Sony Project Rises Above Copter Issue : Studios: Planning Commission approves expansion of mammoth facility after filmmaker eschews helipad plan, considered a major concession.

In response to community pressure, Sony Pictures Entertainment last week withdrew its bid to include helicopter transportation in its Culver City studio expansion plan, setting the stage for faster approval of the mammoth project.

With helicopters out of the picture, comments delivered at a public hearing of the Culver City Planning Commission Wednesday night were briefer. Commissioners thus had time to resolve other concerns and reached a decision after midnight to approve the project.

The project is tentatively scheduled to go before the City Council for final approval on June 28, although staff workers are trying to reschedule earlier, at Sony’s request, possibly for June 21.

Sony Pictures Entertainment Senior Vice President Ken Williams elicited applause from the audience of about 200 when he announced early in the hearing that the studio would no longer seek a helipad or permission for helicopters to take off and land.

It was clearly a painful concession for Sony, but Barbara Cline, Sony Pictures senior vice president, said in an interview that it had become apparent that the helicopter controversy could stall the entire project.

The omission will weaken the package of perks Sony can offer to attract the top talent that studios compete bitterly for, Cline said. Clint Eastwood, who is working on the lot on the summer-release film “Line of Fire,” is an example of someone on whom helicopters can have an effect, she said.

“When he does a picture, he doesn’t necessarily maintain a local residence,” Cline said. “Meanwhile, Warner’s sitting there saying, ‘Clint, you can spend all your time in Carmel and we can helicopter you back and forth,’ and we’re not going to be able to say that.”

Sony Pictures, parent company of Columbia and Tristar, is trying to relocate all of its media operations, now scattered in 23 locations, into the 44-acre studio lot in Culver City and the adjacent former Filmcorp Building, now called Sony Pictures Plaza.

The 15-year renovation and construction plan, which would cost more than $500 million to complete, would increase building space at the studio lot on Washington Boulevard to 2.6 million square feet, from 1.5 million. The work force would triple to 5,804.

An environmental impact report for the project was approved in October. City staff and Sony spent seven months working out a sweeping set of conditions for project approval, resulting in a 90-page document that spells out traffic mitigation measures, construction restrictions, and a host of other issues raised by staff and residents. Among other things, the conditions scaled back proposed retail space, reducing traffic by one-third.

By the time of the planning commission hearing, Sony and staff disagreed on only a few points, foremost of which was the helicopter issue. Other disagreements concerned 150,000 square feet of office space, the timing of traffic improvements and building setbacks.

Commissioners, with the exception of chairman David Glasser, all voted in favor of Sony on these three points. Glasser voted in favor of earlier implementation of traffic mitigation measures and stricter setbacks.

Public sentiment toward Sony was strikingly warmer than during past public hearings, possibly because of agressive community outreach efforts by Sony. Speakers cited economic benefits of the Sony project, expected to generate $1.5 million annually in business taxes. They praised aesthetic improvements to walls surrounding the studio and restoration of the historic Thalburg Building.

“It’s time for the bean counters to get out of the way and for this project to go forward,” said resident Richard Shorubaum.

But some speakers were still critical of the project. Several residents demanded that Sony conform to a building height limit set by a voter initiative in 1990.

Resident Gary Silbiger accused the city of trying to “overrule the will of the people” and suggested a clarifying ballot measure to settle the issue.

Commission members, citing the advice of the city attorney, decided to allow four 113-foot-tall buildings, significantly higher than the 56-foot limit specified in the law.

Other speakers brought up concerns about traffic impacts and Sony’s yet-undefined plan to add a crosswalk on Madison Avenue.

Others asked to be spared any Hollywood glitz. “We’re just not in the mood to look at ‘Dirty Harry’-type signs glaring at us along that boulevard,” said Gerald Duddy, who lives a block from the studio lot.