Impact of Fox Studios’ Proposed Expansion

In her Aug. 19 letter lamenting the long approval process Fox Studios has “endured,” Marta Lee accuses The Times of “pitting the corporation against the community (in) a 3 1/2-year process to find out what they can or cannot do on their own property.”

If the impact of Fox’s expansion ended at the property line, her permissive attitude might be appropriate. In fact, the fallout from this project will impact the neighborhood for miles around and years to come. It is, therefore, perfectly reasonable to take a careful look at it under laws designed to manage this impact.

The time may seem long, but the project is substantial, and Fox’s behavior has been less than candid or even technically well-thought-out. Clarity and a willingness to deal would have helped immeasurably.

Lee is apparently unconcerned with effects on the neighborhood, and so sees nothing wrong with Fox’s recent attempt to avoid lawsuits through legislation (AB 269). While we’d all like to have it otherwise, these days the courts are the only recourse to those injured or at risk. More so since the city, under economic and political pressure, is often hesitant to use its power to protect communities at risk.

That’s why AB269 drew such an uproar. And that’s why the uproar won’t go away as long as Fox continues to swing its weight like a great, lumbering behemoth.

ALLAN RABINOWITZ

Los Angeles