Pact Reached on CBS Parking Structure

CBS Studio Center and the Studio City Residents Assn. have reached a compromise on the studio’s planned $30-million parking structure, part of an overall studio expansion approved in 1994.

Area residents had objected to the size of the six-story, 1,420-space structure, as well as the traffic problems it might cause, especially around Ventura Boulevard.

The compromise, approved Tuesday by the city Board of Zoning Administration, will not diminish the size of the structure, but will require CBS to offer more parking mitigation measures. Now on the drawing board are extra traffic lights and signage, to go with strategically placed landscaping and some street blockage.

Resident association members called the deal a victory.

“It shows what can happen when the business representatives and the residents roll up their sleeves and work hard,” said association President Tony Lucente.

The structure, along Radford Avenue near Ventura, has also drawn fire for its design, which some residents said is harsh and unappealing for such a prominent building. But association board member Art Howard said aesthetic concerns were far from residents’ top priority.

“The main thing we are concerned about is traffic, which we all know is going to be horrendous,” he said. “That’s why it was so important that we work out this situation.”

Studio President Michael Klausman could not be reached Friday for comment.