MCA Asked to Delay Universal City Plans : Development: City and county officials want to meet new owners and see details for resort.
MCA Inc.’s ambitious proposal to double its development of Universal City and create an urban destination resort has drawn fire from key city and county officials who said they want the company to hold off until its new owners declare their intentions and nuisances that already exist are eliminated.
The decisions, by Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and City Council President John Ferraro, came at the conclusion of a whirlwind week in which control of MCA appeared to pass from Japanese to Canadian hands, and its longtime managers appeared ready to resign.
“I think it’s a political mistake, and an economic mistake, to try to ram this thing through at this time,” said Yaroslavsky, speaking of the development proposal. “This should not be a rush job. Let’s catch our breath.”
Ferraro made up his mind to ask MCA to back off on its proposal after attending a raucous meeting Thursday night at a million-dollar house near Universal Studios’ back lot.
About 80 well-heeled local homeowners angrily told him of their opposition to MCA’s plan, declaring that the noise, illumination, traffic and crime associated with the Universal Studios Hollywood tour and CityWalk were already bad enough without letting it double.
“The plan is absurd,” said Robert Salvaria, an energy company executive who lives across the Los Angeles River from MCA’s movie studio and its many live-action tour attractions. “We already get so much noise it’s unbelievable. The ‘Miami Vice’ show might as well be in my back yard. We are substantially opposed to any further development.”
Added Julian Ogalde, whose Cahuenga Pass home directly overlooks Universal Studios’ back lot, and who has complained repeatedly about an earthquake-like rumble from the tour’s Ice Tunnel ride: “MCA is completely uncooperative. They listen to you, say they’ll do what they can, and they never do. You get nothing but lip service.”
The proposal to build on the property came to light in February when MCA said it would soon seek government approval of a development agreement and specific plan to add 5.8 million square feet of development over 25 years to the 5.4 million square feet already developed on its sprawling hilltop home. Two-thirds of the property rests on unincorporated county land; the other third is in the city of Los Angeles.
MCA said it wanted to create the county’s first destination resort--building, in response to market demand, three family-oriented theme hotels, new entertainment attractions, a business hotel, restaurants, offices and studio production facilities. The company said it would spend $3 billion, ultimately creating 14,000 permanent jobs.
As recently as last week, the company said that it expected to submit its formal application for a development agreement by summer, file a draft environmental impact report, or EIR, by October and conclude city and county hearings by next April.
While city and county officials initially applauded the proposal as a vote of confidence in the area’s future, local homeowners quickly denounced the company for not providing enough information about its plans. MCA to date has only published a 12-paragraph description of its plan for the site and a “bubble map” that illustrates the company’s ideas in the broadest terms.
Tony Lucente, president of the Studio City Residents Assn., declared that the entertainment firm should not treat its plans like a “suspense thriller,” and demanded that it provide a detailed map of the site that illustrated building footprints and heights, and road elevations. He also criticized MCA for not including parking lots in its total expected square footage.
Community leaders reacted especially negatively to the notion that MCA would create a new theme park in its back lot, surmising that--despite company protestations to the contrary--it would create Disneyland-like rides for its hotel patrons to enjoy during two- to three-day visits.
Such sentiment suggests that Seagram Co. President Edgar Bronfman Jr. shouldn’t expect to receive a basket of flowers from his Universal City neighbors when he moves in next week as controlling partner of MCA Inc.
“If he’s coming in to enhance Universal Studios’ filmmaking production facilities, he’ll get our utmost support,” said Lucente. “If he’s coming in to establish a theme park, then then he’s going to have a rocky road ahead of him.”
On Friday, Yaroslavsky said for the first time that he wanted “to see more meat on the bones” of MCA’s proposal before he decided whether to support it. He also criticized the company for not providing more details already, and said he wants to get to know the firm’s new owners before allowing such a “massive intensification” of its Cahuenga Pass property.
“People who have made representations to the public about this proposal may or may not be there six months from now,” Yaroslavsky said. “Bronfman could come in here and say, ‘A theme park? You gotta be out of your mind! I want to make movies. I want to create new multimedia labs. I don’t want Disneyland, I want a studio.’
“I don’t know how MCA can embark on an EIR with all this uncertainty swirling around.”
Yaroslavsky also expressed surprise at MCA’s awkward approach to the development plan so far.
“A lot of damage has been done in the past couple of months that will make trouble for MCA,” he said. “Lack of specificity breeds distrust. They seem to want to make this a race. But it’s not a race. It should be a courtship.”
The supervisor further assured MCA’s neighbors a role in the process once it does go forward.
“I guarantee that a land-use decision that doesn’t have the support of the community is not going to happen,” he said. “We need to send a clear message to MCA it must reach a meeting of the minds with its neighbors before proceeding.”
Ferraro, following the Thursday night meeting in Toluca Lake, sent a letter Friday to MCA Vice President Christine Hanson expressing his concern.
He said further discussions with residents on “any new developments would seem difficult, if not impossible” if current problems plaguing neighbors were not addressed first.
He asked MCA to investigate neighbors’ perception of increased criminal activity caused by CityWalk, and develop an action plan to respond to them. He also asked the firm to address the volume of the tram tour’s public address system and sounds from its open-air shows, which neighbors complain rattle into their homes morning to night.
Hanson told The Times on Friday that all of those concerns would be examined, and that the company had already begun to curb noise from its outdoor shows.
* PRICE TAG: $7-billion cost estimate may have been overstated by $1.4 billion. D1
* INDUSTRY SHOCKWAVES: Woe predicted for studio if leadership team moves on. D1
* THE MCA EMPIRE: The publishing giant’s holdings include movies and more. D1
* LUNCH HOUR: MCA employees say their future could be brighter under Seagram. D8
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)
Universal City Expansion Plan
Although still in preliminary phases, expansion plan in Universal City would more than double development in the 415-acre complex by adding 5.8 million square feet of facilities to the current 5.4 million over the next 25 years. Plans include development of resort hotels and entertainment facilities as well as additional studio production and office space.
