EDITORIAL UNIVERSAL APPEAL MASSIVE REDEVELOPMENT OFFERS GREAT PROMISE FOR SAN FERNANDO VALLEY.

IT almost sounds too good to be true: Thousands more housing units in a city with a desperately low housing stock; thousands more jobs, especially in the entertainment industry; plenty of open space; a tourism magnet that will generate billions in economic growth and millions for the city's general fund.

What's not to like about NBC Universal's $3 billion, 25-year plan for Universal City? Nothing -- at least not yet.

On its face, this is the sort of proposal for which the San Fernando Valley and all of Los Angeles have been waiting for a decade. It meets several critical needs, and its architects promise to work with the local community to ensure that the development will not harm the environment or the local traffic situation.

Still, neighbors have reason to be concerned, if not skeptical. They have seen false starts on Universal expansion before. And Los Angeles history is replete with stories of big developers and city officials colluding against the interests of neighborhoods. This history has given birth to legions of NIMBYs.

So it only makes sense for neighborhood groups to scrutinize NBC Universal's plan closely, and stay involved every step of the way. Careful attention must be paid to the obvious community interests. And company and city officials must work hard to mitigate the effects that expansion will have on traffic, noise, air and light pollution, and the local quality of life.

But these are concerns that, with effort, can be addressed and balanced -- and they should.

This is an opportunity too good to compromise through NIMBYism or backroom deal-making. The Valley needs the jobs and the homes. And there's no more logical place to develop, given the proximity to the Red Line.

With proper oversight, this development should be able to get universal approval.