Metro votes to approve gondola project

Despite protest, board moves proposed lift to Dodger Stadium on to City Council for vote.

- BILL SHAIKIN

BILL SHAIKIN Los Angeles Times SUPPORTERS and protesters of the gondola project at the Metro meeting.

Hundreds of community members packed a meeting room Thursday to tell the Metro board of directors whether they favored or opposed Frank McCourt’s proposed gondola to Dodger Stadium.

The board already signaled its intent to approve the project without any discussion among the directors, but then the board chairman announced it would not listen to any community members before voting.

That touched off an extraordinary rebellion. In an act of defiance seldom seen within the staid and often formulaic halls of bureaucracy, the public shut down the meeting.

As the meeting opened, board chairman Fernando Dutra explained that the public would get its say after the vote.

He promptly was drowned out with chants of “Let us speak!” from anti-gondola forces and responses of “You already spoke!” from pro-gondola forces, since this meeting was Metro’s fourth on the gondola, and its second specifically related to the adoption of a revised environmental impact report.

Dutra attempted to calm the crowd by saying, “Public comments are allowed at the end of the meeting.” That instead inflamed the public, and the chants only grew louder and more repetitive, and Dutra threatened to have Metro officers clear the room.

The directors opted to retreat to a private room for 75 minutes, dealing with other business and then deciding what to do about the persistent public.