Just before the Thanksgiving holiday, the L.A. Metro Executive Management Committee recertified the combined Environmental Impact Report (“EIR”) in a 4-1 vote.
Recertification of the EIR does not guarantee project completion. Still, it is a necessary step to obtain final approval from Metro and to start on the local and state approvals needed to begin construction of the project.
From last time, for those paying attention to the local intrigue, one might wonder how Mayor Karen Bass would square the circle of the L.A. City Council voted 12-1 to urge Metro to kill the project, considering that she continues to have a vote on the project at this stage.
Mayor Bass sided with the majority. However, in the spirit of the L.A. Rams’ season, Mayor Bass punted, addressing the packed meeting room for about twenty seconds, per Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
Janice Hahn was the lone vote of dissent, citing arguments that bore a stark resemblance to what I have been arguing about the Dodgers Gondola project for most of the five seasons.
The full Metro Board will vote on the project during its December Regular Board Meeting, in the Consent Portion of the agenda, on Thursday. While items on the Consent Portion can be singled out for more deliberation, provided that a Board Member moves to do so. From my Deputy County Counsel days, the whole point of the Consent Portion of the Agenda is to speed through multiple items as efficiently as possible.
Since nothing new of substance was said by the Executive Management Committee Members during the meeting, apart from Ms. Hilda Solis repeating that her support is contingent on what I have previously called “The Bass Compromise of 2024” and Chairman Fernando Dutra proclaiming that “[t]he city will ultimately decide on the actual project,” the conflict between the L.A. City Council and L.A. Metro remains unresolved.
Per Mr. Shaikin, the conditions of the compromise include “funding to reimburse small businesses along the gondola route for losses during construction; guarantees of reimbursement to Metro for bus service to Dodger Stadium during the 2028 Olympics in the likely event the gondola is not up and running by then; the expansion of Dodger Stadium express buses and the addition of Hollywood Bowl-style park-and-ride routes to Dodger Stadium; and termination of the Metro approval if any eventual development of stadium parking lots does not include 25% affordable housing.”
The vote on Thursday, which can be seen online at 10 a.m., will likely provide some clarification on the matter. We will continue to monitor this story and provide updates as appropriate.