Despite a large showing of opponents of the proposed gondola that would run from Union Station to Dodger Stadium, the Metro Board of Directors Thursday recertified a court-ordered supplemental environmental impact report.
Directors unanimously approved the 437-page supplement EIR under the consent calendar, and without discussion among them. Last month, the agency's Executive Management Committee advanced the report to the full board in a 4-1 vote with L.A. County Supervisor and board member Janice Hahn voting against the item and committee member Jacquelyn Dupont-Walker absent during the vote.
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Recertifying environmental documents for the project allows the nonprofit leading the project to continue pursuing approvals required for construction such as from the California State Park and Recreation Commission, Caltrans, the Federal Highway Authority and city of Los Angeles.
Anticipating a significant number of attendees who wanted to weigh-in on the project, the agency allowed public comment, giving speakers 30 seconds to speak on the item. Board Chair and Whittier City Councilman Fernando Dutra later expanded the rule to allow speakers a minute each but limited public comment on the project to an hour.
A group of Chinatown residents and members of Stop the Gondola held red signs stating "Stop the Gondola," and a banner "Protect Chinatown from Frank McCourt."
The group chanted "Olvera Street is not for sale," "Historic Park is not for sale," "Elysian Park is not for sale" and "Dodgers support ICE."
Metro's Board of Directors entered a closed session for an hour before they came out and heard public comment.
Los Angeles City Council members Eunisses Hernandez, Ysabel Jurado and Hugo Soto-Martinez; Phyllis Ling, founder of Stop the Gondola coalition; and Jon Christensen, a UCLA professor with the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, urged the board to deny the supplemental EIR.
Hernandez, Jurado and Soto-Martinez were able to get a resolution approved by the City Council to formally oppose the proposed gondola project.
"The proposed gondola is not a public transportation project but rather a private tourist attraction that would benefit Frank McCourt and the entertainment complex he wants to build at Dodger Stadium," according to a statement from Stop the Gondola.
Critics argue there is no guarantee taxpayers won't be stuck with the bill for the project's estimated $500 million construction costs, as well as potentially $8 million to $10 million in annual maintenance and operations. Critics also cite a UCLA Mobility Lab study that showed data the gondola would not reduce traffic or emissions.
Some speakers supported the project and encouraged board members to approve the supplemental EIR.
Zero Emissions Transit, a nonprofit organization with an independent board of directors, is leading the project, formerly known as the Los Angeles Aerial Rapid Transit, after it was donated to it by former Dodger owner Frank McCourt.
The nonprofit bills itself as an organization committed to all efforts accelerating zero emission technology of any kind into the transportation space.
Project specs consist of a 1.2-mile route passing through Chinatown and the Los Angeles State Historic Park to connect Union Station and Dodger Stadium via three stations -- Alameda Station, Chinatown/State Park Station and the Dodger Stadium Station -- a non-passenger junction and three cable- supporting towers.
Zero Emissions Transit and other proponents of the aerial tram say it will provide the first permanent mass transit connection linking Dodger Stadium to the broader Los Angeles transit system.
They say the gondola would operate with zero emissions and be the first aerial gondola transit system to include a battery-electric backup system, and that the project's approved environmental study found that it could reduce emissions by over 150,000 metric tons of greenhouse gasses over its lifetime.
The gondola is backed by several groups such as the Chinese American Museum, Coalition for Clean Air, Los Angeles and Orange County Building Trades Council, the Los Angeles County Business Federation and Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.
Nearly 15,000 individuals and more than 400 businesses in Chinatown, El Pueblo and Lincoln Heights have signed up to support the project, which also has the backing of organized labor, business and environmental advocates, according to Zero Emissions Transit.
The supplemental EIR incorporates a community benefits package that county Supervisor and board member Hilda Solis previously negotiated with ZET.
It encompasses robust labor standards, apprenticeships and local hiring promises, a business interruption fund to protect small businesses during construction, free and unlimited rides for Chinatown residents and businesses, and a prohibition on eminent domain and fair market compensation for any public property rights, as well as a new community advisory committee, according to Solis.
Solis has made a commitment to ensure affordable housing, senior housing, small business support and the expansion of transit options such as Dodger Stadium Express, if the project is approved by all regulatory agencies.
"I can only see myself supporting this because of the attachment of the community benefits," Solis previously said.
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