This morning the Metro board Planning and Programming Committee failed to approve a preferred alignment for the northern extension of Metro's K Line light rail. Technically the committee did not take a position, pushing the vote off to next week's full Metro board meeting, Thursday March 26. In effect, though, the committee's non-vote empowers anti-rail nimbys opposed to Metro tunneling far deep beneath homes.
Today's maneuver closely echoes a January Metro committee decision that postponed approval of a South Bay light rail extension. The full Metro board subsequently voted to effectively kill that project by acceding to nimby insistence on an excessively costly likely unbuildable alternative.
The K Line Northern Extension (KNE) will connect to the Metro B and D Lines, greatly increasing the coverage and the efficiency of L.A.'s rail network. The KNE is partially funded via Metro's 2016 Measure M sales tax plan.
At today's meeting staff recommended the alignment preferred by the city of West Hollywood, and long championed by Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who currently sits on the Metro board and formerly served on the WeHo City Council.
The city of West Hollywood has committed to funding 25 percent of the K Line capital costs via an Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District (EIFD). Many cities balk at Metro's required 3 percent local match requirement.
West Hollywood leaders/stakeholders turned out to support approval of the staff recommended San Vicente/Fairfax alternative. One speaker urged Metro to "build the Pink Line to the Pink Pony Club." The majority of today's public comments came from K Line supporters, including WeHo folks, labor, transit advocates, and others.
There was also a sizable contingent commenting against the K Line. The critics mainly consisted of Lafayette Square residents who oppose Metro tunneling underneath their Mid-City historic district.
The Mid-City tunneling concerns were first raised in late 2024. Metro subsequently did further technical studies, which led to modifying the proposed alignment to minimize tunneling under homes (while slightly reducing train speeds).
Metro states that its tunneling construction is safe, and that its proposed tunnels (80-120 feet underground in Mid-City) would not affect surface properties/structures.
Nonetheless many Mid-City homeowners continue to vocally oppose the project, expressing concerns over vibrations and subsidence.
The anti-rail voices swayed some Planning Committee members - Inglewood Mayor James Butts and Glendale Councilmember Ara Najarian - to postpone approval of the K line alignment. Najarian stated that other boardmembers "not on this committee" had told him they wanted to weigh in on K Line approval (to which Horvath pointed out that all boardmembers can do that in any case at next week's board meeting). Ultimately the Planning Committee did not take a position on the K Line item, sending it to next week's full board meeting without recommendation.
Najarian did not state which boardmembers had approached him. Some advocates, including Nick Andert, are pointing to an apparent anti-transit role being played by L.A. Mayor Karen Bass today. The Mayor sits on the Metro board, and appoints three additional boardmembers, controlling four of 13 votes. Bass was not at the meeting; her appointee Jacqueline Dupont-Walker sat out the K Line item due to a conflict of interest. Bass has not been a strong voice in support of transit. Further, she has clashed with Horvath. This K Line non-approval could be part of that conflict playing out, to the detriment of the transit-riding public.
Stay tuned for next week's K Line showdown.
