Meeting_Body
REGULAR BOARD MEETING
FEBRUARY 22, 2024
Preamble
Motion by:
DIRECTORS SOLIS, BASS, DUPONT- WALKER, HORVATH, and SANDOVAL
Motion Related to Item 12: Empowering Community Through an Inclusive Community Benefits Agreement
In April 2018, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) received an Unsolicited Proposal from Aerial Rapid Transit Technologies LLC (ARTT), a private entity, to fund/finance, design, construct, operate, and maintain the Los Angeles Aerial Rapid Transit (LAART or Project), a gondola connecting Union Station and the Dodger Stadium. The following year, Metro and LAART executed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for Metro to be the Lead Agency under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and for LAART to reimburse Metro for all related expenses (Attachment A). ARTT later transferred the Project to Zero Emissions Transit (ZET), a subsidiary of the climate advocacy non-profit Climate Resolve. As the authority over all public mass transit guideway systems in Los Angeles County, Metro is principally responsible for determining whether to approve the LAART project or not (Cal. Code Regs. tit. 14, ? 15367; Cal. Pub, Util. Code ? 130252).
Metro released the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for the Project in December. This came after the release of the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for a 90-day public comment period from October 2022 to January 2023, and numerous virtual and in-person community meetings featuring multilingual translation and materials. Now, the Metro Board is being asked to consider approving the Project and certifying the FEIR. While the Project will still require approval and permits from the City of Los Angeles, California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and California Department of Parks and Recreation (State Parks) and will return to the Metro Board to approve a lease of property at Union Station, this action, the first time the Metro Board has weighed in, represents a major ...
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