Complaints Spur CBS to End Parking Deal

Bowing to pressure from residents, CBS Studio Center President Michael Klausman has agreed to terminate a lease agreement with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works that allowed CBS employees to park on a patch of dusty land on Valleyheart Drive.

Klausman met Wednesday night with public officials and about two dozen residents who were upset by traffic and dust caused by the makeshift lot, which borders the Los Angeles River across the street from studio property. The arrangement provided parking for extra cars coming to CBS during its expansion project.

About 40 cars parked on the lot each day for the last month. The block of Valleyheart involved connects Laurel Canyon Boulevard with the studio, near Ventura Boulevard. Split by the river, the tree-lined street is made up of single-family homes and small apartments.

“People don’t deserve to see a parking lot when they look out the window,” said Tony Lucente, president of the Studio City Residents Assn. “That wasn’t part of the plan.”

Lucente said residents will now seek to have the property landscaped by the county, to beautify the neighborhood and prevent another run-in with CBS.

Klausman said the studio expansion includes a parking structure, which, upon its completion in mid-1997, would have eliminated the need for the additional parking. The lease was to run through 1998, but both parties agreed to end it.

“You always want to pick up some extra parking spaces, but I won’t do it at the grief of the neighbors,” Klausman said. “I’ll save my battles for something important.”