CenterLine Funds Stay in Budget

In the first discussion of CenterLine’s future since Irvine voters rejected it last week, Orange County transit officials decided Monday to keep money for the proposed 11.4-mile light-rail project in next year’s budget.

Board member Chris Norby requested during the Orange County Transportation Authority budget hearing that money slated for development of the $1.4-billion system be deleted before the budget was approved.

“I think the time to look at [CenterLine] is now,” said Norby, who sits on the OCTA board as a member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors. “We all know what the vote meant.... We can spin it any way we want.”

Norby, who has opposed the project, made the motion after several members of the public urged the board to continue working on a light-rail system for the county despite Irvine voters having rejected plans last week for CenterLine’s proposed route through their city.

Norby’s request, backed by fellow supervisor and OCTA board member Bill Campbell, sparked a discussion about the significance of last week’s vote in Irvine. For some members, the outcome of that special election has momentarily suspended their support of the line.

“This board doesn’t have the ability to put CenterLine [in]; it’s going to take community support,” said Supervisor Jim Silva, who is also a board member. “Until I see support from the community, I’m going to withhold support for or against CenterLine.”

Next year’s budget allots $9.6 million in federal and state money for development of light rail in Orange County. OCTA has set aside its July 14 meeting to review alternatives and reevaluate the controversial CenterLine project. The board also is expecting a preliminary engineering report in the fall.

The OCTA board voted 9 to 1 for the $787.4-million budget.

As part of the overall budget, the board also approved spending $182 million in local funding to widen a congested 5-mile stretch of the Garden Grove Freeway.

Facing a tight budget, the board expanded fixed-route bus service by only 1.2%, the smallest increase in eight years. The board shelved plans for Express Bus Service and the Bus Rapid Transit system because of looming cuts in state funding.

OCTA Chairman Tim Keenan said he sees the board’s decision to keep the light-rail money in place as a sign that “people are willing to step back and look at alternatives before they bury” CenterLine.

“The demise-of-CenterLine pronouncements are way too premature,” Keenan said, noting that Irvine voters also rejected a measure that precluded any light rail in their city. “It was an inconclusive vote at best.”