Metro’s Board of Directors has delayed a vote that could have kicked off the initial environmental review of a major, dedicated bus line designed to transport riders across the north end of the San Fernando Valley — much like the Orange Line does now across the middle of the region.

The item was pulled from Thursday’s agenda after Metro board chairwoman Sheila Kuehl asked that the project, dubbed the North San Fernando Valley BRT (BRT stands for Bus Rapid Transit), be withdrawn to allow the full board, which includes other representatives from the San Fernando Valley, to be in attendance, said Metro spokesman Dave Sotero. Because of scheduled absences and because the board goes “dark” in August, that next meeting on the matter won’t happen until September.As county supervisor, Kuehl represents much of the area where the bus line is proposed.

Metro has narrowed the project to three alternatives that would take riders from Chatsworth to North Hollywood, by way of Woodley Avenue, Haskell Avenue or Sepulveda Boulevard, subject to the environmental review. All of the options would be aligned with Nordhoff Street.

Maybe not a giant victory, but at least board members now have community opposition to the project on their radar, said neighborhood leader Jay Beeber, who showed up to a Metro committee meeting last week in which several people heavily critiqued the plan.

“We got their attention,” Beeber said Tuesday, referring to the announcement of the delay.

Metro has narrowed the project to three alternatives that would take riders from Chatsworth to North Hollywood, by way of Woodley Avenue, Haskell Avenue or Sepulveda Boulevard, subject to the environmental review.

Since July 2018, Metro has held five community meetings in addition to 18 meetings with elected officials and other community, business and neighborhood groups to get feedback on how to best serve the communities in the project’s corridor, Sotero said.

The Nordhoff alignment suggested by Metro staff was chosen due to higher ridership projections, Sotero said.

It also avoids peak-hour congestion from freeway on/off ramps and railroad crossings, provides multiple regional rail and BRT transfer opportunities, and serves multiple employment and key activity centers within the study area, he added.

Ridership for that alignment is projected to be between 27,461 and 28,652 boardings per day, according to Metro.

Metro’s board will consider whether to proceed as-is with the draft environmental impact review or make any changes in September.

All of the optional routes serve key destinations and were found to be “preferred alternatives”because of their mobility, construction, environmental, economic development, costeffectiveness, and public acceptance,” according to Metro.

But the final route and design of the project has not been decided, and Sotero stressed that the public will have more chances to weigh in. And once a final design is found and approved, a final environmental review process will be triggered.

Beeber said that weighing-in process could have been stronger from the beginning, in which several more options were on the table, including one that utilized Roscoe Boulevard.

“The community feels this bus line is going to make a significant negative impact on the community,” Beeber said, noting concerns it could take a way a car lane on Nordhoff and worries that it would push traffic into local neighborhoods.

He also noted concern about future development, a sore spot in many Valley neighborhoods where owners of single-family homes are upset about proposals in Sacramento to develop more multi-family units near public transit routes to ease the affordable housing crisis.