Archer Wins City Council Approval; Sunset Coalition Threatens Lawsuit

By JACQUELINE PRIMO | Reporter

The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to approve a $100 million improvement project at the Archer School for Girls in Brentwood on Tuesday, Aug. 3 despite ongoing objections from neighbors who say the project will increase already-congested traffic on Sunset Boulevard.

Dubbed “Archer Forward,” the project includes plans for a new performing and visual arts space, a gym, enhanced outdoor athletic areas and underground parking.

Councilmember Mike Bonin, who requested more than 30 compromises from Archer, said the concerns about traffic are unfounded.

“Thanks to groundbreaking mitigations and strict conditions, the project the Council approved on Tuesday will reduce traffic on Sunset,” Bonin said.

According to Bonin, the approved project will reduce traffic by requiring 76 percent of students to use vans or buses to get to and from school; requiring parent-driven carpools to have at least three students per car; limiting attendance at special events; and limiting peak-hours trips, including requiring many faculty to arrive and leave campus at off-peak hours.

Along with making efforts to reduce traffic on Sunset once the Archer School project is completed, Bonin said that a detailed construction traffic management plan will “address concerns related to construction traffic.”

Construction for the project, originally expected to take six years, will now be limited to no more than three years.

However, some residents remain unconvinced that the traffic (specifically during construction) will be as low-impact as promised.

“The Archer project will have major impacts on traffic and air quality that have not been adequately addressed or mitigated,” the Sunset Coalition said in a statement issued following the project’s approval by the City Council on Tuesday. “In the coming days we will be exploring all of our options. However, it appears that today’s Council action leaves us little choice but to file a lawsuit to require Archer to follow state environmental protection laws.”