Environmental Study Expected to Boost Arts Park : Culture: Opponents concede that 49-acre Sepulveda Basin complex will be built in some form.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will soon release its environmental study on a proposed Sepulveda Basin arts complex, nudging the controversial project closer to approval.

Arts Park L.A. would stretch across 49 acres near the intersection of Balboa and Victory boulevards.

The complex would be built and operated by a private group, the Cultural Foundation, and would include a large theater, a museum and various workshops.

Although the environmental impact report--which the corps plans to release next month--is not tantamount to approval, it marks an important step.

Earlier versions of the project raised both public outcry and concern within the corps, which owns the flood-control basin.

So the Cultural Foundation eliminated, among other things, an outdoor amphitheater and agreed to relocate its theater west of Balboa Boulevard, across the street from the rest of the complex.

Now, a corps official said, a trimmer Arts Park represents a reasonable proposal, although she declined to reveal specifics about the report.

“It’s a much better plan than before because it reduces the space needed and it addresses more impacts,” said Robert Joe, chief of the corps’ planning division.

And, some opponents concede, projects that reach this stage in the governmental process are often approved in some form.

“We’ve lost a skirmish,” said Gerald A. Silver, president of the Homeowners of Encino. “It’s discouraging to see a final draft (report) for a project that should never be built.”

Arts Park will next go before city officials, who lease the basin for recreational uses. The city’s Recreation and Parks Department will schedule a public hearing once it receives the environmental report.

Silver and other opponents had hoped to knock out Arts Park at several public meetings during the federal environmental study.

They have long argued that the basin should remain open space.

And now, they say, the theater has been relocated to an area that is used by migratory waterfowl.

“This revision only spreads the impact,” said Peter Ireland, president of the Coalition to Save the Basin. “That’s grossly unacceptable.”

While opponents vow to continue their fight, they see less opportunity for success with city officials.

“I don’t think we’ve ever met with a very sympathetic ear at those hearings,” said Jill Swift, a Sierra Club spokeswoman, referring to previous appearances before the city Recreation and Parks Department.

Meanwhile, Cultural Foundation officials expressed relief at having survived the environmental study process.

They said they weren’t discouraged by the concessions they made, which shrunk Arts Park by 11 acres.

“We have a project we can go ahead with,” said Ross Hopkins, the foundation’s executive director.

And the revisions may have won over Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills), whose support has been regarded as crucial.

The congressman had wanted the theater to be relocated west of Balboa.

If the Recreation and Parks Department does approve the project, it will go before City Council.

Then, the Corps of Engineers will need to make a final decision.

Even at that point, opponents could appeal to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or turn to the courts.

“The corps is subjecting themselves to a serious potential legal challenge,” Ireland said. “This is not developer’s land. This is public land that is being used by migratory waterfowl. We intend to see that it remains that way.”