Before…

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will consider clearing the way Tuesday for the Disney|ABC Studios at the Ranch development in Placerita Canyon.

Envisioned are 12 new sound stages (555,950 square feet of indoor studio space) on a 58-acre portion of the 890-acre Disney Golden Oak Ranch property. The new construction would occur at the northeast corner of Placerita Canyon Road and Highway 14; much of the area is currently graded and used for studio parking.

The county supervisors are slated to conduct a public hearing at Tuesday’s board meeting and then consider certifying the final environmental impact report; changing general-plan designations from hillside management and floodplain to commercial; granting an oak tree permit to remove 158 trees (including 16 heritage oaks); and approving a parking permit and certain other documents. Disney would plant 1,600 new oak trees, two-thirds more than required to make up for those being removed.

… After

The county Regional Planning Commission signed off in June and issued a statement of overriding considerations, citing increased employment in the media and entertainment industry, permanent protection of natural terrain (the bulk of the 890 acres), the addition of oak trees, public trail access to the Angeles National Forest, and surplus water storage facilities for community fire projection and water supply.

“These, and other project design features beyond those that are required … provide benefits supporting the determination that the benefits of the project outweigh the project’s remaining significant and unavoidable impacts,” a county staff report states.

Link:

Disney|ABC Studios at the Ranch project website