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CHEVIOT
HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION OPPOSES LIGHT RAIL ON EXPO
Approximately 85 Cheviot homeowners attended our January 3rd monthly Homeowners
Association board meeting, at which your Board voted - with no vote in
dissent - to take a formal position favoring light rail on Venice and STRONGLY OPPOSING light rail on the Expo right
of way, and to immediately hire a consultant
to make and develop the strongest possible case on our behalf.
The light rail issue resulted in the largest turnout we have ever had for
a monthly board meeting. We thank you all for
your interest, patience with the process, and participation. Over
30 of you spoke and voiced your opinions. We heard excellent comments
with respect to: the level of sound we can expect from a light rail on
Expo; the frequency of trains to be run on the lines; the near-term
impacts of construction of rail adjacent to Overland Elementary (and how
this construction would likely "play" with realtors and
potential homebuyers); the need to make our case based on facts and
rational arguments, rather than emotion alone; the need to be PROACTIVE and present decisionmakers with
compelling arguments in favor of rail on Venice rather than Expo (such as
the common-sense argument that the City should build the rail where the
riders are, and adjacent to those communities that actually NEED it); the
fact that those older neighbors who no longer drive would likely NOT be
able to benefit from rail on Expo because the nearest station would be
too distant for them to walk; and the need to unconditionally OPPOSE rail
on Expo rather than giving into the notion that rail on Expo is a
"done deal."
Like many of you who attended our January 3 meeting, I live on Northvale.
(Two of our Board members live on Northvale, and two others live a block
away.) I received fliers in the past two months suggesting that the Board
actually favored rail on Expo. I knew this was not true, but I can
understand the concerns, and the frustration that some of you may have
felt during these past six months while the Board resisted taking a
formal position. We do this by design. We are a deliberative, democratic
body. On significant issues such as this, we make every effort to provide
repeated opportunities for our neighbors to express their points of view.
Our Light Rail Committee Chair, Kurt Kroner, had advised the Board that
we had time to solicit (and re-solicit) public opinion without
prejudicing our position. Meanwhile, Mr. Kroner, who happens to serve as
an environmental consultant on construction projects like this for a
living, had helped position Cheviot for our fight by (a) developing 27 potential impact issues to raise
during upcoming public meetings; (b) meeting with representatives of each
of the relevant elected officials; and (c) establishing lines of
communication so that we know what's going on and can respond early.
Once the Light Rail Committee advised the Board it was time to take a
formal position, we did so.
I would like to personally thank you all for patiently bearing with us
while we waited and listened to our members. But now the time for
talking, debating and deliberating is over; the fight is on. Based on our
neighborhood-wide survey of this issue, informal polling at each of our
Light Rail Committee meetings and our November 15, 2006 General Meeting,
and a vote of those attending Wednesday's meeting, the response of our
membership has been overwhelmingly in favor of light rail along Venice
and strongly opposed to light rail on the Expo right of way.
Kurt Kroner has set up a meeting with Supervisor Yvonne Burke to advise
her of Cheviot's position. We have begun forming a coalition of
neighboring homeowners associations to fight this battle together.
Already, Tract 7260 has signed on, and its Board has taken a formal
position supporting Cheviot and opposing light rail on Expo. We have also
begun the process of interviewing consultants. We understand that there are
those in the community who have professional experience with EIR
processes and relationships with transportation consultants. We ask that
you please contact us. An easy way is to send
an email to me at president@cheviothills.org and/or to
Kurt Kroner at Expo@cheviothills.org) with any referral for a
top-notch consultant.
We cannot win this fight without your help. Please continue to support
us, please try to attend public meetings and hearings to show your
concern, and please visit our website CheviotHills.org for updates and meeting
notices, offer to help Kurt and the Light Rail Committee as we make our
case, and feel free to email us with your thoughts and comments.
Kevin Hughes
President
Cheviot Hills Homeowners Association
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