San Fernando Valley | Development News

[saiholmes]

Universal City project traffic impacts

The city of Los Angeles released its environmental impact report earlier this week for the proposed development of the parking lots at the Universal City subway stop. The report shows that the 1.5 million square feet of development, including a relocation of NBC Studios from Burbank, will add to traffic in the area by generating about 14,000 new car trips daily.

The Daily News has a complete story online, with the predictable headline "Universal gridlock disaster?" The story quotes Los Angeles Councilman Tom LaBonge and County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, both of whom say the development is too large -- as they've said in the past. The mayor's office continues to back the project, saying it creates needed jobs in the entertainment industry and is located atop a subway stop.

Here are 10 things worth knowing about the project and its impact on traffic:

1. The project's first phase includes a 24-story office tower and five-story studio space, with the second phase adding another 24-story office tower or hotel and residential building. The studio would host "The Tonight Show," which for decades has been taped in Burbank. NBC/Universal and its development partner Thomas Properties says it will bring 5,000 jobs to the city.

2. Most of the land is currently owned by Metro (the agency also known as the MTA). The agency has in recent years been looking for developers to build on land it owns at transit stops. This is part of that effort, although on a bigger scale. And, as I've written before, it will continue to be controversial because of possible traffic impacts.

3. The development sits to the southeast side of the never-completed junction of the 101, 134 and 170 freeways. Motorists on the freeway can't go from the 101 north to the 134 east or from the 134 west to the 101 south, for example, without using surface streets. Lankershim Boulevard serves as the connector between those routes and Lankershim is also going to sit on the south side of the new development.

4. The environmental impact report does not cover the 2,900 residential units that NBC/Universal wants to build on its backlot. City planner Jon Foreman said that the determination was made that the two projects had different locations, different time lines and different players -- so the report was limited just to the subway stop development. Another EIR will cover the residential units. What this means, of course, is that the report can't weigh the combined real-life impacts of the new NBC studios with the 2,900 residential units. Why? The residential side hasn't been built yet.

5. The key chart in the EIR comes on page 133 of the traffic impacts section (which you can download as a pdf file) when the city lists key intersections that will be affected near the project. Overall, the performance of 16 of 163 intersections would deteriorate by 2011 if the project is built and mitigations are included, according to the report. Some of those intersections would only get worse on one street -- not both.

6. As for parking (page 207), the developer is proposing to build up to 5,176 spaces, including 800 for the Universal City subway station, which currently has about 600 spots spread out over three lots. Depending on which version of the project gets built, the city says that about 3,200 to 4,300 parking spots are being required.

7. A question worth asking the crystal ball: Does building 5,176 parking spots in a region as auto-centric as the Southland pretty much guarantee that 5,176 vehicles will park there?

8. Traffic counts, by the way, are controversial thing. In Century City, for example, the city of L.A. determined that two proposed 47-story residential towers would produce less traffic than several small businesses on the site. Several homeowner groups in the area sued and ended up reaching a multimillion-dollar settlement with the developer last year. The money is dedicated to traffic mitigations.

9. It is also worth noting that although the Universal project sits atop a subway stop, the subway only goes as far as North Hollywood to the north and doesn't go to the city's Westside (and likely won't for another decade in the best-case scenario), nor does it connect to the two Metrolink lines that run through Burbank. The subway, however, does connect with the Orange Line busway in NoHo and could bring people from downtown and Hollywood to Universal.

10. Lack of comprehensive mass transit is just one reason that many residents in the area are worried about the traffic impacts of the NBC/Universal project. "The problem with everything in this city is the development happens and they [developers and politicians] say they are going to fix the streets, and fix the freeway and fix the transit, but that never happens," said Lisa Sarkin, a board member of the Studio City Neighborhood Council.

11. Rob Stutzman, a consultant for the development, said that while it is possible there would be some traffic impacts, environmental reports often look at the largest possible impacts -- which may or may not actually happen. He also said that the developers are proposing to build a number of street improvements, including better access from the northbound 101.

--Steve Hymon

rendering: NBC / Universal

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/bott...rsal-city.html

[saiholmes]

Universal gridlock disaster?
By Connie Llanos, Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 08/27/2008 05:08:15 PM PDT

A massive $800 million proposed development in Universal City that would include a new home for NBC studios would add at least 14,000 car trips per day to the already clogged southeast San Fernando Valley, according to a long-awaited environmental study released Monday.

The traffic projections for the plan released late last year - one that would create 1.5 million square feet of new commercial, office and residential space to Lankershim Boulevard - drew immediate concern from politicians and neighborhood activists who said the area is already too congested.

"What has been proposed is too intense," said Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge. "This is not a New York City block. This is an odd-shaped parcel in the San Fernando Valley. ...

"It's a dream to think that you can fit so much onto one little banana-sized lot."

As currently proposed, the project would be developed in two phases over the next seven years.

Phase I would be completed by late 2011 and include a 24-story office tower, NBC's five-story production site and 1,900 parking spaces, including 800 spaces for the Metro station.

Phase II, completed in 2015, would include either a 24-story office tower or a 34-story hotel and residential project with 300 hotel rooms, 400 residential units and no more than 11,000 square feet of retail. It would include almost 1,800 parking spaces.

But an official with developer Thomas Enterprises said residents

should focus on the benefits the project would bring to the area.

"This is an investment in the Valley that will anchor it further as an entertainment center and will create and retain much-needed jobs," said Ayahlushim Hammond, senior vice president of Thomas Properties.

Thomas Properties currently estimates that the project could bring more than 5,000 new jobs to the area and $8 million in annual tax revenues.

Hammond also said that despite community perception, the NBC development is less dense than other transit-oriented projects.

He cited the new development at the Hollywood and Vine station of the Red Line subway, which has 1.16 million square feet of commercial and residential development on a 4.6-acre lot.

Traffic improvements

In neighboring North Hollywood, Lowe Enterprises has proposed 2 million square feet of new commercial and residential development on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's 16.5-acre lot.

And at the Universal project, Thomas Properties has proposed about $30 million in traffic improvements that include a 101 Freeway on-ramp and off-ramp to directly feed traffic for the new development and divert it from Lankershim Boulevard.

Hammond said public transit will also be promoted for employees of the development and incentives will include the use of flex cars and guaranteed rides home.

"This encourages people to live the way we need to in the future," Hammond said. "This is smart growth, green growth and transit-oriented development at its height."

According to the environmental impact report released Monday, use of public transportation could reduce the traffic count at the site by about 2,000 trips.

The NBC studios development is half of the NBC/Universal Vision Plan, which in 25 years will bring $3 billion of new construction to the area - as well as a large-scale increase in traffic.

NBC Universal argues that the project will be a long-term investment by the entertainment giant in this region of the San Fernando Valley.

"NBC Universal's West Coast News Center represents a significant investment in the future of Los Angeles, creating an entertainment and transit hub and a new center for production jobs and employment growth," said NBC Universal spokeswoman Cindy Gardner.

More jobs for area

Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Bud Ovrom reiterated the support by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's office for a project that he said solves more issues than it creates.

Ovrom said the project's location makes it prime real estate for transit-oriented development and, perhaps more importantly, grows the city's entertainment sector.

"The truth is we are in an almost life-and-death struggle to preserve and grow our entertainment jobs in Los Angeles and particularly in the Valley," Ovrom said.

"We can always have less traffic - we just won't have any jobs."

Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who has said he would try to work with the developer to downsize the project, said the traffic the project will produce is "unmitigatable."

According to the city's traffic study of the project, heavy traffic will continue to plague at least eight intersections in the area, despite all traffic mitigations.

"You can't compare this project to other transit-oriented developments," Yaroslavsky said.

"You have much more auto dependency here than you have on Wilshire and Vermont, and you have a lot more people using public transit there."

Yaroslavsky said the only way to ensure that this project is successful is by downsizing it.

"I am not opposed to a responsible development on either the MTA or the studio lot, but this is not responsible," Yaroslavsky said.

Valley Industry and Commerce Association President Brendan Huffman said his group supports the concept of the project, especially putting so many jobs near public transit.

"The pros include jobs and tax revenue for the city and strengthening the Valley's base for the entertainment industry," Huffman said.

But he said VICA members also want to look at the environmental impact report and evaluate the pros and cons before taking a formal position because potential traffic is a concern.

For many residents, the cumulative impact of this project is also a major issue.

"What they are proposing is a 1970s project, not a 21st-century project," said Richard Bogy, vice chairman of the NBC/Universal Community Working Group.

"This is like another Century City where they want to pack as much as they can without respect for the effect on the community or traffic."

Staff Writer Kerry Cavanaugh contributed to this report.

http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_10302318

[Imperfect Ending]

Not sure which project this is but it's in Glendale

image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr

[milquetoast]

Our on scene reporter!

[surfnspy]

I just did a quick runaround my hood-the east valley. Here's what's up.

The mini office tower east of Bob Hope Airport is up and glassed. It looks to be the tallest of the low rise Empire Center office park at 7 floors.

The Pointe. (what's with the e? Does that mean it will cost more per sf? I dunno.) Anyway, it is T/O at 14 floors and just about glassed up. It looks better in person than the crappy concept art, tho it IS basically just a glass box. Boring as it is, it strikes a pretty imrpressive mass on the Alameda corridor near the soon to be ex NBC studios.

The 4 floor Universal building (anyone know what this is?) looks to be just about done. It is right off of Lankershim, just inside the NBC/Uni gate. Maybe Conan's new digs?

Also on Alameda--The St. Joseph's Hospital complex is just about fleshed out. It features a slew of new 3-4 floor buildings on an entire block with massive parking structures. It is pretty hilarious actually, as ONE homeowner held out and did not sell to the hospital. SO THEY BUILT THE PARKING STRUCTURE AROUND IT! LOLOLOLLL. I imagine a very cranky household--clearly they held out for bigger bucks and lost. Now their house sits in the shadow of a six level parking garage. I know it's not funny really, but it does make me laugh. Anyway, the project is about done and is pretty impressive.

Last, the crane is up at the third phase of The Noho Commons on Lankershim and Weddington. I thought this would never happen considering the economy tanking and all those empty noho apartments just gathering dust. Well, it IS being built. The foundation has been laid and a ten story crane towers over the construction site. According to plans I've read it is only a six floor building, but the rendering shows 9 floors. So height is unclear. Crane IS over ten floors tho as it towers over other buildings in the Emmy complex. Seems like a doomed plan tho as it includes a 7 screen Lemmle movie theater and office space. Does anyone go to the Lemmle anymore? Has there been a hit indie movie that hasn't been at your local multi-multi-plex in the past few years? But it is rising. And I don't think anyone wants office space in Noho any more than they want apartments. But what do I know?

[surfnspy]

I just did a quick runaround my hood-the east valley. Here's what's up.

The mini office tower east of Bob Hope Airport is up and glassed. It looks to be the tallest of the low rise Empire Center office park at 7 floors.

The Pointe. (what's with the e? Does that mean it will cost more per sf? I dunno.) Anyway, it is T/O at 14 floors and just about glassed up. It looks better in person than the crappy concept art, tho it IS basically just a glass box. Boring as it is, it strikes a pretty imrpressive mass on the Alameda corridor near the soon to be ex NBC studios.

The 4 floor Universal building (anyone know what this is?) looks to be just about done. It is right off of Lankershim, just inside the NBC/Uni gate. Maybe Conan's new digs?

Also on Alameda--The St. Joseph's Hospital complex is just about fleshed out. It features a slew of new 3-4 floor buildings on an entire block with massive parking structures. It is pretty hilarious actually, as ONE homeowner held out and did not sell to the hospital. SO THEY BUILT THE PARKING STRUCTURE AROUND IT! LOLOLOLLL. I imagine a very cranky household--clearly they held out for bigger bucks and lost. Now their house sits in the shadow of a six level parking garage. I know it's not funny really, but it does make me laugh. Anyway, the project is about done and is pretty impressive.

Last, the crane is up at the third phase of The Noho Commons on Lankershim and Weddington. I thought this would never happen considering the economy tanking and all those empty noho apartments just gathering dust. Well, it IS being built. The foundation has been laid and a ten story crane towers over the construction site. According to plans I've read it is only a six floor building, but the rendering shows 9 floors. So height is unclear. Crane IS over ten floors tho as it towers over other buildings in the Emmy complex. Seems like a doomed plan tho as it includes a 7 screen Lemmle movie theater and office space. Does anyone go to the Lemmle anymore? Has there been a hit indie movie that hasn't been at your local multi-multi-plex in the past few years? But it is rising. And I don't think anyone wants office space in Noho any more than they want apartments. But what do I know?

[yerfdog]

Originally Posted by surfnspy

Also on Alameda--The St. Joseph's Hospital complex is just about fleshed out. It features a slew of new 3-4 floor buildings on an entire block with massive parking structures. It is pretty hilarious actually, as ONE homeowner held out and did not sell to the hospital. SO THEY BUILT THE PARKING STRUCTURE AROUND IT! LOLOLOLLL. I imagine a very cranky household--clearly they held out for bigger bucks and lost. Now their house sits in the shadow of a six level parking garage. I know it's not funny really, but it does make me laugh. Anyway, the project is about done and is pretty impressive.

Drove by this a couple months ago, and I had the exact same thought. Poor homeowners

[milquetoast]

you gotta know when to hold'em ... know when to fold 'em

[saiholmes]

Universal Studios Hollywood plans Transformers ride for 2011

Universal Studios Hollywood will add a Transformers ride in 2011 featuring 3-D high-definition footage with special effects and robotics.

Scheduled to begin construction in fall 2009, the ride, based on the blockbuster 2007 film, would replace the Backdraft and the Special Effects Soundstages attractions at the movie theme park, according to Variety. The entertainment industry trade newspaper says the price tag for the Transformers ride could top the $40-million Simpsons Ride.

An identical Transformers ride is scheduled to debut first at Universal Studios Singapore.

Screamscape speculates that the new Transformers rides could constitute the next generation of Spiderman dark-ride systems at Universal Studios parks in Orlando and Japan, which mix in-your-face special effects and super-size 3-D projection.

In the 」Transformers」 movie, which earned $708 million worldwide at the box office, the friendly Autobots battle the evil Decepticons, robots that can turn into cars, trucks and planes.

Steven Spielberg, an executive producer on 「Transformers」 and a creative consultant to Universal's theme parks, previously developed rides and attractions based on 「Jurassic Park,」 「E.T.,」 「Jaws」 and 「War of the Worlds.」 A 「Transformers」 movie sequel opens in summer 2009.

— Brady MacDonald, Los Angeles Times staff writer

http://travel.latimes.com/daily-deal...udios-ho-3068/

[saiholmes]

Six Flags Magic Mountain to announce Terminator wooden coaster

Six Flags Magic Mountain will officially unveil plans this week for Terminator: The Coaster, a $10-million wooden roller coaster scheduled open Memorial Day weekend 2009.

The 2,850-foot-long coaster with Millennium Flyer trains will include a 100-foot lift, five hills, six banked turns as well as visual and audio effects and a loading station fly-through. The three-minute start-to-finish ride reaches a top speed of 55 mph.

The Great Coasters International woodie will be built next to the De'ja` Vu looping steel coaster and in the same location as Psyclone, a reviled wooden coaster mercifully removed from the Valencia amusement park in 2006.

— Brady MacDonald, Los Angeles Times staff writer

http://travel.latimes.com/daily-deal...gic-moun-3069/

[saiholmes]

COMMUNITIES UNITED FOR SMART GROWTH

Neighborhood Working Group to Hold Town Hall on Metro Universal Project
11 Local Organizations Unite to Present Their Own Vision

(Hollywood, CA – October 30, 2008) Communities United for Smart Growth, a coalition
of 11 local community organizations, representing over a quarter of a million people, is
holding a Town Hall to brief the community on the City of Los Angeles' Draft EIR for
the Metro Universal Project. The Project, to be developed by Thomas Properties Group
on land for which NBC Universal has a lease agreement from the MTA, 「proposes the
development of approximately 1.47 million square feet of new commercial and possible
residential uses in two phases.」 This project will result in 「significant and unavoidable」
environmental impacts including generating a net total of 14,652 daily automobile trips
on a typical weekday.

WHO: Communities United for Smart Growth, Inc., a 501 (C) (3) coalition of 11
local resident and business associations that geographically encircle Universal
Studios and the MTA Universal City site.
Roy P. Disney, Chairman

WHAT: Town Hall to deliver to the community the Group's comments on the Draft EIR
and to inform the community how to best give their feedback to the Planning
Department.

WHERE: East Valley High School
5525 Vineland Ave, Los Angeles, CA

WHEN: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, November 12, 2008

WHY: This coalition, recently formalized as Communities United for Smart Growth,
has been actively trying to work with developer Thomas Properties and NBC
Universal for the past two years to create a common vision that would be
beneficial for both the developers and for the community at large. It is the
Group's opinion that the plan presented in the Draft EIR would have serious
negative repercussions for the surrounding neighborhoods and region. This
Town Hall is the Group's first opportunity to report their findings to the
community. Written comments on the Draft EIR are due to City Planner, Jon
Foreman, by November 24.

November 10, 2008 in Urban planning | Permalink

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/bott...ed-back-i.html

[surfnspy]

The new Laemmle theater building on Lankershim is already six floors up.

[milquetoast]

Behold Burbank's Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus

Thursday, December 18, 2008
Burbank has been selected as a national test market for a new zero-emissions bus that uses a hydrogen fuel cell instead of a diesel or gas engine, according to BurbankBus, the city's transit service. The super-quiet, 67-passenger vehicle will be unveiled this spring, and then go into regular service—the first hydrogen bus on the West Coast. The bus that Al Gore dreams about "can travel 250 miles before needing to be recharged, runs at double the fuel economy of a diesel bus, and releases nothing but water from the engine exhaust." It can also be recharged—in a regular old outlet—in only six minutes while drivers take a pee break.

Neal Broverman

Curbed LA

[saiholmes]

Work begins on Pacoima's new Costco
$78-million retail hub, which will include a Best Buy store, is expected to revitalize the Valley community.
By Jennifer Oldham
The Los Angeles Times
January 9, 2009

For years a chain-link fence surrounded the contaminated 25-acre lot near the junction of Interstate 5 and California 118 in Pacoima, a daily reminder of the thousands of well-paying manufacturing jobs lost to Mexico in the last decade.

After a complex clean-up effort, detailed in an 8-foot-high stack of documents, officials on Thursday broke ground on a $78-million project that economists hope will provide a much-needed retail hub in one of the San Fernando Valley's most impoverished communities.

Known as Plaza Pacoima, the 209,000-square-foot project will feature the first Costco built in Los Angeles in a dozen years. It will also include a Best Buy and other stores, plus restaurant and office space. It is expected to create 438 construction jobs and 354 permanent positions at a time when many projects are on hold.

At Thursday's event -- with a standing-room-only crowd repeatedly cheering speakers -- state and local legislators ticked off obstacles the builder, environmental officials and redevelopment experts overcame to begin construction.

Attracting dollars to build in the largely working-class northeast Valley has historically been difficult, lawmakers recounted, not to mention difficulties overcoming significant contamination on the site itself, where metals and solvents were left behind with the departure of plumbing fixture manufacturer Price Pfister.

"What's being created here is truly an economic miracle, especially in this climate," said Bruce Ackerman, president and chief executive of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley, an organization created in the aftermath of the Northridge earthquake to revitalize the region.

The builder and redevelopment officials also spent months hammering out an agreement with several dozen community groups on benefits they would realize from the project, including first crack at jobs created on the site. Pacoima has among the Valley's highest unemployment rates.

"Jobs were our biggest concern," said Roy LaVoise, director of job development for Communities in Schools, noting that the agreement allows workers to be interviewed without background checks.

"This is a huge gang area, and we're trying to get people off the streets and into a job," he added.

Officials said the project, which will have an 898-space parking lot "landscaped as a grove" with more than 500 trees, would bring hope to a industrial area where residents have long had to travel far afield to shop. The parcel also includes a 140,000-square-foot Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse, which is under construction on about 10 acres that are owned separately.

Readying the site took years, as its former owner, Black & Decker, which bought Price Pfister, undertook an extensive cleanup monitored by state and federal regulators.

Workers trucked 35,000 tons of contaminated soil off the parcel in sealed tractor trailers to prevent toxic dust from escaping and blowing into yards of homes across the street.

They removed 6,000 gallons of oil and 2,000 pounds of solvents used to clean metal fixtures and installed vacuum cleaners to suck toxic vapors out of the soil. They also sank wells to clean contaminated groundwater deep beneath the surface, an effort complicated by contamination that migrated into the water table from a separate site on the other side of Interstate 5, redevelopment officials said.

Development is important not only for the Valley, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said at Thursday's groundbreaking, but also for the city as a whole, as economic leaders seek to boost sales tax revenues to bridge a burgeoning budget deficit.

"L.A. will not lie down in the face of this recession," Villaraigosa said, adding that the Costco project was expected to bring $2 million in annual sales tax revenues into city coffers.

The mayor said Plaza Pacoima is the result of efforts he's undertaken with Robert "Bud" Ovrom, deputy mayor for residential and commercial development, to build the region's sales tax base.

Los Angeles ranks 314 among the 567 entities that collect sales tax in California, according to the state Department of Finance. The city collects $111 in sales tax per capita annually, compared to $175 collected by San Diego and San Francisco, $360 by Santa Monica and $715 by Beverly Hills.

Without $9.8 million in public subsidies to help purchase the site and build new utilities and roads, the project's developer said he wouldn't have been able to construct the project.

Big-box retailers that often shy away from working-class communities were attracted to Pacoima because of the size of the former Price Pfister site and the lack of competition, said Arturo Sneider Primestor Development Inc.

Costco executives and Los Angeles officials agreed the development won't be the retailer's last stop in the city, which Villaraigosa said has the spending power to support 16 Costcos. It has four.

"I will guarantee that this won't be the last Costco that comes to the city," said James D. Sinegal, Costco president and chief executive

To which Villaraigosa, sitting behind the lectern where Sinegal spoke, replied: "That's what I like to hear!"

[volsung]

have they stopped working on the San Fernando Valley Performing Arts Center on Nordhoff/Lindley? It looks in the exact same skeletal state as it has for awhile now

[surfnspy]

I just attended the Studio City Neighborhood Council meeting.

What a circus.

Key points:

nearly everyone was adamantly opposed to development proposed over the MTA stop.

The EIR is due this spring.

One board member questioned whether a project of this size makes sense in this economic climate--why build now if there is no one to fill the project.

Lots of boring issues about signs.

Bottom line: it is unlikely this will move forward anytime soon.

The other project, on the Universal property, now called the Universal Evolution Plan (used to be uni vision plan) has an eir in progress, but no one seemed to know when it would be completed. Clearly since so much of it was housing it also makes little sense in the near term.

[milquetoast]

I can almost understand Studio City wanting to curb their construction Santa Monica style- what with the golf course there and the homes north of that portraying their San Fernando Valleyish qualities. The quiet neighborhood streets with the big trees.... and then there's Ventura Blvd.... so I can understand that.

Don't stop the area around Universal though; Lankershim/Cahuenga...

[surfnspy]

The new Noho Commons building is bucking the trends of other developments and moving FAST. Already half glassed up. Amazing progress. Sadly it is a really boring glass box.

[surfnspy]

Not sure which building that is (above) in Glendale either. But the huge rectangular glass facade faces the freeway and is edged by white light at night. It creates a huge white rectangle that you can see for miles away as you approach and it looks really cool!

[surfnspy]

More Universal City "Evolution".

12,000 new jobs (selling tee shirts, plastic crap and coke by the gallon)
A shuttle system (that won't carry anyone anywhere because of the traffic)
Recycling (because it's cheaper to recycle your pee into diet mountain dew)
2900 lofts and townhomes (that no one can afford and nobody wants--see neighboring ghost town, north hollywood)

Sure there is room for development here, but not a the scale being proposed here.

It'll never happen.

Look, before all you call me a NIMBY, I look at the following:

Their "renovation" of their theater was awful. They took an outdated theater and basically repainted it. It doesn't hold a candle to a redo like the AMC Century City or the Arclight. Their idea of a shuttle service from the redline station to Citywalk is a tour tram that picks you up every 20-30 minutes. Upgrades at citywalk are the addition of new fast food restaurants ala the new wolfgang puck.

SO the problem is not expansion per se, it is the quality.

So they want to add 3000 residences? Who's gonna pay for the schools this will need? Where's the water coming from? Police services? Ah, the good ol' taxpayer. It is not fair to the community to bear the burden of lining corporate pockets.

And don't tell me about jobs! They offer jobs for the 21st century! Why don't you try and apply for a job at Universal? Here's your apron. Flip that burger onto a bun. Now don't ask for benefits. And after a year we'll give you a free pass to the theme park. Whoo hoo!

I just don't buy the hype based on their track record.

here is the propoganda:

http://www.universalevolution.com/