City Council Meets Tonight for Special Subway Session

The City Council meets at 6 p.m. Sunday in Council Chambers to consider filing for a public hearing that would delay the Metropolitan Transportation Authority from finalizing its plans to tunnel under as part of the .

The 13-member Metro Board of Directors is scheduled to vote on the project's Final Environmental Impact Statement/Report at its April 26 meeting. A Metro board subcommittee voted April 18 to recommend that the full board approve the , which calls for tunneling below BHHS. 

According to California Public Utilities Code Section 30639, the council can file for a hearing with the Metro board because "the governing body of a city having territory located within the district may file a request for a hearing before the district board." 

Under Section 30640, the Metro board is required to "fix the time and the place for a hearing." Filing for a public hearing with the board would delay its final vote on the subway until the hearing process is complete.

The council's actions come after Metro denied a request by the Beverly Hills Unified School District to extend the environmental impact report's public comment period. The school district wanted more time to complete safety studies it had commissioned on the Beverly Hills portion of the subway route. 

Along with the council and BHUSD, many residents are because of student safety concerns and the school district's plans to renovate the aging building. Some residents and many people outside Beverly Hills want the project to as it is. 

Two petitions,  and the proposed subway route, have received hundreds of signatures.

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