710 Bill's Sudden Twist Lurch for Opponents

Editor's Note: The Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council failed narrowly on June 7 to muster a majority to support a campaign against the 710's expansion into South Pasadena. Abstaining ERNC members said they needed more information than South Pasadena's mayor had provided to them at their monthly board meeting to decide which way to vote.

On Thursday evening, South Pasadena Mayor Mike Ten was in Highland Park, urging the neighborhood council to support Assembly Bill 353, under the presumption it would give his city the right to veto the construction of the State Route 710 Freeway Extension.

However, after a major overhaul of the bill by its sponsor, Assemblyman Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles), it appears that Ten’s promotional efforts were in vain.

Originally designed to repeal existing exemptions allowing the Department of Transportation to construct freeways within municipalities without an agreement with the city council, AB 353 now pertains to vehicle checkpoints.

The new bill, among other provisions, would allow motorists who have their vehicles impounded following an arrest for driving without a valid license to retrieve their vehicle immediately upon producing a valid license. Currently law requires a 30-day waiting period.

The revised language is a far cry from the original bill, which supporters felt would give the City of South Pasadena the power to kill the SR710 Freeway extension once and for all.

Through the current law, the DOT can only build a freeway without a direct agreement with a presiding city council under a few conditions. First, an impasse must have existed for at least 10 years after the freeway route was initially approved. Second, DOT must receive a valid Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and establish community outreach programs. 

"This bill would repeal these provisions establishing an exception for a freeway segment to be constructed without an agreement within the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority," according to Around the Capitol. 

Even before the revisions were made, it appeared unlikely that the Highland Park Neighborhood Council was willing to write a letter in support of the bill to the State Senate, as Ten had requested of them on Thursday evening.

Ten’s request for a letter of support was referred to the HHPNC’s land use committee.

Janet Dodson, a member of the , said that the language of the bill explicitly states that a city must have an existing 10-year impasse regarding the construction of a freeway to retain their veto power.  While South Pasadena has been fighting the freeway for more than 60 years, the city of Los Angeles has no such official impasse.

“This is not something we have lost,” Dodson said. “Los Angeles is not an exception and has the capacity to negotiate about any freeway, any time.”