Rail Line Doubt Arises

A government committee that monitors transportation spending in Orange County is raising new questions about whether $340 million in local sales tax revenue can be spent on the controversial CenterLine light-rail system.

If the panel finds that CenterLine does not qualify for funds from Measure M -- a 1990 ballot initiative that provided sales tax revenue for transportation projects -- a rail proposal that has been scaled back from 28 miles to nine miles because of political opposition would suffer another blow.

For almost three months, the Measure M Citizens Oversight Committee has been grappling with the nuances, vagaries and wording of the initiative and its criteria for funding projects.

Passed by voters after three attempts, Measure M established a 0.5% sales tax to raise billions of dollars for local transportation projects until 2011. It provides general guidelines for a variety of highway, street, rail and transit projects undertaken by the Orange County Transportation Authority and local cities.

The initiative also created the oversight committee with nine members selected by the Orange County Grand Jury. Panel members review projects funded by the sales tax to make sure they conform to Measure M’s requirements.

The committee began looking into CenterLine after a group of light-rail opponents complained at the panel’s Feb. 10 meeting that the proposal was inconsistent with project descriptions in Measure M.

Among the speakers were Orange County Treasurer John M.W. Moorlach, Supervisor Chris Norby, Tustin Mayor Tracy Worley Hagen, Mission Viejo Mayor Gail Reavis, a representative from Assemblyman John Campbell’s (R-Irvine) office and several transportation activists.

“We want to see what the project is now and compare it with what was presented in Measure M to the voters,” said county Auditor-Controller David E. Sundstrom, who chairs the oversight committee. “CenterLine was not drawn up when the initiative went to a vote.”

As now envisioned, the $1-billion street car system would run from John Wayne Airport to the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center. The line, which is in the engineering phase, would pass through the South Coast Plaza area and proceed up Bristol Street.

OCTA contends that the project has always met Measure M’s requirements to develop existing rights-of-way and to initiate what the initiative calls a “high-capacity urban rail system” in Orange County.

Authority officials say the line meets requirements to make “primary improvements” to the county’s main north-south railroad route, the so-called LOSSAN corridor that runs from Los Angeles -- through Orange County from Buena Park to San Clemente -- to San Diego.

Plans show that CenterLine will connect to the rail corridor’s tracks at the Santa Ana train depot, which is also used by Metrolink and Amtrak trains.

The measure also talks about developing extensions from the corridor using so-called people-movers or trams and fixed guideway transit lines.

Although Measure M does not mention CenterLine or even a general description of the project, a map contained in the ballot materials shows the proposed path of an urban rail system. It is similar to CenterLine’s route.

Just as significant, OCTA officials said the oversight committee has ruled repeatedly that Measure M funds used for the project have been spent properly. So far, CenterLine has received about $25 million in sales tax revenue.

“Before Measure M was passed, there was a rail plan for the county” that included many of the elements of CenterLine, said Monte Ward, OCTA’s special projects manager who helped draft the ballot initiative.

“There have been explicit discussions about this at OCTA, with the oversight committee, and in countless public hearings,” Ward said.

But this week at the committee’s April meeting, the discussion focused on opponents’ claims that CenterLine’s receipt of $340 million in Measure M funds would contradict the thrust of the initiative’s rail component.

Committee members pondered whether the benefits of a nine-mile line that served Santa Ana and Costa Mesa would benefit the county and the north-south rail corridor, which is a priority of Measure M.

The initiative states that “the primary improvements will be along the LOSSAN rail corridor and designed to provide frequent train service between north and south Orange County.”

About $257 million in Measure M funds helped to establish the Metrolink commuter rail service along the rail corridor in Orange County. Opponents have claimed that if CenterLine gets $340 million, it would mean that the “primary improvements” would shift improperly to the extensions described in Measure M.

The project “has morphed a few times. Today it is (nine) miles long through Santa Ana and Costa Mesa. It is not LOSSAN oriented,” Sundstrom said. “There might be an inconsistency on the primary improvements language.”

Sundstrom mentioned, however, that the wording of Measure M might be so vague that the committee cannot make a decision. In that case, he said, the panel might recommend CenterLine be put to a countywide vote.

The panel is scheduled to continue the discussion at its June meeting. If the committee rules against CenterLine, the OCTA board of directors, which has overwhelmingly supported the project, is not compelled to comply with the finding. Nevertheless, Ward said such a decision would be a serious defeat and open the way for possible taxpayer lawsuits.

“If the committee has misgivings, it would be a significant issue from a public perception and public relations standpoint,” Ward said.