Hearing to Examine Universal’s Expansion

The first public hearing on Universal Studios’ proposed 25-year expansion plan will be held Wednesday.

The hearing will begin at 9 a.m. at the County Hall of Records, 320 W. Temple St., Room 150, in downtown Los Angeles.

Because Universal’s 415-acre site falls within both city and county jurisdictions, the hearing will take place before the County Regional Planning Commission and a representative of the Los Angeles Planning Department.

Last fall, Universal released plans that called for at least a doubling of its building space in the next 25 years, adding sound stages, offices, shops, theme park attractions and hotels in a potentially $2-billion project.

Universal faces substantial opposition from homeowner groups, who claim that the expansion plans are too vague, don’t take into account the added demand for parking garages and that the project would compound noise and traffic problems.

Although Wednesday’s hearing is open, it’s not expected that the public will have a chance to comment on Universal’s plan.

Next week, however, the public will be able to testify on the project. That meeting will be held at 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Universal City Hilton & Towers.