Eagle Rock Council Fails to Support 710 Bill

In a somewhat surprising development, the , which met at the , failed to muster a vote in support of a campaign by South Pasadena Mayor Mike Ten to oppose the expansion of the widely loathed 710 freeway.

Ten, who made an eloquent and impassioned presentation at the board meeting, asked the ERNC to lobby the state legislature in support of state Assembly Bill 353, which was introduced by Assemblymember Gil Cedillo in April and which would allow cities in L.A. more control over the expansion of the 710, a long-stalled project that the ERNC staunchly opposes. More specifically, if the bill becomes law, the city of South Pasadena would regain the right to veto any freeway construction project within its jurisdiction.

In December, the  voted unanimously against a CALTRANS plan to expand the 710 freeway through a toll tunnel. Stretching some four miles from Mount Washington to Glassell Park, as the ERNC described it in its resolution, the tunnel would "decimate neighborhoods beyond recognition, dislocate many of our citizenry and disrupt life for those remaining for more than a decade."

While as many as four ERNC members abstained from voting in support of the bill, five voted in favor of it—one vote short of the simple majority needed to win. The abstaining members said they needed more information and time to decide on Ten’s plea, even though the mayor cautioned the board that time may be running out.

*Correction: The title originally read, "Eagle Rock Council Fails to Support Anti-710 Bill." The word "anti" has been removed. The bill would give South Pasadena the right to veto any freeway construction project within its jurisdiction.