NBC Plan Increases Traffic, Report Says

A major expansion planned by NBC on its 44-acre lot would generate more than twice the neighborhood traffic now caused by the studio, but would avoid gridlock, city and studio officials said Tuesday.

Officials said a draft environmental impact report for the proposed project showed that NBC would generate about 15,500 “vehicle trips” daily when the plan is completed in about 10 years, contrasted with about 6,300 now.

But no severe traffic problems would result, as some residents fear, according to the report, prepared by city planners and Impact Sciences Inc., a Thousand Oaks consulting firm.

The report, released Tuesday, also showed that the plan has been revised since it was unveiled in June in response to concerns from neighbors. The new plan moves a series of high-rise buildings farther from Alameda Avenue.

The NBC plan also includes several measures to aid traffic flow, such as additional street lights or reconfigured curbs to make turns easier, officials said.

In addition, studio and city officials emphasized that because the studio operates 24 hours a day, the traffic is not as concentrated as for other businesses.

“I’m not going to hide from this. Traffic is tough,” said John O’Neill, vice president for facilities at NBC in Burbank. “The residents are concerned about the traffic. However, they realize we’re building on our own site for our own needs.”

Several residents and officials said they anticipated more traffic but now expect NBC to follow through with its promises to help control the flow.

*

The city, home to NBC since 1952 and known worldwide as a media center, is experiencing a building boom, with studio expansions by Warner Bros. and Walt Disney Co. as well as nearby MCA-Universal.

“Clearly we are fortunate in that we have so much going on,” City Councilman Ted McConkey said. “We are unfortunate in that our streets and freeways can’t handle it without some mitigations.”

O’Neill said he has met repeatedly with residents and city officials in recent months. The studio, severely squeezed for space, is eager to answer concerns of residents and start work on the new facilities, he said.

In June, the studio announced a proposed expansion that would nearly triple the amount of building space at its 44-acre studio lot at Alameda and Olive avenues.

The plan calls for six new studios, four 15-story office buildings and three six-story parking facilities. The studio’s total square footage would increase from about 845,000 to 2.36 million.

Officials at the studio, which is near but does not abut residential neighborhoods, expect construction to begin late next year.

O’Neill said a growing market for television programming has already caused NBC to send some productions to outside studio facilities and to construct on-site mobile structures. The proposed facilities--for which studio officials say they could not estimate a cost--would result in a less expensive and less troublesome process, he said.

City Manager Robert R. Ovrom, who had not seen the environmental impact report by late Tuesday, said there should be few problems if NBC’s plan indeed adheres to the Media District Master Plan. The plan, adopted by the city in 1991, addresses how growth will be implemented in the district for 20 years.

“I have a high level of confidence that it will be well-received within the community,” Ovrom said. “If they were coming in asking for variances, then I would be nervous.”

O’Neill is scheduled to appear before the city’s planning board Dec. 9 for a review of the environmental impact report. There is a 45-day public comment period as well as other reviews by the city leading to a City Council vote on the expansion plan. That vote is expected in March.

*

Barbara Briel, a member of the Burbank Rancho Homeowners group, said the traffic and construction disruptions are serious concerns, but that there is little homeowners can do if the studios comply with the city’s Master Plan.

“As far as making any difference, the homeowners can’t really do anything now--except ask for stop signs,” she said. “All you can hope is that you get some consideration.”

Briel said she remains hopeful that some good will come from the various public meetings and reviews that will precede a City Council vote.

“The studios are the goose that laid the golden egg here,” she said. “I hope [environmental and public reviews] really address the problems.”