Studio Asks for Meeting Cancellation

In a surprise move, Universal Studios has asked the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission to cancel a Nov. 19 meeting that was widely expected to end that agency’s 22-month-long review of the studio’s proposed expansion.

Universal, which had strongly urged the commission to wrap things up last month, now says it needs more time to “evaluate the cost-benefit analysis of the proposed plan in light of the planning commission’s reviews.”

A two-paragraph letter dated Nov. 3, from Helen McCann, Universal’s vice president for the master plan project, asked for the postponement but gave no reason for the request.

Studio officials would not respond to questions about the move, but at a recent commission meeting, they made no secret of their concern about the commission’s plan to put restrictions on noise during nighttime filming.

Commissioner Esther Feldman, who has largely guided the commission’s discussion during recent hearings, said she regards the announcement as an indication that Universal is pulling back in response to the commission’s actions.

“We were pretty close to being done,” said Feldman, who was appointed by Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. “But it has been a long process. It’s taken longer than anyone had anticipated.

“It can be very frustrating if you’re going through the process and you just want to move forward with your project. But it’s also a challenge to carry out the business of county planning and make sure that the public interest is protected.”

Technically, the Nov. 19 session would be a continuation of a hearing that began Jan. 15, 1997. When the commission adjourned in October, it had yet to finalize a development agreement, the formal contract between Universal and the county and city of Los Angeles.

And, because some of Universal’s hilltop is on unincorporated county land and some within the city limits, the studio is still facing public hearings before the Board of Supervisors and the City Council.

“We were very surprised that Universal took this action to take it off the calendar,” said Yaroslavsky’s deputy for planning matters, Ginny Kruger, who has been involved with the project from the beginning. “Maybe they just need some time to step back and look at everything and decide what’s next.”