Conservancy Opposes 2-Acre Exemption for Universal

The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy late Monday recommended against a Universal Studios’ request that two acres of its property be excluded from the Mulholland Scenic Parkway Specific Plan.

The omission would streamline the number of agencies and laws the company has to negotiate as it tries to win city and county approval for a 25-year, $2-billion expansion plan that would more than double its studio, office, theme park and hotel space on its 415 acres. Universal’s property falls under both county and city jurisdictions, and the company needs approval from both for its plans.

The two acres run along the southern boundary of Universal’s property, and the company wants to include them in a buffer zone with landscaping and possibly a 2,000-square-foot billboard, which might replace an 800-square-foot sign there currently.

But the conservancy wants the land to remain subject to the tight restrictions of the Mulholland Scenic Parkway Specific Plan, which was approved in 1992 and is designed to preserve views along the Mulholland Drive area.

“To amend the plan is a very significant action, and it could open up all kinds of other things,” said John Diaz, a spokesman for the conservancy.

The environmental group also objects to Universal’s efforts to win the right to put up buildings to the edge of its land that abuts the Los Angeles River channel on the north side of its property.

Instead, the conservancy wants Universal to develop setback limits and create park-like settings and trails with the goal of having river access, in keeping with the county’s Los Angeles River Master Plan.

“At Universal you have a large section of the river that could be made into something really significant,” Diaz said.