Burbank OKs Warner Bros. Expansion Plan : Construction: The $800-million project is expected to triple studio’s local employment.

The Burbank City Council voted unanimously Thursday to let Warner Bros. Studios proceed with an $800-million expansion that will triple the studio’s local employment and add 3.3 million square feet of building space.

The expansion, scheduled to begin before the end of the year and continue in stages through 2015, calls for the construction of new sound stages, office buildings and parking structures on the company’s two lots in Burbank.

Warner Bros. officials said that when the project is done, the studio’s labor force will grow from the current 5,130 to about 14,000. In addition to its movie division, the studio houses other operations in Burbank, including its television, home video, music, interactive game and theme park offices.

“This is exactly what we need right now,” said John Rooney, president of the Valley Economic Development Center, which uses governmental grants to bolster local businesses.

He noted that in the wake of natural disasters and the demise of the aerospace and automobile industries in the area, the relative success of the entertainment industry has been a “savior” for the San Fernando Valley.

The chief economist of the county Economic Development Corp., Jack Kyser, said that this year alone 29,000 new entertainment-related jobs were created statewide, the majority of them in Los Angeles County.

Burbank officials were especially delighted, even though numerous residents had spoken out against the expansion because of the increased traffic, noise and pollution that would come with the massive construction projects.

“I think Burbank now has retained its undisputed position of media capital of the world,” Vice Mayor Susan E. Spanos said Thursday after the vote. “And it couldn’t have happened at a better time.”

Just five years ago the city was reeling from the departure of aerospace giant Lockheed Corp.

“Nobody dreamed Lockheed would leave Burbank, but they did,” Spanos said. “We cannot take the economic base of our city for granted.”

Approval of the expansion plan marks the latest victory for Burbank-based entertainment companies. This summer, Walt Disney Co. purchased Capitol Cities/ABC Inc. for $19 billion, bringing the control of the top-rated television network to the city. And in the last two years Warner Bros. and Disney have each added about half a million square feet of in office space, and Disney built a new animation center.

The expansion was not welcomed by the 80 residents who lined up to speak at Wednesday’s City Council meeting, which did not end until after midnight.

Some residents complained that the expansion would mean that they would be living next door to a 20-year construction project.

“We are not NIMBYs,” H.L. Chambers, president of the Woodland-Jacaranda Homeowners Assn., told the council, referring to the “not in my back yard” catch phrase sometimes pinned on opponents of a development. “The project is already in our back yard. But we are talking about permanently raising the noise level a full decibel in the area and adding an extra 14,000 car trips a day.”

Times staff writer Patrice Apodaca contributed to this story.

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Lot Expansion

Warner Bros. plans to spend $800 million improving its two lots in Burbank over the next 20 years. More than 3.3 million square feet of building space is planned. Employment will rise from 5,130 to 14,000, according to the studio, which won approval for the projectfrom the Burbank City Council on Thursday. Here are the proposed additions:

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Ranch Lot

Originally establisheds by Columbia Pictures for outdoor shooting, this 30- acre lot covers 175,000 square feet and contains 37 buildings. There are 497 parking spaces.

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Main Lot

This 106- acre lot contains 160 buildings on 2.3 million square feet. The existing structures were built in the 1920s and 1930s. There are 4,400 parking spaces on the lot, 2,400 off- site. Sources: City of Burbank, Warner Bros. Stuidos