Senate OKs Bill to Build Subway Line Into Valley

In a move cheered by San Fernando Valley homeowners, the state Senate gave final legislative approval Thursday to a bill that would require a proposed Valley extension of Metro Rail to be built underground through residential areas in Van Nuys, North Hollywood, Studio City and Sherman Oaks.

The bill was touted by its author, Sen. Alan Robbins (D-Tarzana), as the only politically palatable way to build the proposed Valley rail line. Homeowner groups for years have strongly opposed an aboveground line, saying it would split neighborhoods and create noise, congestion and safety problems.

Robbins’ legislation passed the Senate despite opposition by the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, which argued that the state had no business dictating the design of a locally funded transit project. The commission is building a countywide commuter-rail network primarily with proceeds from a half-cent sales tax increase passed by voters in 1980.

A commission lobbyist said the Legislature’s action, if ratified by Gov. George Deukmejian, may create legal problems for the transportation agency. He suggested that the commission might therefore shy away from the Valley extension, choosing instead to go forward with proposed South Bay or Los Angeles-to-Pasadena rail projects.

2 Possible Train Routes

County transit planners are studying two possible east-west routes through the Valley, one paralleling the Ventura Freeway and the other following the old Burbank branch line of the Southern Pacific railroad.

Robbins’ bill would require that either route be constructed below ground level in a densely populated, 3.6-mile stretch bordered by the Hollywood Freeway on the east and Hazeltine Avenue in Van Nuys on the west.

In the central segment of that stretch--between Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Woodman Avenue--the route would have to be dug at least 25 feet into the ground.

The bill would require that any Metro Rail stop in the vicinity of Valley College in Van Nuys be built on the campus itself, eliminating heavy commuter traffic that might be created if the station were built in a nearby residential neighborhood.

The Senate action was hailed as a major victory by neighborhood activists, business interests and Orthodox Jewish congregations, which have several synagogues and other facilities along the Southern Pacific route in North Hollywood.

“When you run something aboveground . . . through a neighborhood, you necessarily have split that community,” said Polly Ward, president of the Studio City Residents Assn.

“There’s no good way in a community that’s built up--which all Valley communities are--to avoid that. But if you run it underground, you have not damaged the community.”

Transit officials envision running a rail line about 16 miles from Universal City to Warner Center in Woodland Hills. But Robbins said that due to the heavy extra cost of subway construction with the planned funds, the route would have to end near the Van Nuys-Reseda border, making it about seven miles shorter. Express buses could take commuters to points farther west and north, he said.

Local Opposition

If transit officials tried to build the line aboveground, local opposition would be so fierce that the project could be tied up for years, Robbins said. But as a subway, the line would enjoy widespread community support, he said.

The county Transportation Commission is drawing up an environmental impact report that will evaluate the two routes, including whether the line should be partly or fully aboveground.

But state Sen. Herschel Rosenthal (D-Los Angeles), whose district includes parts of Encino, complained that the subway plan would help some Valley residents but contains no such guarantees for those to the west.

Transit officials argued that mandating a subway in advance of the report’s completion could be interpreted as state prejudging of the environmental document.

That in turn could prompt lawsuits against the commission, giving it an incentive to turn away from the Valley and begin building lines elsewhere, said Tim Egan, commission lobbyist.

Robbins dismissed that assertion, saying the Legislature has the “power and the right to protect the community.”

He also suggested that acceding to residents’ desires for an underground train would make them more likely to support a $1-billion bond issue for highway and transit projects slated for next year’s ballot. Proceeds from those bonds could be used to extend the Valley line from the Van Nuys-Reseda terminus, he said.

A Deukmejian spokesman said the governor had no position on the bill.