Council, School Officials, Residents Criticize Subway Extension

City Council members, school officials and residents on Tuesday affirmed their displeasure with the idea of tunneling under the city's only high school for the Westside Subway Extension.

The majority of residents who spoke at the meeting in Council Chambers wanted members to take a more aggressive stance toward preventing a Purple Line route beneath .

"This is the most important community issue that I have ever known since I've lived in Beverly Hills," Councilwoman Lili Bosse said. "This is affecting the soul of who we are—it affects our children, our residents, our business community, our families. ... Under no circumstance tunneling under the high school will be accepted."

Local opponents of a subway tunnel under the high school find themselves at odds with Century City developers, homeowner associations and Los Angeles politicians at Constellation Boulevard and Avenue of the Stars. The Beverly Hills faction seeks to have the route go under Santa Monica Boulevard instead.

"The No. 1 reason to support the Santa Monica alignment is it does not tunnel under our high school," Vice Mayor William Brien said. He cited a slightly shorter route and a $60 million savings in project costs as reasons why the Santa Monica route should be chosen.

"In addition, the subway stop on Santa Monica would not encumber the school district from any of its future building plans at the high school," Brien said, alluding to the need for present and future upgrades to the nearly century-old BHHS campus.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has the final decision on exactly where the proposed subway station will go.

"The Metro board and other elected officials are aware of our strong opposition from the council, school board and community, and we continue to be hopeful we can achieve the correct outcome, which is the Santa Monica Boulevard alignment," Brien said.

"I hope I'm wrong, but I think we can expect to see a final [environmental impact report], due later this summer, to be tooled to reflect the very clear wishes of the politicians who make up Metro's board," Councilman John Mirisch wrote in a June 15 Huffington Post article. "When the trickle-down from the developers means the politicians want Constellation, how can Metro staff possibly recommend a Santa Monica alignment?"

School officials offered their point of view to the discourse.

"This council and the previous council have been united in their opposition to tunneling under the high school," said Brian Goldberg, vice president of the Beverly Hills school board. "We have, maybe, a perception problem ... that the city is not united. In every meeting I've attended with ... council members we've all been steadfast and very clear in our position or opposition to tunneling under the high school."

Goldberg expressed his perception of MTA bias.

"There seems to be overwhelming support from the MTA staff and the board to tunnel under the high school and use the Constellation route," he said, noting the likelihood of legal action as the city's only recourse to overturn an MTA decision.

"They absolutely will not tunnel under that high school," school board President Lisa Korbatov said, eliciting a round of applause from residents. "We will do whatever it takes to make them understand the wisdom of going back to Santa Monica."

Resident Marjorie Blatt demanded the council "adopt a more visible stance" in its opposition to the Constellation route.

"As a council, you appear to show tacit approval of the project as is in the face of fierce opposition from our school board and from our citizens and in the face of contrary but loud, front-row major efforts from Century City developers," she said.

Unified resistance was another key concern.

"We have to show unity ... we're all against going under [Beverly Hills High School]," resident Rod Krell said before the meeting. "I'm not against having a subway, but they should in no way be going underneath our residences, which they were going to do, then they decided to go under Beverly Hills High School."

Also before the meeting, resident Suzanne Macht said tunneling under BHHS is dangerous because of dormant oil wells beneath the campus.

"It's going to create a lot of congestion and a lot of workers around the young kids at the high school, and I don't think it's safe," she said. "I don't think anybody can guarantee that it's safe. I don't trust any of them."

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