The back and forth between the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association and LA Metro over a proposed mass transit project through the Sepulveda Pass via aerial monorail or underground rail continued last week, when Metro responded to the group’s demands for information.
Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins wrote that most of the group’s 20 questions were already answered publicly by Metro, and that “the rest are based on misinformation.”
The group, which favors the monorail and is concerned that tunneling for a subway would damage hillside homes, is asking for cost estimates from Metro. In a letter to Metro dated Feb. 28, SOHA said it would lobby federal and state transportation agencies to withhold grant dollars if it didn’t receive answers by March 14.
Wiggins sent the agency’s response on that date.
Tensions continued on Monday, March 18, when Bob Anderson, SOHA’s vice president and transportation committee chair, bristled at Wiggins’ written responses, calling her letter “extremely weak.” Her statement that the group had cited misinformation, Anderson said, “is not true.”
Wiggins responded to the 20 questions with short answers, often pointing to links from reports on frequently asked and answered questions accumulated from years of community meetings and public input. From three meetings held last fall, Metro reported receiving more than 720 submissions from more than 160 different ZIP codes in Los Angeles County.
Anderson said he found Wiggins’ response letter unacceptable, adding: “Most of the responses do not actually answer the questions we submitted.”
Responding to the group’s main issue — the cost for each of the six project alternatives — Wiggins wrote that the agency is working on environmental documents which will detail impacts and the need for addressing them. Wiggins basically said the costs of the different project alternatives and alignments would be relayed to the public at a later time — before the Draft…
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