Beverly Hills Opposition

[Alexis Kasperavičius]

This thread should be used for collecting news bits and discussion on Beverly Hills' subway opposition.

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I'll start with the basics. As many of you know, Beverly Hills High and much of the city government is opposed to tunneling under the school for the western extension of the subway to Century City.

Sounding like every other NIMBY group, it's kids and gas explosions they're worried about - with seemingly no voice of reason in the city.

The local paper, The Beverly Hills Courier, is towing the line and has produced this (ahem) rather one-sided video on the situation. Any comments?

[Matt]

The latest news:

Court rules in favor of Metro in pair of state lawsuits brought by Beverly Hills over subway extension

thesource.metro.net/2014/04/02/court-rules-in-favor-of-metro-in-pair-of-state-lawsuits-brought-by-beverly-hills-over-subway-extension/

Expect an appeal or is the tide finally turning against the NIMBY status quo that run the Beverly Hills city council?

[masonite]

Apr 2, 2014 22:08:31 GMT -8 Matt said:

The latest news:

Court rules in favor of Metro in pair of state lawsuits brought by Beverly Hills over subway extension

thesource.metro.net/2014/04/02/court-rules-in-favor-of-metro-in-pair-of-state-lawsuits-brought-by-beverly-hills-over-subway-extension/

Expect an appeal or is the tide finally turning against the NIMBY status quo that run the Beverly Hills city council?

I would be shocked if they didn't appeal. The LA Times made it seem like the ruling was a major end of this, but it isn't over until the appeals are exhausted and that may take several years. Overall, great news however.

[Alexis Kasperavičius]

The best video I have found - with explosions!

[culvercitylocke]

does the subway go under school buildings or just under the sports fields? I thought it mainly went under tennis courts. Not that it makes a whit of difference if it's under buildings or tennis courts, but it's easier to persuade people/shoot them down if you can tell them Beverly Hills is trying to stop the subway because of tennis.

[masonite]

Apr 3, 2014 8:05:05 GMT -8 culvercitylocke said:

does the subway go under school buildings or just under the sports fields? I thought it mainly went under tennis courts. Not that it makes a whit of difference if it's under buildings or tennis courts, but it's easier to persuade people/shoot them down if you can tell them Beverly Hills is trying to stop the subway because of tennis.

It mostly goes under the tennis courts and grass area in front of the school. The school building mostly runs north-south and the subway would come from the East, so it does cross under the actual building in a narrow portion of the building.

[gatewaygent]

I mentioned this in another thread, but maybe if Metro offered to partially finance the high school's underground parking structure, this whole thing could probably go away. Of course, it sets a bad precedent of having to tack extra millions on the bill for amenities that effected parties should be paying for themselves.

Fingers crossed the appeals court sides with the lower court....

[metrocenter]

Beverly Hills Unified's legal fight
against Purple Line subway route
paid for with school construction bonds

(article link)

The article reveals that up to $4.1 million of school construction money has been used in the legal fight, and suggests that even opponents of the subway may be thinking that enough is enough.

Here's an excerpt:

[Beverly Hills] Councilman Brien said it’s time for the district to move on.

“The city of Beverly Hills and the school district have voiced their preference for the Santa Monica Boulevard alignment. It is not going to happen, in my opinion. The routing that has been cited ... is going to go into the center of Century City and it's going to go under a portion of the high school,” he said.

“It's time to figure out how to do that in a way that protects and mitigates any of the concerns that the city and the school district have.”

[masonite]

May 9, 2014 12:18:29 GMT -8 metrocenter said:

Beverly Hills Unified's legal fight
against Purple Line subway route
paid for with school construction bonds

(article link)

The article reveals that up to $4.1 million of school construction money has been used in the legal fight, and suggests that even opponents of the subway may be thinking that enough is enough.

Here's an excerpt:

[Beverly Hills] Councilman Brien said it’s time for the district to move on.

“The city of Beverly Hills and the school district have voiced their preference for the Santa Monica Boulevard alignment. It is not going to happen, in my opinion. The routing that has been cited ... is going to go into the center of Century City and it's going to go under a portion of the high school,” he said.

“It's time to figure out how to do that in a way that protects and mitigates any of the concerns that the city and the school district have.”

What needs to happen is a lawsuit against the School District for spending construction bond money inappropriately on these legal expenses. I'd love to see the tables turned on them here for this.

[gatewaygent]

If the news is out that the district misappropriated funds, there will be an inquiry, followed by an audit, and someone's head is going to roll, most likely the superintendent's! Misappropriating scarce education funds, even funds for construction--bye-bye underground parking structure, is a big no-no!

[andert]

So, in a way, if you think about it, the Purple Line DID keep them from getting an underground parking garage. Beverly Hills vindicated.

[johanragle]

The inevitable appeal by City of BH and the BHUSD has now been summarily rejected by the Court of Appeals. Good riddance and what a lovely waste of taxpayer money; the only thing that would be the icing on the cake at this point is if Beverly Hills residents got together and started a recall or lawsuit against the politicians who were pushing this inanity.

thesource.metro.net/2015/10/22/court-of-appeals-upholds-final-environmental-impact-report-for-subway-extension/

[metrocenter]

I just saw this story on Metro...woohoo! Beverly Hills' position was a stretch from the beginning, and the state appeals court confirmed this.

BTW, there is one more lawsuit in federal court, still pending.

[masonite]

Oct 26, 2015 12:47:59 GMT -8 metrocenter said:

I just saw this story on Metro...woohoo! Beverly Hills' position was a stretch from the beginning, and the state appeals court confirmed this.

BTW, there is one more lawsuit in federal court, still pending.

They can also appeal the state ruling so this is not over unfortunately.

[bzzzt]

Does anyone have insight for this article?

bhcourier.com/beverly-hills-news-federal-judge-calls-fta-capricious-says-subway-tunnel-under-bhhs-violates-nepa/

[gatewaygent]

I love how the Courier compares the situation to "David and Goliath." It should be more like 'Goliath and the Kraken.' I also like how they have implied that the BHUSD has been spending millions of [unaccounted] dollars putting the smoking gun into federal and state courts' hands. I think I liked it better when they opposed the subway because of fears that people from East L.A. were going to go into their neighborhoods and steal their stereos and TV's.

[johanragle]

In other news, Beverly Hills taxpayers are now fully on the hook for school funding that was misused to pay for the lawsuit against Metro. Sorry, suckers.

thesource.metro.net/2016/08/12/u-s-judge-upholds-federal-approval-of-purple-line-extension-project/

www.scribd.com/doc/321046165

Some very good news for Metro and the Purple Line Extension subway project arrived on Friday: in a federal lawsuit brought against the Federal Transit Administration, U.S. District Court Judge George Wu upheld the FTA’s prior approval of the project.

What that means in non-legalese: Metro can move forward with finalizing a $1.2-billion federal grant and $307-million federally-backed loan to help pay for the project’s second phase between Wilshire/La Cienega in Beverly Hills and Century City. If Judge Wu had decided to vacate the FTA’s approval, that money could have been delayed or, even worse, lost and the project would have been delayed.

In order to build the subway, the federal grant and loan is being paired with money from Measure R, the half-cent sales tax approved by Los Angeles County voters in 2008 to fund a number of transit, road and other transportation projects. The first section of the subway between Wilshire/Western Station and Wilshire/La Cienega is currently under construction.

As a part of this ruling, Judge Wu is directing FTA to redo parts of the project’s environmental studies — mostly having to do with seismic studies and methane near the Beverly Hills High School and Century City. Metro has begun that work.

The federal lawsuit against the FTA was brought by the city of Beverly Hills and the Beverly Hills Unified School District. A similar state lawsuit by both plaintiffs against Metro was previously decided in Metro’s favor. The city and school district disputed the need for the subway project to tunnel under part of the Beverly Hills High School campus in order to avoid an earthquake fault along Santa Monica Boulevard.

Metro officials on Friday said they were grateful for the Judge’s ruling and that they look forward to delivering a project that will safely and quickly serve transit riders on the chronically-congested Westside.

[bzzzt]

haha, Mayor Mirisch absolutely loses his head - he's got a ROFL rant posted. Forgot to sign his title on his post, too. Maybe he was too embarrassed.

[johanragle]

As expected, the BH Courier is at it again, distracting from the millions in school construction funds that were spent on a pointless lawsuit by asking Metro to explain its logic behind the alternative selection (again).

bhcourier.com/beverly-hills-news-metro-must-answer-200-million-question-after-judge-wu-maintains-federal-approval/

Fortunately we have Streetsblog to take them to task for it. BHUSD even has the gall to ask their residents to approve another school construction bond after this latest debacle.

la.streetsblog.org/2016/08/15/with-legal-challenges-completed-whats-next-in-beverly-hills-subway-drama/

Late Friday afternoon, I was already at a dinner meeting when I heard the news. Metro announced that the most recent, and likely last, lawsuit against the Purple Line Subway Extension under Beverly Hills has been completed.

We agree. Pull quote via ##http://bhweekly.com/##Beverly Hills Weekly Issue 808##

We agree. Pull quote via Beverly Hills Weekly Issue 808

Despite some testy language against the transit agency and the Federal Transit Agency which approved the project, the ruling is a clear victory for Metro. The FTA’s record of decision, already upheld by one federal court, stands and the agency can move forward with securing funds to complete the project. The agency will have to redo some of its studies, but it should not impact the final timeline. Beverly Hills interests may appeal, but in the meantime, Metro can award contracts and get construction underway.

Metro wasted little time declaring victory at its news outlet The Source and vowed to continue its work on the project. The future for Beverly Hills is a little more uncertain.

In a case of bad timing, last week the Beverly Hills Unified School District voted to place a bond measure on the fall ballot to fund new construction at its high school. The current bond measure has not resulted in as much construction as originally promised, in part because the District’s legal expenses are among the highest in the U.S., on a per-student basis. From Beverly Hills Weekly (Issue 880):

According to research conducted by Board of Education Vice President Mel Spitz last December, comparative school districts spend $65 per student on legal fees, whereas the BHUSD spends $478.

BHUSD legal fees for the 2015-16 fiscal year totaled $3.2 million.

It also seems unlikely that Metro will be forced to pay for BHUSD’s legal fees, as boardmembers for the School District had promised in previous years.

Nearly two years ago I pleaded with the City of Beverly Hills and its School District to stop its public relations campaign against the subway, noting the pickle the bureaucracy would find itself in if and when it lost the lawsuit that it just lost.

How can the School District and the city itself convince parents that their high school is safe after spending years literally telling people that subway construction would make the school explode? (See video above.)

Currently, the Purple Line extends from Wilshire and Western in mid-town to Union Station in downtown L.A. The Purple Line Extension will extend westward about nine miles with seven new stations. It will provide a high-capacity, high-speed, alternative to the slow moving car traffic on Wilshire Boulevard. Hopefully we are near the end of the legal wrangling phase, and ready to build a first class project. It is a project that will benefit all Angelenos, including people who reside in Beverly Hills.

[gatewaygent]

As an educator, I'm disgusted by the BHUSD. What gall! The fact that the Superintendent won't step down shows that she has no morals and no shame. Boooooo! As an admirer of free press, I hope the Courier continues on its self-destructive path of obnoxious pettiness until it looses all its sponsors/advertisers and goes defunct. As someone who loves trains: yay! The subway is getting extended!

[johanragle]

Wait, there are people with morals in Beverly Hills?

[bobdavis]

Being out in the San Gabriel Valley, I probably don't "have a dog in this fight", but it brings to mind the efforts of a coterie of South Pasadena residents to stop the Gold Line, or at least restrict it to running at 20 MPH within city limits. At least the subway will be running underneath the High School, so they can't complain about those dangerous trains mowing down gormless teenagers.

[metrocenter]

Beverly Hills School District Files New Lawsuit Against Purple Line Subway

After a string of losses in court, the BHUSD is once again suing Metro and the FTA. This time, they are suing because they disagree with the SEIS, released last November, which they say was biased and flawed.

Here we go again.

[metrocenter]

Oh well, ground is now broken on segment 2, so suck it Beverly Hills.

[numble]

The MOA for the Purple Line construction in Beverly Hills was finally approved by the Beverly Hills City Council according to these tweets from Luke Harold, a Beverly Press reporter, but they want bathrooms and an additional entrance:

Agenda item:
beverlyhills.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=49&event_id=3747&meta_id=373442

Council approves memorandum of agreement for Wilshire/Rodeo station 4-1 with some of those details still to be determined

They also want a north portal for the Wilshire/Rodeo station, which is planned for the southwest corner of Reeves Drive and Wilshire Boulevard

Beverly Hills City Council’s sticking points for its future @purplelineext stations include a lack of bathrooms (@metrolosangeles typically doesn’t put any in stations for security reasons), a security plan and noise violations that hotels and other businesses could be subject to

[metrocenter]

Aug 21, 2018 23:19:39 GMT -8 numble said:

The MOA for the Purple Line construction in Beverly Hills was finally approved by the Beverly Hills City Council according to these tweets from Luke Harold, a Beverly Press reporter, but they want bathrooms and an additional entrance

None of those demands/requests are unreasonable. It would be great if the City of LA demanded an extra station entrance or a bathroom once in awhile.

Also in that same BH city report is the following:

Finally, staff has negotiated an agreement between the City and Metro to purchase an access easement across the 1940 Century Park East property to connect Beverly Hills High School with the future Constellation Station. This easement will allow faculty and students to have direct access to the Metro Station after it is built.

I'm curious how this would work. Would this proposed entrance be exclusively for use by students and faculty? How would they prevent other people from walking down that entrance tunnel? How would this affect campus security?

[bzcat]

Aug 22, 2018 8:29:37 GMT -8 metrocenter said:

Finally, staff has negotiated an agreement between the City and Metro to purchase an access easement across the 1940 Century Park East property to connect Beverly Hills High School with the future Constellation Station. This easement will allow faculty and students to have direct access to the Metro Station after it is built.

I'm curious how this would work. Would this proposed entrance be exclusively for use by students and faculty? How would they prevent other people from walking down that entrance tunnel? How would this affect campus security?

I'm pretty sure it is an above ground easement. The "direct access" comment refers to the fact that there is no actual public right of way between Century Park East and city of Beverly Hills (done on purpose to keep BH and Century City apart)

1940 Century Park East parking garage backs up against the parking lot of BH High School. So they are just paying for a gate access that will let student cut across the driveway of 1940 Century East Parkway. Otherwise, students and faculty will have to walk around the block to Santa Monica Blvd or Olympic to reach Constellation. It's a 15 minute walk vs. a 2 minute walk from BH High School to the future station entrance on Constellation and Ave of the Stars.

[metrocenter]

Aug 22, 2018 15:58:20 GMT -8 bzcat said:

I'm pretty sure it is an above ground easement. The "direct access" comment refers to the fact that there is no actual public right of way between Century Park East and city of Beverly Hills (done on purpose to keep BH and Century City apart)

1940 Century Park East parking garage backs up against the parking lot of BH High School. So they are just paying for a gate access that will let student cut across the driveway of 1940 Century East Parkway. Otherwise, students and faculty will have to walk around the block to Santa Monica Blvd or Olympic to reach Constellation. It's a 15 minute walk vs. a 2 minute walk from BH High School to the future station entrance on Constellation and Ave of the Stars.

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks.

[numble]

Beverly Hills Unified School District is staging a student walkout to protest the Purple Line:
bhcourier.com/2018/10/04/beverly-hills-high-students-plan-district-wide-walkout-to-protest-metros-subway-tunnel-beneath-high-school/

To protest the imminent construction of a subway tunnel beneath Beverly Hills High School, Beverly Hills students are banding together for a district-wide walkout set for next Friday morning, Oct. 12.

The walkout, which is intended to bring national attention to the health and safety risks related to running a subway line through fields of abandoned oil wells, is set to take place at Will Rogers Memorial Park at 10:30 a.m. Students from all five Beverly Hills Unified School District schools will be bussed to and from the destination, where they will remain throughout the length of the walkout.

[bzzzt]

This "protest" looks likes a cover for Trump to stop the subway construction, in return for a free house in Beverly Hills.  To Beverly Hills kids:  you're a bunch of chumps.

therealdeal.com/la/2018/07/09/force-behind-campaign-against-metros-purple-line-has-ties-to-trump/