Nick Andert breaks down the latest development on K Line North
SCROLL TO THE END FOR THE CALL TO ACTION - READ BELOW FOR THE FULL CONTEXT!
Metro’s K Line Northern Extension, once built, will be the busiest light rail line in the country. This Measure M project is scheduled to receive funding in 2041 and be operational by 2047, but Metro has an Early Project Delivery program where projects, under specific circumstances, can be sped up. One of the requirements is identifying funding sources.
West Hollywood, a tiny city of only 35,000 residents, is offering to put up $2.2B of the cost through an Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District, making acceleration possible.
18 months ago, Mayor Bass’ team and Holly Mitchell requested more studies around impacts to homes in Lafayette and Wellington Squares, despite the fact that Metro has tunneled under thousands of homes to date across Los Angeles with zero impacts. This delayed things by 18 months and cost $2.3M.
Metro did the studies — and even got them peer-reviewed — which proved there were no impacts to tunnels 100 feet below homes; there will be no noise or vibration during construction, nor once the line is open.
Why is a single neighborhood so hellbent on delaying a $15B transit project that will have zero impact on their homes? It turns out that the Mayor’s appointee, Jackie Dupont-Walker, has her home above the proposed tunnel alignment. Amazingly, she also used to be the President of the Lafayette Square Neighborhood Association — she simply doesn’t want a tunnel under her home!
It gets worse — because Jackie Dupont-Walker owns property that is so close to the project, she has a conflict of interest under state law, and is not allowed to vote on the item or influence the vote. While she has publicly recused herself from voting, behind the scenes, she is lobbying other Metro board members hard, and has participated and even led meetings with the Mayor on the issue as recently as last week.
The Mayor posted this to Instagram on Monday March 23:
In the first half, the Mayor says she supports the project moving “full steam ahead.” In the second part, she references a motion she’ll introduce, which will delay the project.
Let’s break down her draft motion:
Through Jackie Dupont-Walker’s lobbying behind the scenes (against the law when you have a conflict of interest and are recused) the Mayor’s team appears to have gotten James Butts (Mayor of Inglewood) and Ara Najarian (Mayor of Glendale) on board, although it’s unclear if the Mayor drafted this hoping they’d come on board or if they are confirmed. There are 13 board members (7 votes to move something forward), but Holly Mitchell and Jackie Dupont-Walker are recused, so only 11 will be voting. The Mayor and her two non-recused appointees plus Butts and Najarian are five votes, meaning the staff recommendation cannot move forward if they vote as a block.
Because the Mayor’s amendment doesn’t actually select an alignment through Mid City, it is impossible for LA County to spin up its portion of the EIFD through Mid City, making “funding availability” impossible. Furthermore, while West Hollywood in theory could spin up its EIFD, they are unlikely to do so, given the uncertainty around the total cost and alignment. All of these issues make it more likely the project could lose its Early Project Delivery potential and be kicked back to its original 2041 start date.
We’ve already spent 18 months and $2.3M on detailed technical studies; so now the Mayor wants to do ANOTHER technical study outside of Metro. For what!? We know that tunneling 100 feet below ground has zero surface impacts. Are we going to study this for another 10 years? Remember, West Hollywood is unlikely to spin up its EIFD without assurances that the project is moving forward, and LA County can’t spin up its EIFD for the Mid City portion until Metro selects an alignment.
This is the most egregious part of the amendment, because it’s a true insult to our intelligence. You can’t say that the process you want shall not delay when the changes you’re making delay the funding, when you’re making the whole thing “contingent on funding availability.”
SO WHAT DO WE DO?
At this point, we need to either convince the Mayor to drop this amendment (unlikely to happen given Jackie Dupont-Walker’s involvement) or convince Butts or Najarian to drop off of the amendment and support moving forward with the staff recommendation.
1. Call these offices — demand that they not support the Mayor’s amendment and support staff’s recommendation, and move the project forward without delay:
Ara Najarian (818) 548-4844 (press 1)
James Butts (310) 412-5300
2. Call the Mayor’s office — express your outrage — and demand that she withdraw her motion to amend, and support the staff recommendation. Call out her hypocrisy in saying that she “supports moving the project full steam ahead and without delay” while also delaying it in her actions.
Karen Bass (213) 978-0600
The vote is Thursday morning (see our previous CTA) — show up, make public comment against this insanity, and tell them to move forward with the staff’s recommendation without any delays or amendments!
3. After you call, send this email (CUSTOMIZE THE BOTTOM!)!