Sony Expansion Plan Generates Public Debate : Development: Some residents urge quick approval, others question the thoroughness of the impact report.

What is the environmental price to be paid for gaining more than 4,000 jobs and millions of dollars in new revenue for Culver City?

That, essentially, was the question Monday as more than 100 residents gathered to express their views on the environmental impact report for Sony Pictures’ ambitious expansion plan for its 44.8-acre studio property on Washington Boulevard.

Helicopter flights and traffic topped the list of public concerns during the three-hour City Council hearing. More than 40 residents spoke about some aspect of the environmental report, and 30 others commented via letter.

Most speakers supported the project in principle but expressed reservations about some portion of the project. In anticipation of a large crowd, the meeting was moved from the council chambers in the temporary city hall to the Linwood E. Howe Elementary School auditorium.

Sony’s 13-year development plan calls for turning the studio site--previously the home of MGM and then Columbia Pictures--into the international headquarters for Sony Pictures Entertainment, parent company of TriStar and Columbia.

If approved, the project is scheduled to be completed in 11 phases by 2005. The expanded movie studios and office facility would consolidate the company’s headquarters in one location and employ an estimated 5,804 people, more than triple the 1,761 employed there now.

Construction plans call for nine buildings more than four stories high, a shopping arcade and a helipad to shuttle company executives to Los Angeles International Airport. The completed project would contain 2.6-million square feet of building area, up from 1.5 million now.

The purpose of Monday’s meeting was to hear public testimony on whether the draft environmental impact study is complete and adequate. The city Planning Commission has already approved the report, but the City Council must also do so.

Mayor James D. Boulgarides said that in light of the magnitude of the project, the City Council would not be rushed.

“We will not make a decision until all questions are answered,” he said.

The council is expected to meet Sept. 14 to hear staff responses to questions raised by the public about the report during this week’s hearing.

The report, which is required by law, is used by governmental agencies to evaluate the positive and negative impacts of a project.

To certify an environmental study, the City Council must agree that the study adequately describes the project, states the impacts and describe the measures that can be taken to mitigate the impacts. It must also state which environmental effects cannot be adequately mitigated and list alternatives to the project, said Mark Winogrond, the city’s community development director.

The city Planning Commission unanimously approved the environmental study on July 29 after a two-hour public hearing and a 55-day public review period. If the council certifies the report this month, the Planning Commission could begin hearings on the project itself in October.

Numerous speakers urged the council to move ahead in certifying the report as soon as possible.

Resident Judy Patik, noting that the city proclaims itself to have been the “Heart of Screenland” for 75 years, urged the council to expedite its approval because “Sony’s success will be ours as well.”

Stuart Brody, a resident for 33 years, said he believes the environmental report gives the city the information it needs to decide which elements of the project it wants.

After the document is approved, he said, “We can decide which of those benefits and burdens we wish to have.”

Chamber of Commerce Chairman Bill Silvestre urged prompt approval, citing the recent experience of Long Beach, which recently lost out to Anaheim as the site of a major expansion of Disneyland. Part of the reason, he said, was that the Long Beach City Council dragged its feet on the project.

Silvestre urged the Culver City Council not to make the same mistake.

“Sony is the kind of company every city would do back flips to get,” he said.

Other residents expressed reservations about the thoroughness of the environmental impact report.

Wade Clark said the report does not state how many helicopter trips from LAX to the studios it would take to have a negative impact on the surrounding area during the helipad hours of operation, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Carol Gross said she was concerned about the adequacy of the air pollution mitigation measures described in the report.

“We’ll have a rich city with a beautiful studio, but students who cannot play outdoors because of the quality of the air” from traffic, Gross said.

The report concluded that 38 intersections would be significantly impacted by the project but that the adverse effects on traffic could be reduced to acceptable levels if all the recommended mitigation measures were taken.

Glenna Citron urged the city to refuse to feel hurried about approving the impact report. Noting that the number of daily construction trips had been revised from 20 truck trips to 110 truck trips during some phases, Citron said, “Great care must be taken in accepting the report’s projections, she said. “We need to feel more comfortable” with the numbers.