Regional Connector Letter
Transcript of Regional Connector Letter
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GILCHRIST &RUTTER
PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION
1299OCEAN AVENUE,SUITE 900
SANTA MONICA,CA 90401(310)393-4000
DLAPIPER LLP(US)
1999AVENUE OF THE STARS,SUITE 400
LOS ANGELES,CA90067-6023
(310)595-3000
CHRISTOPHER SUTTON LAW OFFICES
586LA LOMA ROAD
PASADENA,CA91105
(626)683-2500
HILL FARRER &BURRILL L.L.P.
ONE CALIFORNIA PLAZA,37TH FLOOR
300SOUTH GRAND AVENUE
LOS ANGELES,CA90071-3147
(213)620-0460
February 14, 2012
VIA E-MAIL AND U.S.MAIL
Ms. Dolores Roybal Saltarelli
Los Angeles County MetropolitanTransportation Authority
One Gateway Plaza, MS 99-22-2
Los Angeles, CA 90012Email: [email protected]
Mr. Raymond Sukys
Office of Planning and Program DevelopmentFederal Transit Administration, Region IX
201 Mission Street, Suite 1650
San Francisco, CA 94105Email: [email protected]
Mr. Ray TellisFederal Transit Administration, Region IX
888 South Figueroa Street, Suite 1850
Los Angeles, CA 90017Email: [email protected]
Re: State Clearinghouse No. 2009031043
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation AuthorityRegional Connector Transit Corridor Project
Final Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report
(January 20, 2012)
Dear Ms. Roybal Saltarelli, Mr. Sukys and Mr. Tellis:
This letter is submitted on behalf of Thomas Properties Group (TPG), which is the realproperty owner and property manager of the properties located at 515-555 South Flower Street,
referred to as the City National Plaza and Towers in the Final Environmental Impact
Statement/Environmental Impact Report (Final EIS/EIR), and 400 South Flower Street,referred to as the J-2 Garage (collectively, the TPG Properties); Hines, which owns the
property located at 444 South Flower Street (Citigroup Center); The California Club, whichowns the property located at 538 South Flower Street; and the Westin Bonaventure Hotel and
Suites, which owns the property located at 404 South Figueroa Street (all collectively, the
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Affected Property Owners and the Affected Properties). The Affected Properties are all
immediately adjacent to portions of the proposed Los Angeles County MetropolitanTransportation Authority (LACMTA) Regional Connector Transit Corridor Project (RegionalConnector or Project), and are located on South Flower Street between 4th and 6th Streets (the
Financial District). Together, the Affected Properties provide millions of square feet of office
with accessory retail uses, hundreds of hotel rooms and employ thousands of people in theFinancial District.
Certain of the Affected Property Owners have previously submitted comments on the
Draft Environmental Impact Statement/ Environmental Impact Report (" Draft EIS/EIR") and on
the Supplemental Environmental Assessment/Recirculated Supplemental Draft EIR. See, for
example, TPGs letter dated September 1, 2011 and Hines letter dated September 2, 2011,
included in the Final EIS/EIR as comment letter R-BU4 and R-BU6, respectively.
The Affected Property Owners continue to be disappointed that LACMTA has failed to
sufficiently consider the significant adverse environmental impacts of and feasible mitigations
for the construction of the Regional Connector in the Financial District. In particular, the use ofcut and cover construction in the Financial District, instead of the use of the tunnel boring
machine ("TBM") method, which is being used for virtually all other portions of the line, is
highly impactful and consequently violates the California Environmental Quality Act (Pub. Res.
Code 21000 et seq.; CEQA). The result of the proposed use of the cut and cover methodcan only be further delays and costs for the Project.
1. The Failure To Mitigate Significant Adverse Environmental Impacts In TheFinancial District Is Contrary To The City's Goals Of Economic Growth.
The City of Los Angeles (City) has expressed its high priority for development of theFinancial District and surrounding downtown areas in its long-term plans and in its support of
development projects located in those areas, including without limitation, the Wilshire Grand
Hotel project, LA Live, and the Grand Avenue project. Yet, the Project as currently designed
would create substantial unmitigated adverse impacts over a period of years on traffic, transit,vehicular and pedestrian access, local businesses, parking, and safety, all of which will serve to
limit leasing and rental opportunities and prices at a time when this area of downtown is just
starting to show signs of recovery. LACMTAs refusal to avoid or mitigate these significantimpacts in the Financial District, as it has done in other areas, by refining the Project to use the
TBM method of construction is squarely incompatible with all of the goals and policiespromoting downtown development.
While future plans for the development of other districts in the downtown area, e.g.,
Little Tokyo, should certainly be encouraged, at the same time it must be recognized that theFinancial District and its substantial infrastructure already exist and serve as a key economic
driver for the entire region. The continued revitalization of the Financial District is critical to
any plans for renewing the greater downtown Los Angeles area and is the catalyst for the other
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developments along the light rail line. Damaging the vitality of the downtown core will hinder,
not promote, economic renewal in the whole area. As such, it is puzzling that LACMTA shouldfocus its priorities elsewhere along the line.
2. CEQA Mandates Mitigation Of The Cut And Cover Construction Impacts InThe Financial District, As Is Done For Little Tokyo.
The Affected Property Owners, who are developers, owners, and/or property managers ofpredominantly sustainable, transit-oriented developments, do support mass transit, and the
Regional Connector, specifically, as an overall matter. However, the Affected Property Owners
have significant economic interests in ensuring that the construction impacts of the RegionalConnector on the tenants, employees, patrons, and visitors of their respective Affected Properties
are avoided or at least minimized to the greatest extent possible.
This is not just a matter of mistaken priorities on LACMTAs part. As shown by the
significant involvement of legal counsel, it should be recognized that CEQA mandates that the
significant environmental impacts created by the construction of the Project be avoided orreduced through revisions to the Project, adoption of all feasible mitigation measures, and
consideration of alternatives. The Final EIS/EIR fails to meet these tests.
The Final EIS/EIR acknowledges that the overall construction impacts of the Project have
been reduced, many to a less than significant level particularly in Little Tokyo and in theFinancial District on Flower Street between 3rd and 4th Streets by eliminating cut and cover
construction and replacing it with use of the TBM. As the Final EIS/EIR states, thatrefinement reduces the number of business acquisitions required, reduces the need for road and
sidewalk closures, property acquisitions, job displacement and overall neighborhood disruption.
In addition, mitigation measures have been refined and expanded in those areas.
By contrast, however, the significant impacts in the Financial District created by the cut
and cover construction employed along Flower Street between 4th
and 7th
Streets remainunresolved. In fact, the Final EIS/EIRs conclusions that other impacts along Flower Street
between 4th and 7th Streets are less than significant are legally suspect, as they are not based on
substantial evidenceeither the mitigation is improperly deferred or the proposed mitigation is sovague as to be meaningless. The Final EIS/EIRs excuse for failing to reduce or avoid these
impacts is that the refinement to the Project and the mitigation measures employed in Little
Tokyo and on Flower Street between 3rd and 4th Streets are not practicable or not feasible forthe Financial District, but, as with many of its other conclusions, the Final EIS/EIR fails to
support these bald conclusions with substantial evidence.
The failure to provide feasible mitigation for such impacts, and to evaluate alternatives to
avoid those impacts, renders the Final EIS/EIR fatally flawed under CEQA. CEQA accords lead
agencies discretion in environmental reviews, but CEQA compels government first to identifythe environmental effects of projects, and then to mitigate those adverse effects through the
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imposition of feasible mitigation measures or through the selection of feasible alternatives
(Sierra Club v. State Board of Forestry (1994) 7 Cal.4th 1215, 1233); see also, Mountain LionFoundation v. Fish & Game Commission (1997) 165 Cal.4th 105, 134 [CEQA contains asubstantive mandate not to approve a project with significant environmental effects if there are
feasible mitigation measures or alternatives that can substantially lessen or avoid those effects].)
Impacts on the Affected Properties created by the cut and cover construction method and
the need for a temporary construction easement include:
Adverse vehicular access and circulation impacts to the Affected Propertiesresulting from barriers or grade differentials created by work on Flower Street.
Adverse impacts to pedestrians, many of whom are employees and visitors to theAffected Properties, resulting from barriers or grade differentials created by the
work on Flower Street.
Adverse health and safety impacts to the retail, office and restaurant tenants,customers and visitors resulting from interruption to access to the Affected
Properties during the cut and cover construction during emergency conditions.
Adverse health and safety impacts to disabled retail, office and restaurant tenants,customers and visitors resulting from interruption to access to the AffectedProperties during the cut and cover construction during normal as well as
emergency conditions.
Adverse impacts to the retail, office and restaurant tenants resulting from anyinterruption to access to the Affected Properties during the cut and cover
construction.
Adverse impacts to downtown traffic flow due to the interference with the FlowerStreet stop for transit, shuttle and other modes of transportation between 4 th and
7th Streets, including the size or ease of access to those stops.
Adverse impacts to freeway on-ramps and off-ramps resulting from the gradedifferentials (essentially giant speed bumps) at the intersections of 5th Street and
Flower Street and 6th Street and Flower Street.
Construction noise and vibration impacts on tenants and business owners.General mitigation measures have been identified in the Final EIS/EIR; however,no mitigation measure has been specifically identified to address the substantial
change in ambient noise and vibration levels in the immediate vicinity of the
Affected Properties. Two of the Affected Property Owners, the Westin
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Bonaventure Hotel and Suites and The California Club, are particularly affected
by these impacts, as their businesses serve sensitive receptors.
The Final EIS/EIR does not dispute these significant adverse impacts. Indeed, it
acknowledges the need for mitigation of significant construction impacts in other areas of theProject, and notes that many of these impacts, previously affecting Little Tokyo and Flower
Street between 3rd and 4th Streets have been avoided or reduced by employing the TBM. No
plausible analysis is offered why this mitigation cannot be employed elsewhere, particularly inthe Financial District. For example, when employed generally, Mitigation Measures TR-12 and
13 do not reduce the Projects construction impacts on public transportation to a less than
significant level; however, when employed in Little Tokyo, they do. (See, e.g., Final EIS/EIR
page ES-49.) The only difference between the disruption in transit experienced by the Affected
Properties in the Financial District and that experienced in Little Tokyo is the fact that in LittleTokyo, the Project has been refined to include use of the TBM.
3. The Final EIS/EIR Lacks Substantial Evidence That The TBM Cannot BeUsed In The Financial District Between 4
thand 7
thStreets.
The Final EIS/EIR claims with scant analysis that the TBM cannot be used in the
Financial District to reduce construction impacts caused by the cut and cover constructiontechnique due to physical constraints and, therefore, the impacts created by the cut and cover
technique can be adequately mitigated. Neither claim has any merit.
The Final EIS/EIR contains no substantial evidence supporting its conclusion that use ofthe TBM is infeasible or impractical. It asserts that use of the TBM would be hindered south of
4th Street due to existing tie-backs that would have to be removed, rendering the technique not
practicable, and that use of this excavation technique would not be feasible for constructing aproposed pocket track and possible crossover. However, for example, there is no evidence that:
The number of such tie-backs that exist south of 4th Street, or how they arelocated in the path of the TBM;
Similar tie-backs are not present in the Little Tokyo area along 2nd Street or onFlower Street between 3rd and 4th Streets where the TBM will now be used;
Tunneling would in fact have to be halted to address the tie-backs; Why addressing the tie-backs would render the use of the TBM not practicable,
and what LACMTA means by the term not practicable;
Whether the TBM would crunch through a tie-back, like a propeller gettingcaught in a net, and whether this would cause health and safety concerns;
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Whether the tie-backs, even if only present in the Financial District and not inLittle Tokyo or on Flower Street between 3rd and 4th Streets, render the use of theTBM legally infeasible under CEQA, and, if so, why;
Why cut and cover is no longer needed between 3 rd and 4th Streets (see FinalEIS/EIR, page F4-83);
Why use of the TBM would be legally infeasible in the Financial District due tothe possibility that a pocket track, and to the even more remote possibility that a
crossover, may be built in this location;
Why a pocket track is necessary between 4th Street and 6th Street; Why use of the TBM would be precluded now, should a Flower/5 th/4th station be
built in the future (see Final EIS/EIR, page F4-82);
How the existence of tie-backs makes the use of the TBM method notpracticable when it has been successfully used in other highly urbanized areaswith existing tie-backs in the path of the TBM, such as in Seattle, Washington.
Without such evidence supporting its conclusions, the Final EIS/EIRs conclusions are fatallyflawed under CEQA, and cannot suffice to support its failure to adopt the same refinement to the
Project in the Financial District as has been adopted in Little Tokyo and on Flower Street
between 3rd
and 4th
Streets to reduce the same significant impacts that the Project will create inthe Financial District to the Affected Properties and Affected Property Owners.
4. The Final EIS/EIR Lacks Substantial Evidence That The Adverse ImpactsOf The Cut and Cover On The Affected Properties Will Be Mitigated To A Less Than
Significant Level And Defers Mitigation.
In addition to lacking substantial evidence supporting its conclusion that use of the TBM
is infeasible or impractical, the Final EIS/EIR fails to provide substantial evidence that theadverse impacts of the cut and cover construction will be mitigated to a less than significant
level, where that claim is made. Similarly, the Final EIS/EIR violates CEQA by deferring themitigation of the adverse impacts. (See, e.g., Communities for a Better Environment v. City of
Richmond (2010) 184 Cal.App.4th 70, 92 [When setting aside a citys promise to adopt agreenhouse gas reduction plan in the future to mitigate a projects significant impacts, the Courtof Appeal noted that[n]umerous cases illustrate that reliance on tentative plans for future
mitigation after completion of the CEQA process significantly undermines CEQAs goals of full
disclosure and informed decisionmaking]; San Joaquin Raptor Rescue Ctr. v. County of Merced(2007) 149 Cal.App.4th 645, 670 [If [t]he success or failure of mitigation efforts may largely
depend on management plans that have not yet been formulated, and have not been subject to
analysis and review within the EIR, the EIR is defective].) For example:
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The Final EIS/EIR does not sufficiently address how impacts to vehicular accessand pedestrians, in particular pedestrians with disabilities, will be mitigated.Instead, the response to Comment R-BU4-5 simply states that any deckingconfigurations would be designed to safely accommodate the undercarriage and
overhead clearances of vehicles using the driveways, garages, and loading docks.
Similarly, it states that decking configurations would require construction of
ADA-compliant ramps and accesses as well as modifications to vehicular accesspoints (See Final EIS/EIR, pages F4-70, F4-64, F4-83.) Both statements are
simply vague conclusory statements regarding mitigation that will be attempted in
the future, but that has not yet been designed. In other words, the Final EIS/EIRoffers only deferred mitigation in violation of CEQA. By contrast, CEQA
requires that the Final EIS/EIR provide specific mitigation measures to address
these impacts not only to ensure that the level of the impact will indeed bereduced to a less than significant level, but also to determine whether the
mitigation, itself, creates any other impacts that must in turn be addressed.
The EIS/EIR does not specify how access to businesses, restaurants and retailestablishments will be maintained during construction, but merely assures that it
will. Vague language about installing signs and directing pedestrians to nearby
crosswalks is not sufficient. Neither is a bald statement that [n]o restaurants orother businesses on the referenced property would be required to close as part of
construction activities (see, e.g., Final EIS/EIR, page F4-74), which patently
ignores indirect economic impacts on such businesses caused by discouraging
patrons.
The EIS/EIR does not specify how vehicular access to buildings and parkinggarages will be maintained during construction, but merely assures that it will.
Mitigation Measure TR-1 simply states that a traffic management and
construction mitigation plan will be devised. The Final EIS/EIR further ensuresthat [a]ny decking configurations would be designed to accommodate the
undercarriage and overhead clearances of vehicles using the driveways, garages
and loading docks. (Pages F4-71, F4-73; emphasis added.) Once again, theFinal EIS/EIR has deferred critical mitigation, and has done so even when the
standards and mitigation methods are readily available now.
In fact, the Final EIS/EIR fully acknowledges that [i]t may not be possible to
keep all vehicular entrances to garages open at all times during operating hours,
but [LACMTA] would ensure that access is provided via other vehicularentrances during those times so that the garages can continue to operate. (Final
EIS/EIR, page F4-74.) However, some of the Affected Properties (such as the
Citigroup Center, Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites, and The California ClubProperties) have limited garage entrances, and alternative vehicular access is
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simply not available. Under such circumstances, this approach under Mitigation
Measure TR-1 is not feasible, and cannot reduce the level of this impact.Therefore, an unacknowledged significant impact remains.
The EIS/EIR does not specify how it would ensure the safe evacuation ofbuildings during construction in the event of an actual fire or other emergency atone of the Affected Properties. Instead, Mitigation Measure SS-15 simply states
that LACMTA shall protect public use of work areas and keep them clear of
obstructions. However, this statement is not supported with specific strategiesfor how this outcome will be achieved: how will safe pathways be created; where
will people be able to congregate away from the emergency and from emergency
personnel; how disabled, injured or impeded individuals will be directed or
handled; whetherconstruction will be halted and equipment and vehicles moved,etc. Again, the Final EIS/EIR merely assures that [LACMTA] would not allow
construction activities to impede safe evacuation of the retail area or access for
emergency personnel at any time (page F4-75), without providing any specifics.
Concerns raised regarding ADA access and decking for the Affected Propertieshave not been addressed. No mitigation measure guarantees that ADA access anddecking for the Affected Properties will be installed at existing grade level or that
ADA-compliant ramps and accesses would be provided. By contrast, Mitigation
Measure SS-9 guarantees an ADA accessible connection for the 2nd/Hope Streetstation to Upper Grand Avenue. Yet, the Final EIS/EIR includes no such
mitigation measure for the Affected Properties, some of which suffer equallysevere grade differentials.
Without such evidence supporting its claims of mitigation, the Final EIS/EIRs conclusions are
fatally flawed under CEQA.
5. LACMTA Is Required To Compensate The Affected Property Owners ForDamages Due To Their Loss Of Business.
Under California eminent domain law, LACMTA is, of course, required to compensatethe Affected Property Owners for the damages they suffer due to their loss of business
opportunities resulting from the construction of the Project, including, where applicable, the
value of the final Temporary Construction Easements ("TCE") that may be taken (see, e.g.,Pierpont Inn, Inc. v. State (1969) 70 Cal.2d 282 [noise, dust and disturbing vibrations caused by
heavy equipment during construction of freeway interfered with use of adjacent hotel]), and to
pay severance damages for the impact of the taking on the remainder of the respective AffectedProperties (see, e.g., Metropolitan Water Dist. of So. California v. Campus Crusade for Christ,
Inc. (2007) 41 Cal.4th 954 [temporary severance damages resulting from the construction of a
public project are compensable if the construction interferes with the property owners actualintended use of the property]). The potential impacts on the tenants and visitors to the City
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National Plaza and Towers, Citigroup Center, Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites and the
California Club could be very substantial unless the impacts of the cut and cover construction aretruly mitigated. Use of the TCE for anything other than preserving vehicular and pedestrianaccess and for separating pedestrians on the sidewalks from the street work by K-rails and fences
along the specific areas of the property lines of the Affected Properties would potentially disrupt
the ability of tenants and visitors to use the stores, restaurants, offices, parking and parkinggarages in the Affected Properties in a normal fashion, as a result of impaired access, noise and
vibration from work that is contemplated immediately adjacent to those properties.
Any such disruption to the tenants will give rise to claims by those tenants that such
disruption has caused them to incur damages. Moreover, prospective new tenants will likely
consider several years of disruption and inconvenience to be a major impediment to entering into
leases at the Affected Properties. Downtown office space is currently extremely competitive andlessees have a wide range of choices. It is possible, even likely, that any disruptive work
adjacent to or on the Affected Properties will cause potential lessees to divert to other spaces inthe area or to leave the Downtown market instead of leasing at the Affected Properties.
The impairment of the Affected Property Owners existing leases and the loss of even
one or two new leases for any Affected Property Owner could reasonably cause tens of millions
of dollars in damages to that Affected Property Owner, all of which would be compensable as
severance damages by the taking of the TCEs, if such easements permit any obstruction orimpairment of access to the Affected Properties by tenants or visitors. Such severance damages
would add substantially to the cost of the Regional Connector Project, and unnecessarily so,
since use of the TBM method would obviate the need for TCEs altogether.
Of particular concern to the Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites and The California
Club are the significant disruption, noise and vibration impacts that the cut and cover method
will create, since those impacts will in turn create substantial adverse economic effects on theirbusinesses. The Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites, as its name implies, provides lodging to
sensitive receptors as its core business; The California Club also provides lodging as well as club
and restaurant facilities. The substantial business losses both Affected Property Owners will
suffer, and for which they will be entitled to be compensated, would be substantially reduced ifthe TBM method, rather than cut and cover method, were employed.
6. LACMTA Should Incorporate TBM Into The Final Blocks Of The Project,As Required By CEQA.
The fact that the Financial District, the area of the Project with the most impacts and
economic risk, is the only area of the main line of the Project not to be mitigated by the use of
the TBM is simply inexplicable from a policy and practical standpoint. The alleged excuses fornot utilizing TBM for the remaining three blocks in the Financial District are so devoid of factual
support that it appears LACMTA, perceiving itself to be short of funds and under purely political
pressures to invest its resources elsewhere, simply contrived some cobbled-together reasons why
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tunneling could not be used in the Financial District blatantly ignoring the economic exigencies
and the clear violations of CEQA involved.
Even if the cost of tunneling could be greater than cut and cover and on full analysis it
is not clear it would be CEQA does not allow LACMTA to cause the public and AffectedProperty Owners to bear the substantial consequences of its unwillingness to mitigate the
Project's impacts. (See, e.g., Citizens of Goleta Valley v. Bd. of Supervisors (1988) 197
Cal.App.3d 1167, 1181 ["The fact that an alternative may be more expensive or less profitable isnot sufficient to show that the alternative is financially infeasible. What is required is evidence
that the additional costs or lost profitability are sufficiently severe as to render it impractical to
proceed with the project."].) LACMTA still has the opportunity to avoid these substantial
impacts and the risk and delays of CEQA violations by incorporating TBM into the remaining
blocks of the Project. The Affected Property Owners are willing to work with LACMTA to findways to make TBM effective and affordable. What they are not willing to do and what CEQA
does not require them to do is to shoulder a huge economic burden of adverse project impactswhen there are feasible methods that can be incorporated in the Project to avoid these impacts.
We hope LACMTA, on further consideration, will reach the same conclusion. We look
forward to additional discussions toward this end.
[Signatures follow on next page]
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Sincerely,
GILCHRIST & RUTTERProfessional Corporation
Robert I. McMurry
Attorneys for Thomas Properties Group, Inc.
DLA PIPER LLP (US)
Ryan Leaderman
Attorneys for Hines
CHRISTOPHER SUTTON LAW OFFICES
Christopher SuttonAttorneys for The Westin Bonaventure Hotel
and Suites
HILL FARRER & BURRILL, L.L.P.
Kevin Brogan
Attorneys for The California Club
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cc:Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority Board of Directors
Antonio R. Villaraigosa, Mayor, City of Los Angeles
Michael D. Antonovich, Los Angeles County Supervisor, 5 th District
Diane DuBois, Vice Mayor, LakewoodJohn Fasana, City Council Member, Duarte
Jos Huizar, City Council Member, Los Angeles
Richard Katz, City of Los AngelesDon Knabe, Los Angeles County Supervisor, 4th District
Gloria Molina, Los Angeles County Supervisor, 1st District
Ara Najarian, Mayor, City of Glendale
Pam OConnor, City Council Member, Santa MonicaMark Ridley-Thomas, Los Angeles County Supervisor, 2nd District
Mel Wilson, City of Los Angeles
Zev Yaroslavsky, Los Angeles County Supervisor, 3rd
DistrictMichael Miles
Arthur T. Leahy, Chief Executive Officer, Metro
Martha Welborne, Executive Director, Countywide Planning, MetroJan C. Perry, City Council Member, Los Angeles