a lawsuit against the city seeking to invalidate the 1987 easement agreement, according to the suit. In 2007, an Eagle County District Court judge found the easement to be “enforceable and valid” and “clear and unambiguous” in intent to transfer interests in the property to the city, including, among other things, on-street public parking.
City Attorney Jeff Conklin said Monday that the city is continuing negotiations to reach a settlement with the plaintiff. GBM’s attorney in the dispute, Richard Neily of the Glenwood Springs Neiley law firm, did not respond to requests for comment.
The filing states that negotiations to reach an agreement have not been successful.
Construction on Midland Avenue is nearing completion. The city was notified by email on Sept. 13 that work will begin Monday in Zone 3 from the Sotheby’s International Realty offices to St. Vincent Catholic Church, though work will begin on the north side of the street with one-way traffic.
The $16.78 million Midland Street project is in its final stages but has faced opposition since its inception.
Tempranillo homeowners Laura Main and Javier Gonzalez-Bringas have been among the most vocal critics of the streetscape project, which city officials say will improve the appearance of Main Street, calm traffic, make the street more pedestrian-friendly, increase accessibility for visitors with disabilities and provide public service pick-up points.
According to a commercial real estate listing, 165 Midland Ave., or the building where Tempranillo operates, is for sale for $13.495 million. The 54,000-square-foot building features both commercial and residential space.
Basalt, Maine, resident Ted Guy led a petition drive that forced a special election on May 21 on the project. Voters in the town supported the project by a vote of 70-30.
Neill represented Guy throughout the petition initiation process, which included disputes over stamp holes and signature counting on petition packets.
In 2021, Basalt voters, also by a 70-30 margin, approved a bond issue for the city to pursue affordable housing, climate, and street and pedestrian infrastructure improvements on Midland Avenue.
The discovery period is set for February 28, 2025.
