Foes of Elevated Rail Line Fail to Sway County Panel : Transit: Supporters of Valley route above the Ventura Freeway call the decision a clear victory.

Despite appeals from die-hard opponents, a Los Angeles County transportation panel on Wednesday stuck to a previous decision to build an elevated rail line above the Ventura Freeway in the San Fernando Valley--but left a small opening for continued challenges.

The county Transportation Commission said its decision--fought to the last ditch Wednesday by homeowners, civic groups and elected officials who favor a rival route--may be reconsidered by the new Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The MTA will be formed Monday when the commission unites with the county’s other transit authority, the Southern California Rapid Transit District.

On a motion by Long Beach City Councilman Ray Grabinski, the commission voted 7 to 4 to let stand a Dec. 16 decision to support construction of an elevated line along the Ventura Freeway to link with the Metro Rail to downtown Los Angeles.

But Grabinski also instructed the commission staff to proceed with technical studies of both the freeway route and the rival, mostly underground route so that the MTA will have the option of reconsidering the decision after those studies are completed.

“If there are any changes to be made, the MTA will make them,” he said.

Supervisor Mike Antonovich, chairman of the commission and an ardent supporter of building a monorail above the freeway, called the decision a clear victory for the freeway route, saying the MTA board probably will continue to support the freeway line.

But Supervisor Ed Edelman, a county transportation commissioner who has supported the alternative plan, said the decision was a disappointment but not a complete defeat. “On the one hand we didn’t win it all--and we wanted to win it all--but we didn’t lose it all either,” he said.

In previous discussions about the choices, the commissioners have complained that many vital questions remain about the cost and feasibility of both alternatives.

It is unclear whether building an elevated line would require widening the freeway, thus increasing the cost of the project, commissioners have said. If the subway line is chosen, it is uncertain whether workers would encounter water deposits or pockets of contaminated soil. The additional studies requested under Grabinski’s motion would attempt to address such questions.

The elevated line would stretch 16 miles along the median of the freeway from Woodland Hills to Universal City, where it would connect to the Red Line to downtown. It could be completed to the San Diego Freeway by 2001, according to county estimates, and then extended to Woodland Hills by 2018.

The alternative route would connect with the Red Line in North Hollywood and extend 14 miles, paralleling Burbank and Chandler boulevards to its terminus in Woodlands Hills. County officials estimate that it could be built under the same schedule.

When the commission voted Dec. 16 to support the elevated line, it ruled that it might reverse the decision if a study of operating costs concluded that the freeway line would be more expensive to operate in the long run.

But an independent consultant’s report that the commission reviewed Wednesday concluded that the freeway line would not only be less expensive but also would be cheaper to operate. The freeway line would cost $2.24 billion to construct, compared to $2.79 billion for the Burbank-Chandler line, the study said. In addition, the freeway line would cost $13 million less to operate each year and would generate about 16% more in passenger revenue, the report said.

A majority of the transportation commissioners said they were swayed by the freeway line’s projected lower construction and operating costs, despite testimony from a formidable alliance of Valley residents, business owners and elected officials who support the subway plan.

“The savings of billions of dollars means the county will benefit as a whole,” providing money to build another rail line elsewhere, said Gerry Hertzberg, who represents Supervisor Gloria Molina on the commission.

A New Line? Officials are deciding how to extend mass transit into the west San Fernando Valley; the two options are shown below.