Metro NoHo-Pasadena Corridor Bus Rapid Transit Project

June 2026 - SCAG Draft Maps Released

On June 1, 2026, SCAG released its SB 79 maps for Los Angeles County including the City of Burbank. It also released an SB 79 methodology document.

SCAG Maps (Link)
SCAG Methodology (PDF)
 

May 2026 - LA Metro Lawsuit

In May 2026 LA Metro filed a lawsuit against the City of Burbank. You can read the Petition below:

LA Metro Lawsuit Against the City of Burbank (PDF)

May 2026 – City Council BRT and Senate Bill 79 Update

On May 20, 2026 the City Council received an update on the BRT project and Senate Bill 79, particularly focusing on the BRT Project’s potential for designating higher residential densities around transit stops pursuant to Senate Bill (SB) 79. The presentation covered
Metro’s current BRT Project timing, confirmation of the BRT Project’s potential SB 79 stop designations at five of six Burbank stations, and City proposals made to Metro to ensure SB 79 densities do not impact the City’s infrastructure without proper environmental analysis.  The staff report also discussed the City’s inability to issue construction permits for the project due to potential new environmental impacts caused by SB 79 and for the failure of Metro to address the City’s concern over the configuration of Olive Avenue between Buena Vista and Lake.  It also indicated that the City has offered a compromise to Metro that would address both of these concerns.

City Council BRT and Senate Bill 79 Update – May 20, 2026 City Council Staff report (PDF)
 

March 2026 - SCAG Correspondence

SB 79 tasks the Southern California Association of Governments with drawing maps around eligible TOD stops to identify where SB 79 densities apply. SCAG has indicated that it intends to present final maps for approval by the SCAG Regional Council in June 2026. Staff believes that SCAG’s approval of SB 79 maps that impart new residential densities with the potential for environmental impacts is an action subject to CEQA, and communicated this position via letter sent March 3, 2026. The City’s proposal to Metro could substantially lessen the land use impacts caused by SB 79’s application to the BRT.

City of Burbank Letter to SCAG (PDF)

 

January - March 2026 - Metro Correspondence and Dispute Resolution

SB 79’s development potential around BRT TOD stops is a substantial change to the environmental circumstances under which the Project is being undertaken. This new development potential was not evaluated by Metro in its EIR for the Project. The City is responsible for considering whether further BRT approvals with unstudied land use impacts in City rights of way need additional environmental review.

On January 30, 2026, the City communicated to Metro that, as a Responsible Agency under CEQA, it could not issue permits for the BRT unless subsequent environmental review was conducted. On February 17, 2026, the City reiterated this when submitting its BRT project plan comments. Metro responded to both communications indicating they would not conduct additional environmental review. 

The City’s recent concern about BRT stations triggering SB 79 has compounded its longstanding, preexisting concern about Metro’s preferred configuration of dedicated bus lanes on Olive Avenue between Buena Vista and Lake.   To attempt to resolve both the SB 79 concern and the Olive Avenue configuration conflict, the City requested a dispute resolution meeting with Metro, which was held on April 2, 2026. On April 22, 2026 the City proposed terms to Metro to resolve conflicts and allow the Project to move forward.

Letter to Metro Requesting Environmental Review (PDF)
Letter to Metro Regarding BRT Plans (PDF)
Metro Response to Request for Environmental Review (PDF)
Metro Response to Letter Regarding BRT Plans (PDF)
City Request for Dispute Resolution (PDF)
City Offer to Metro Regarding Dispute Resolution (PDF)

January 2026 – Senate Bill 79 and Relevance to BRT Project

SB 79 was signed by the Governor on October 10, 2025 and takes effect July 1, 2026. The new law is intended to facilitate transit-oriented housing development by establishing new development standards near qualifying transit facilities such as the proposed stations along the BRT Project. As a result, SB 79 densities along the BRT, particularly along Olive Avenue, would present significant challenges related to development intensity, utilities, infrastructure, capacity and environmental review, and may introduce additional complexity to ongoing local planning efforts. Newly imposed impacts will result in significant environmental concerns that need to be analyzed and considered under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

On January 27, 2026 the Council received a report on SB 79 with some of the above information as well as staff recommendations for pursuit of SB 79 policy clarifications and a legislative clean-up

Senate Bill 79 and Relevance to BRT Project – January 27, 2026 City Council Staff Report (PDF)

April 2025 – Change in Project Configuration in Downtown Burbank

As part of the project design process, Metro and City Staff discovered that the planned station in Downtown Burbank on Olive Avenue at San Fernando would be highly constrained within the current sidewalk when considering the sidewalk width, lack of building setbacks, and presence of street trees at the stop location. A station fit within these existing constraints would compromise the ability for the future station to serve both existing transit riders and future BRT riders. 

Due to this station’s importance in providing transit amenities, City staff worked with Metro staff to reconfigure one and a half blocks of bus lane on Olive Avenue (between First Street and just east of San Fernando) to maintain mixed-flow at the San Fernando/Olive intersection to allow Metro to construct a full, standard BRT station at the San Fernando/Olive stop including all possible transit amenities. This reconfiguration allowed Metro to construct a large curb extension to accommodate the station, maintain four travel lanes on Olive Avenue, and shorten the pedestrian crossing distance at the intersection. On April 22, 2025, the City Council approved this reconfiguration of the project and directed staff to work with Metro to update the project plans.

Downtown BRT Reconfiguration - April 22, 2025 City Council Staff Report (PDF)
 

March 2024 - City and Metro Approve Cooperative Agreement

In March 2024, the City and Metro approved a Cooperative Agreement for the BRT project to define how the two agencies will work together to design and construct the project.  The main purpose of this agreement is to define roles and responsibilities during design and construction, clarify the parameters of the design of the project, identify procedures for reviewing and approving design plans, establishing the various City design standards and guidelines that the project will be subject to, setting up a dispute resolution process, and identifying how private and City utility conflicts will be resolved.  The agreement also allows for the City to seek reimbursement for costs related to the design and construction of the project, or to contribute funds to make betterment improvements to City facilities as part of the project. The agreement identifies portions of the project that will be maintained by Metro once the project is complete, to ensure that operations and maintenance of the project does not fall to the City. 

Because the City and Metro continue to disagree on the project configuration on Olive between Buena Vista and Lake, as part of the approval, the City Council directed staff not to include the project description in the Cooperative Agreement, but to continue to direct Metro to implement the project in accordance with the City Council’s direction for mixed-flow along Olive Avenue. In addition, because a direct connection between the BRT and the Downtown Metrolink Station is not included in Metro’s project, the City Council directed staff to prepare a Capital Improvement Project as part of the City’s Fiscal Year 2024-2025 budget which would allow the City to begin high-level planning and conceptual design of a possible modification to the Olive Avenue Bridge to include BRT station, and to explore outside funding opportunities to fund this improvement.

Cooperative Agreement and City Council Staff Report - March 2024 (PDF)
 

April 2022 - Final Environmental Impact Report and Metro Board Approval

Metro prepared a Final Environmental Impact Report in 2022 after conducting additional analysis, modifying parts of the project, and holding additional public outreach.  In response to the Final EIR, on April 12, 2022, the City Council approved a second comment letter that was provided to Metro.  This comment letter raised two significant project concerns that remained:

1. Metro should implement the project as mixed-flow on Olive Avenue between Buena Vista Street and Lake Street until project ridership reached a level that can justify converting a travel lane to bus lane.
2. Metro should develop a program to construct an Olive Bridge BRT station that would connect directly to the Downtown Burbank Metrolink Station.

City of Burbank Letter on Final Environmental Impact Report - April 2022 (PDF)

On April 28, 2022, the Metro Board of Directors approved the project and the Final EIR but did not address these two important issues.  The project approved by Metro included side-running dedicated bus lanes on Olive Avenue between Buena Vista and Lake, and did not include any direct station connection between the BRT and the Downtown Burbank Metrolink Station

October 2021 - Additional Public Outreach and New Project Alignment Options Presented

In May 2021, the Metro Board approved the project alignment but directed its staff to continue working with the City of Burbank to address its concerns with the project. As part of the City of Burbank’s comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Report, the Burbank City Council requested two changes to the project operating in Burbank: 
 
1)  convert the bus-only lane on Olive Avenue to mixed-flow (buses operate with regular cars) to preserve parking and prevent street widening, and;
2) reconfigure the Olive Avenue overpass to construct a BRT station directly above the Metrolink Station to provide a seamless connection to the trains below
 
In response to the City's request, in October 2021 Metro presented an additional project alternative to provide bus lanes on Olive Avenue.  The two options Metro is now considering include:
 
Option 1:  Curb Running Bus Lane with Street Parking Removed
Reconfigure Olive to provide 2 vehicle lanes each direction, center turn lane, and one bus lane each direction. Street parking removal and 1-2 feet of widening each side would be required

Option 2: Side Running Bus Lane with Travel Lane Removed
Reconfigure Olive to provide 1 vehicle lane each direction, center turn lane, and one bus lane each direction.  Street parking on Olive would remain, and no widening would be required.
 
Next Steps
The next step in the project is for Metro to prepare a Final Environmental Impact Report, which is a document required by the California Environmental Quality Act.  The purpose of the FEIR is for Metro to formally respond to all the comments received during the Draft Environmental Impact Report public comment period, which occurred in late 2020.  Once this document is released, the public is provided with a 10-day public comment period to provide additional comments on the project.  After the FEIR public comment period, the Metro Board of Directors will be asked to approve the FEIR and approve the project to move forward to design and construction.

Metro expects to return to the Board of Directors in late 2021 or early 2022 to seek approval of the Final Environmental Impact Report and to make a final approval on the project alignment during a public meeting where the public can provide comments.  Metro indicates this will likely occur in late January 2022 during the regular Metro Board of Directors meeting. In addition, the Burbank City Council will be asked to approve a FEIR comment letter and to take a formal position on the project in January 2021.

Should the project be approved, construction would begin in 2023 and the project would open in 2024.
 

Draft Environmental Impact Report and Metro Board Approval

Metro completed a Draft Environmental Impact Report for the project in late 2020, and is now responding to all the comments received during the public comment period.  In addition, in Spring 2021 the Metro Board of Directors voted to approve the project's alignment and proceed with preparation of a Final Environmental Impact Report, while directing staff to work with the City of Burbank and the other corridor cities to address comments received.  Metro continues to receive comments about the project, and Metro's project contact information is listed below:

Email: [email protected]
Phone: (213) 418-3228
Mail:
Metro
One Gateway Plaza
Mail Stop 99-2-6
Los Angeles, CA 90012