Irvine Sets CenterLine Decision Date

The Irvine City Council on Tuesday night set a June 3 special election for voters to decide whether the city should participate in the CenterLine project -- an 11.4-mile light rail system planned for Irvine, Costa Mesa and Santa Ana.

Two competing initiatives are on the ballot. One supports construction of the system’s Irvine leg; the other cancels the route through town and strips all reference to light rail from the city’s general plan. The Irvine segment represents about a third of the line.

The Irvine council voted 5 to 0 to place both initiatives on the ballot.

“I’m very comfortable with this,” Mayor Larry Agran said after the meeting. “It gives the voters of Irvine the decisive say on whether we will go ahead with the CenterLine light rail system, or whether we will forever and for all time reject any city participation in a light rail system.”

Rejection of CenterLine by Irvine voters would be a serious setback and would force Orange County transit planners to reevaluate whether the project should proceed at all, county officials say.

CenterLine was shelved about two years ago because of a lack of political support, but was revived by city leaders in Irvine, Costa Mesa and Santa Ana. The original 28-mile proposal has been scaled back twice, first to 18 miles, then to 11.4 miles.

Facing neighborhood opposition and an anti-rail petition drive, the Irvine City Council decided in September to hold an election on CenterLine by the end of June, but set no date.

As envisioned by the Orange County Transportation Authority, the CenterLine route through Irvine starts at UC Irvine and goes to John Wayne Airport via the Irvine Business Complex, one of the city’s commercial centers.

The modern trolley line would proceed west to the South Coast Plaza area, then north on Bristol Street to the Santa Ana Civic Center before ending at the Santa Ana train station. Planners estimate it will cost at least $1.5 billion to build. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2007.

CenterLine supporters say light rail is needed because of growing transportation demands and a shortage of land to build highways. Light rail, they say, can move many passengers safely and along routes unimpeded by traffic.

Although the CenterLine route has been removed from Irvine neighborhoods most opposed to it, anti-rail forces in the city say the line still will disrupt residential areas if expanded. They also say transit buses can provide far more mobility to county residents cheaper than a light rail system can.