The West Hollywood City Council approved major steps last week in a complex effort to persuade county leaders to include West Hollywood in plans to expand rail transit throughout the region.

The city council approved lobby and outreach efforts to build support for a Metro rail line extension in West Hollywood. (photo by Gregory Cornfield)

“This is probably one of the most important issues, not so much for us, but for the future of the city of West Hollywood,” Councilman John Duran said.

The ideal outcome the city staff hopes for is an extension of the Crenshaw Line – which would include access to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) – to come through West Hollywood and connect the city to the existing Red Line subway. Lisa Marie Belsanti, communications manager for West Hollywood, explained that the large millennial demographic and transit-oriented residents in West Hollywood differ from previous car-dependent generations, making a north-south connection especially appealing.

The first measure that the city council passed approves covering the cost of independent consultants to lobby Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority (Metro) board members to include West Hollywood in rail extension plans – a draft of which will be released in March. The lobbying efforts will also largely consist of building support in West Hollywood and neighboring communities. The work is divided into three phases aligned with Metro’s development schedule, including evaluations and reassessments benchmarked in March and June. Though staff originally recommended more money, the city council agreed to pay $200,000 to Dakota Communications and The Robert Group for the first phase, or at least until Metro’s draft plans are released in three months.

Joanna Hankamer, special projects senior planner for West Hollywood, said the first phase is to initiate two separate campaigns. It includes the launch of the West Hollywood Advocates for Metro, and stakeholder and regional outreach to other communities and districts that a transit extension would also serve, from Inglewood to the San Fernando Valley. Plans include media outreach, engagement programs, polling, business assessment, coalition building and a new website.

The second approved measure directs city staff to continue to investigate the possibility of giving voters the option to raise the city’s sales tax to help pay for the Crenshaw Line expansion, which could cost at least $4.5 billion. (Every 1 percent of sales tax correlates to consumers paying one cent for each dollar of taxable goods purchased.) The money generated could also go toward rail enhancements and affordable housing developments near the transit stop. According to West Hollywood staff, each .25 percent increase would generate approximately $4 million in revenue for the city in its first year. Over 30 years, it could equal an estimated $175 million.

Metro is also considering a similar countywide increase on the November ballot that would seek at least the two-thirds required voter approval to raise overall sales taxes from 9 to 9.5 percent.

With Los Angeles city and county leaders pushing for extensions that would not include West Hollywood, Duran stressed the importance of the aggressive preemptive measures. He pointed to 2008 when similar tax increases were on the ballot for transit expansions and West Hollywood’s voter approval rate was higher than any other city in the county. But in the end, West Hollywood was left out of the plans.

“Our voters overwhelmingly voted for a tax increase and we got nothing,” he said. “I don’t want (West Hollywood) voters to vote for a third time to see tax increases go to other communities.”

If that scenario were to happen again, West Hollywood’s tax increase would still be available to fund improvements to the city’s transit systems in other ways.

“It sends a message to the county that we don’t want to be forgotten again,” Duran continued. “It would be a bigger loss if we voted in favor of the county measure and once again, for whatever reason – grade, cost, politics, geography, La Brea Tar Pits – other decision makers say, ‘Sorry city of West Hollywood, we’re not going to get to you this time either, maybe in another 30 or 40 years.’ Both of these items are strategic ways to [do what’s best for residents] so West Hollywood isn’t treated like the stepchildren of Los Angeles County one more time.”

The city council directed staff to return with updates in February or March.