A group of 51 residents wrote a letter to the city earlier this month to voice their opposition to a plan to build a Gold Line maintenance yard in south Monrovia, but many are changing their tune after meeting with city leaders last week.

Three sites--two in Monrovia and one in Irwindale--are being considered as potential locations for a maintenance facility that would service electric rail cars along the Gold Line Foothill Extension. The maintenance yard must be completed before the Gold Line can progress.

But residents living near the two proposed Monrovia sites near Evergreen and Shamrock Avenues wrote to the city on Nov. 9 and said they "strongly oppose" the facility because of the noise and traffic congestion it could bring to the neighborhood.

"Not only are you placing a white elephant in our community, the constant travel of the Metro train cars entering and exiting the service yard, the noise in conjunction with the increased traffic congestion with the 250-plus employees and the 24-hour operation of the facility is a true dissatisfaction to all residents of the city of Monrovia," the letter authored by Monrovista resident Jose Luis Diaz reads.

The city held a meeting with residents and representatives of the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority last week in response to the letter. City Manager Scott Ochoa called the meeting a success, describing the response from residents as "cool, calm and rational."

"It was absolutely refreshing to see how thoughtful people were," Ochoa said.

Many residents feared that noise and traffic congestion would adversely affect the neighborhood, but  Ochoa compared the yard to a similar one in El Segundo that is built right up against homes and condominiums. Ochoa said that facility is clean and quiet.

"It kind of belies the notion that this is some noisy, polluted ... type of facility," Ochoa said.

Metro Gold Line officials have offered to take residents on a tour of the El Segundo facility, and Diaz said in a phone interview Monday that he intends to reserve further judgment on the project until he sees that yard in action.

Dian Benson-Bell, another Monrovista resident who signed Diaz's letter, said she is keeping an open mind now as well.

"I'm still making my decision," Benson-Bell said. "I was concerned about the noise and pollution but I'm not sure any more. I'm doing investigating of my own."

Leona Williams, who lives on the same block as Benson-Bell, said she's completely changed her mind after learning more about the project.

"I think it's wonderful," she said.

Habib Balian, the chief executive officer of the construction authority, said his agency is aware of residents' concerns and believes it can take care of any disruptions the yard might cause to the community.

"I think they have pretty standard concerns about traffic and noise," Balian said. "We're pretty confident that we've worked with the city and identified everything that would be a problem for residents."

Sound walls and walls around the facility will help to dampen noise, Balian said.

The $120 million maintenance facility is currently in the environmental review process. Monrovia has emerged as the most likely destination for the yard because the city wants the project to be built as soon as possible to expedite the Gold Line.

The yard would also bring 200 to 300 new jobs to the city, as well as allow for the progression of the city's massive Station Square development, a mixed-use transit center that will be build around the Gold Line.

No other cities have been willing to house the maintenance facility, which would serve as a repair station for about 84 rail cars.

The city owns roughly half of the 28 acres that Metro Gold Line would need for the facility. The other half would have to be purchased by Metro or seized via eminent domain, Balian said.

The construction authority's board will vote on where to locate the maintenance facility in late December. If the Monrovia site is approved, construction on the site would likely begin in the summer of 2012, Balian said.