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Politics & Government

BH City Council Requests Public Forum for Subway Debate

The move could delay a Metro board vote on a route that calls for tunneling under Beverly Hills High School.

The Beverly Hills City Council voted unanimously at a for a resolution to request a public hearing with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Board of Directors regarding the Westside Subway Extension.

"We have concerns which have not been adequately addressed by Metro, or addressed at all by Metro," Beverly Hills Vice Mayor John Mirisch said.

The Metro project seeks to tunnel under to reach a subway station on Constellation Boulevard in Century City. That plan is .

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"It's our important chance to get this in front of a Metro board in a transparent way," Beverly Hills Mayor William Brien said.

Councilman Barry Brucker said the amount of time Beverly Hills officials had to publicly discuss the subway route with Metro's board was insufficient.

Find out what's happening in Beverly Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The public hearing will provide "a chance to ask our experts, ask Metro's experts on subjects that are certainly important to us all," said Brucker, who specified concerns such as seismic testing, ridership and implications for future infrastructure upgrades to the city's 80-year-old high school if a subway tunnel is located below it.

Councilwoman Lili Bosse said the Metro hearing will give Beverly Hills the opportunity to review all the scientific data gathered on the proposed subway route.

"[State law] does provide for an open, transparent process that will allow for our city to share and gather information with Metro," she said.

A few Beverly Hills residents also spoke during the meeting.

"We all want what's best for [Los Angeles], but we're a city too," Red Richmond said. "We need to keep our kids safe."

City Attorney Larry Wiener told Patch that Metro has between 15 and 60 days to schedule the public hearing. The 13-member Metro board was slated to vote on the subway project's Final Environmental Impact Statement/Report at its April 26 meeting.

What do you think of the Beverly Hills City Council's request to have a public hearing with the Metro board?

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