Transportation Committee Passes Through 710-Oriented Bill

South Pasadena, Highland Park's neighbor to the east, is one step closer to regaining control over the construction of a freeway that many residents argue could have serious negative impacts on both Northeast Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley.

The state's Assembly Committee on Transportation pushed through A.B. 353 today, a bill that aims to repeal a provision in the state code that, under certain conditions, allows Caltrans to build a freeway without having to clear it with any cities or towns the freeway would affect. If the provision is officially repealed, South Pasadena would reclaim veto power over freeway construction in the city.

The bill passed through the committee with a 9-0 vote, clearing the path for it to go before the entire assembly.

At the heart of the bill is talk of the proposed 710 Freeway extension, which has been going on for decades. Supporters generally believe an extension would help unclog traffic in the area, while opponents are fearful of negative environmental impacts, disruption and, in the case of South Pasadena, a logistical stake through the heart of the city.

The current law, according to the State Assembly Committee on Transportation, requires Caltrans to forge a pact with local leadership if a freeway was going to lead to the shutdown of any local streets or roads. Caltrans could also devise alternate routes for those closed roads.

But the 710 extension issue for South Pasadena falls under another facet of the law, which allows Caltrans to bypass making official agreements with local jurisdictions if the freeway segment to be built falls under the watch of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, or Metro. If that happens, Caltrans is required to only “meet and confer” with affected cities. The 710 extension debate has led to a among Caltrans, Metro and the residents and leadership in the San Gabriel Valley and northeast Los Angeles.

Analysis from the Transportation Committee stated that the lack of a 710 extension would further strangle traffic in northeast L.A. and the San Gabriel Valley.  It also states that the success of AB 353 would “effectively eliminate” any chances to build an at- or above-surface version of the 710 extension. This would lead to consideration of a subterranean option, such as a tunnel, which has been previously proposed.

Early November, the South Pas City Council voted  stating its opposition to "any proposal, surface or subsurface to extend the SR 710 freeway."

In December, the HHPNC wrote a letter to the Los Angeles MTA board officially stating their opposition to the freeway project. 

"We join the Cities of Glendale, South Pasadena and La Canada Flintridge, the Neighborhood Councils of Arroyo Seco [which represents the neighborhood of Mount Washington], Glassell Park and Sunland Tujunga, as well as many other community groups and government entities, in urging the Los Angeles City Council to take a stronger stand against this destructive, ineffective project, currently estimated to cost in the range of $14 billion," the resolution read. 

South Pasadena Mayor Mike Ten had called upon various local leaders and state lawmakers, including Senator Kevin de Leon and Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, to lend their support to AB 353. 

De Leon at the end of January, and voiced his opposition to a surface version of the 710 extension.

"I oppose wholeheartedly, unequivocally, with no wiggle room or abstract loopholes, any surface route," he said at the time. But what he did not oppose is the concept of a tunnel. "I won’t be persuaded by polemic and polarizing language. I have an open mind. I will sit down with everyone. If we have alternatives, I will listen."

Ten is also taking a wait-and-see approach to the tunnel concept.

"I've always been against the freeway; I fought it when I was in high school, and I'm fighting it again today," he said last week. "The concept of the tunnel is promising, but all that will come out in scoping."

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