STUDIO CITY : Residents Oppose L.A. Planners’ Vision

Los Angeles planners have a vision for the future growth of Studio City. But many Studio City residents say that vision isn’t what they would like to see at all.

Specifically, they do not like the fact that Studio City has been designated as a community center in the city’s proposed General Plan. Such a category would allow buildings up to eight stories tall.

They are also up in arms over the city Planning Department’s recommendation that the intersection of Lankershim and Ventura boulevards be designated a regional center, where development would be concentrated.

The proposed plan as it is currently written “will lead to increased traffic and a more crowded community,” said Tony Lucente, president of the Studio City Residents Assn. “The infrastructure is not there to accommodate the growth.”

However, city planner Dick Platkin,who met with Studio City residents on May 9 to go over the plan, said that the height limits of the Ventura Boulevard Specific Plan, which are generally 30 to 45 feet, would be used rather than the higher height limits contained in the proposed General Plan.

City planners believe that Lankershim and Ventura boulevards is a good place for a regional center because that is close to the planned location of the Universal City subway station. In addition, they say, if future development is not concentrated at selected areas, it will sprawl, posing a greater threat to suburban neighborhoods.

“This way, you can control and confine new growth to specific areas, and you protect areas that are the highest prized in the city, like areas of single-family homes,” Platkin said.

Today is the last day that members of the public may submit comments to the Planning Department on a draft study of the environmental effects of the General Plan. The final environmental impact report is expected to be reviewed by the Planning Commission in late July.