Questions About 20th Century Fox Expansion Plan

Press stories of the final environmental impact report (EIR) for the 20th Century Fox expansion project (Times, Nov. 13) leave out much that would clarify the real impact of the project on West Los Angeles and Beverly Hills. The reason is that the report itself has clarified very little and has not attended sufficiently to the concerns of local citizens.

In a long-running, door-to-door battle, citizens have tried to get Los Angeles City--mainly in the person of Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky--and Fox to: a) Abide by the provisions of the law for oversight of building and zoning changes, and b) Modernize the property within the ample entitlements already in place. Neither of these seems to appeal to Fox and Yaroslavsky.

Fox continues to avoid specifying the details of their project. They have submitted no models, renderings or blueprints. One might wonder how they could possibly expect city agencies and citizens to accept pie-in-the-sky promises on such a crucial project. The answer seems to be in the city’s willingness to abdicate responsibility, forgo the normal review process, bend its own laws and defend Fox at every step against rational review.

In their final EIR, Fox officials admit they will have almost 1,000 more employees than originally stated. They claim this will have no impact on traffic. They will now demolish almost four times as much square footage as previously stated but imply this will not increase the destruction of historic structures. They provide no details of this project and expect approval. Why have they argued for (and Yaroslavsky agreed with) no crucial site-plan review? Why are they asking for what appears to be an unnecessary zoning change? Why is the city so ready to surrender to their wishes?

The partial answer is, by Fox’s own admission, we are in for massive traffic problems. Fifteen thousand car trips a day is not chopped liver. History has shown us that this will not be mitigated--and might even be made worse--by a hodgepodge of stop signs, signals, cul-de-sacs and street widenings.

We are at more threat of gridlock than of job or business income loss. Citizens are mostly asking for a reduction in deception, an increase in specificity and a government that will abide by its own laws designed to protect city life. If Fox and Yaroslavsky are not forthcoming, then citizens must be. Far-seeing groups and municipalities such as Beverly Hills have already recognized the risks of this project. The vast majority of homeowners in the area have seen it. I hope the city will too.

ALLAN RABINOWITZ

Los Angeles