Fox Expansion . . . Steady but Sure : A worthy project that could mean badly needed jobs and new tax revenues

A controversy sparked by the planned expansion of Fox Studios in Century City has centered on how much traffic congestion would result from building additional offices there. But that concern need not undermine a project that would mean badly needed jobs and tax revenues for Los Angeles. A reasonable solution shouldn’t be too hard to find.

After all, the Fox plan for 771,000 square feet of new construction in addition to studio renovations at its 53-acre motion picture and television facility already contains assurances for nearby residents. Those include commitments to limit the height of office buildings to seven stories, to ease traffic congestion by spending more than $5 million and to preserve historic buildings and sound stages.

Some opponents of the plan are still fuming over a dispute involving Fox Plaza, a 34-story building that Fox built in the 1980s after promising that it would serve as its headquarters.Instead the property was sold to developers and Fox retained only a small portion of its operations at the site. Many in the neighborhood fear that the new project will turn out to be another raw deal.

Those suspicions are understandable, but that’s not the whole picture. Homeowners, nearly all of whom settled there after Fox Studios was built in 1928, have benefited mightily from the presence of the studio, through increased residential property values. So have nearby businesses. Of course Fox shouldn’t get all the credit for economic gains, but neither should it receive all the blame for increases in traffic.

The city, which in its environmental impact report has given the Fox plan a clean bill of health, should do what it can to expedite the project. To its credit, Fox is in negotiations aimed at trimming its request for office space in an effort to keep down traffic. With good studio space scarce, it is unlikely that offices on the lot will be sold off as Fox Plaza was. But the city must be willing to exert leverage as needed to hold the studio to its promises.

The entertainment business is one of the largest wealth-generating industries in Los Angeles. The community should be given every possible consideration on traffic, but approval for the project should proceed with deliberate speed.