Council Urges MTA to Ignore Proposal for Valley Trolley Line
Using unusually strong terms, nine members of the Los Angeles City Council have urged regional transportation officials not to pursue a private company’s proposal for a trolley line along the median of the Ventura Freeway in the San Fernando Valley.
In a letter to Larry Zarian, chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the nine members said that if the MTA pursues the project, its future relationship with the city “would be drastically impaired.”
But Council President John Ferraro, who represents Studio City neighborhoods along the freeway, did not sign the letter, saying he fears that the missive may have violated the state’s open meeting law.
The nine represent a majority of the council and Ferraro believes that under the state’s Brown Act, their decision to oppose the freeway line should have been discussed at a public hearing, Ferraro aide Gayle Johnson said.
The author of the letter, Councilwoman Laura Chick, said she will ask the city attorney’s office for its opinion.
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