Council Committee Lifts Roadblock to MCA Project

A roadblock to MCA’s plans to build a 257,000-square-foot pedestrian-oriented commercial-restaurant complex at Universal City was quickly removed Tuesday by the planning committee of the Los Angeles City Council.

The Planning and Land Use Management Committee voted 3 to 0 to lift restrictions previously placed on the media giant’s $70-million “CityWalk” project.

The restrictions, which were imposed in July and included limits on the hours of use of a private road on the 420-acre property, had been called illegal by MCA attorney and lobbyist Burt Pines. They had been imposed when the project was granted a variance by the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals. The road provided access to a 550-space MCA parking lot.

“CityWalk” was dubbed the “ultimate Los Angeles boulevard” last spring by architect Jon Jerde, who has worked on its design. It calls for boutiques, cafes and bookstores to be built along a pedestrian mall connecting the amphitheater, restaurants, Tour Plaza and movie theaters at Universal City.

Most of the project, set to begin construction in January, is located outside city limits. However, 28,000 square feet are to be in the city, necessitating the city variance.

The county portion is already approved.

Several local homeowners opposed to the project had sought the restrictions on the road to the parking lot and the lot itself, and had urged the city to require a full environmental review of the project.

But Pines, Los Angeles’ former city attorney, said that the protesting homeowners are a small group and that residents supporting the project are in the majority.

Pines also said the city had no jurisdiction to regulate the operations of the road or the lot itself.