LOCAL : Valley Residents to Vote in June on Preferred Type of Rail Line

San Fernando Valley voters will be asked in June what kind of rail line, if any, they want built through the area, Los Angeles County supervisors decided today.

The June 5 referendum, which will be advisory only, will ask voters to choose one of four alternatives: an elevated monorail along the Ventura Freeway from Universal City to Canoga Park, an underground extension to the Sepulveda Basin of the downtown-to-North Hollywood Metro Rail subway, a light-rail line in a shallow trench from North Hollywood to Canoga Park or no rail line at all.

The board voted 4 to 1, with Supervisor Ed Edelman, who represents part of the east Valley, dissenting. Edelman warned that delaying a decision until June could leave the Valley without any rail line.

The Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, which is building a countywide network of rail lines, is scheduled to make a decision as early as next month on the next line to build. Two other areas of the county are in competition with the Valley for the next line.