February 22, 2018
Councilmember Monica Rodriguez
Sunland-Tujunga District Office
7747 Foothill Blvd
Tujunga, CA 91042
Dear Councilperson Rodriguez,
During your campaign and since your inauguration in July 2017, leaders of the SAFE Coalition, which has long represented diverse communities throughout the northeast San Fernando Valley on the high speed train issue, have requested to work and meet with you to remove the ongoing threat to our neighborhoods posed by the proposed route alternatives E1 and E2. In your campaign, you signed a Pledge to do everything in your power to rid our communities of this threat and now, nearly a year later, you have not lived up to your promise, nothing has changed, and the threat remains.
You and your staff have refused 100+ requests to meet with leaders of the SAFE Coalition and you are working in a vacuum. I don’t think you can properly represent our communities if you don’t talk and work with its leaders, most of whom are also elected to represent us on homeowner/community associations and Neighborhood Councils. The SAFE Coalition has requested many times that you help amend and/or pass the City Council Motion related to high speed trains (File 16-1068) in the Transportation Committee and the full City Council. Eight months into your term and this matter has not been completed nor discussed with the SAFE Coalition. As a result, the City of LA is still not on the record supporting our communities against this threat, while more than a dozen cities and counties in the State of California do have the support of their mayors, council members and countySupervisors.
SAFE has led the fight to protect our neighborhoods and is trusted by residents and public officials alike. If you do not meet with and work with the Coalition, I have serious concerns about you representing or speaking on behalf of our communities on this issue with the high speed train Authority, as well as developing policy or Council actions related to the issue. You simply cannot go it alone, without knowledgeable community input and without transparency.
As an example, the Metrolink Alternative, which you have belatedly supported, has been rejected in the past by CHSRA. It was proposed more than a year ago by both SAFE and Mayor Garcetti, and is a long-shot due to lack of conformity with Prop 1A. At a minimum, you should demand an answer from CHSRA on the Alternative in the next 30 days so there is no further delay. Then, rather than focusing on alternatives, I request you and your staff focus on removing routes E1 and E2 as your top priority within the Authority’s 2018 Business Plan.
Please do the right thing and work with the SAFE Coalition so we can preserve our treasured northeast San Fernando Valley neighborhoods for current and future generations. By ignoring the Coalition, you are lacking valuable information vital in the fight against this badly planned and PUBLICLY FUNDEDproject.
Sincerely,
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