Universal City's expansion plan aims at growing family market.

Move over, Disneyland.

MCA Inc.'s bid to establish Universal City as a world-class destination resort will take center stage this week, with the expected release of an environmental impact report on the massive project.

The new plan brims with bells and whistles that could give even Disneyland - which won tentative approval for its own major expansion last week - a run for the tourist dollar.

The planned resort will boast five new hotels with 2,500 rooms, a new theme park aimed at families with young children, a 50 percent expansion for the Universal Studios of Hollywood theme park; and acres of new landscaping, waterways and lagoons.

MCA is billing it as a Mediterranean-style resort district in L.A.'s own back yard.

"There's no family-oriented resort in L.A. County, and that's the market we're hoping to target," said Helen McCann, vice president of Master Plan for MCA.

About 70 percent of Universal City is located in unincorporated Los Angeles County, with the remaining land in the city of Los Angeles.

As a result, both the city and county must approve the expansion. The county will be first at bat with the expected release this week of the EIR.

MCA hopes to conclude the public hearing process and win both city and county approvals by late next year, with construction beginning as early as 1998.

Although the size and scope of the project almost guarantees some opposition, MCA has several factors in its favor - not the least of which is that the project promises a big boost for the local economy.

The company says the expansion would create 27,000 construction jobs and 13,000 permanent jobs over the next 25 years.

New developments would also add $1.6 billion to the surrounding economy and provide $25 million in annual revenues to L.A. city and county coffers.

Universal Studios is now a one-day stop for most tourists. Under the new plan, the Universal City complex would be designed to attract tourists for several days. That would allow Los Angeles County, for the first time, to provide serious competition with Orange and San Diego counties for the tourist dollar, McCann said.

It also would provide spin-off benefits for other L.A. County tourist stops such as Hollywood.

"If somebody's going to stay three to five days at Universal Studios, they're going to do more than stay at the site the whole time," said Leron Gubler, executive director of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. "There could be a tremendous amount of synergy between the two sites that are separate but interrelated."

Under the proposed master plan, Universal City would be divided into five districts - resort, studio, entertainment, business and open space.

In the resort district, five hotels would cater to a wide variety of pocketbooks. At the lower end would be a large family hotel for more budget-conscious travelers. At the higher end, meanwhile, MCA is planning an ultra-deluxe five-star hotel for the jet-setting Hollywood crowd.

The entire resort district would also include multiple acres of new landscaping, lagoons and waterways to create a Mediterranean resort atmosphere.

The entertainment district would include an expansion of the existing Hollywood theme park and CityWalk, with the addition of a new theme park geared for children ages 3 to 12.

"We think kids from the 3 to 12 age group are an important market for us in the future," said McCann.

She said details for the new children's theme park have yet to be finalized. However, the new attraction might take some of its cues from MCA's Islands of Adventure theme park, which is currently under development in Florida. One part of Islands of Adventure will be a Dr. Seuss Landing Area, featuring attractions based on popular Dr. Seuss characters.

"If that works in Florida, it could be used here (in Los Angeles)," said McCann. She added that the children's theme park will be roughly the size of Universal Studios of Hollywood's current theme park.

MCA also plans a major expansion of office space in its business district along Lankershim Boulevard near the Hollywood Freeway, and the addition of new studio production facilities in the "back lot" area along the Los Angeles River channel.

Officials say the biggest objections are likely to come over the addition of more traffic. MCA hopes to alleviate those concerns through new roadways, including a new entrance to Universal City via Forest Lawn Drive off the Ventura (134) Freeway.

In addition, the Metro Rail subway plans to have a Universal City stop.

Most of MCA's property is in the Third Supervisorial district represented by county supervisor Zev Yaroslavksy.

"He wants to make sure whatever is built does not detract from the residential area, while recognizing that MCA is important to the principal economic engine of the film and entertainment industry and the economy of L.A. County," said Ginny Kruger, Yaroslavsky's planning deputy.

"The principal concern to all neighborhoods will be the additional amount of traffic the plan will generate," she said. "There are also valid concerns about noise."

Local homeowner groups are skeptical, but will reserve judgment pending the release of the EIR.

"Our attitude is to wait and see what's in the EIR. Then we'll do whatever he have to," said Polly Ward, vice president of the Studio City Residents Association. "If the EIR is not inclusive enough (on traffic issues), we'll definitely be at the public hearings."