Lawsuit Filed To Stop $1B Television City Expansion
The company that owns and manages The Grove mall filed a lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles and the developer of the neighboring expansion and modernization of the Television City studio lot in Fairfax.
The complaint invokes the California Environmental Quality Act to have the city's approvals for the $1B project overturned, the Los Angeles Times reported.
"The Developer and the City have advanced a project that has been and remains frustratingly undefined, leaving the public without a clear understanding of its true scope and potential impacts," the complaint reads. "This lack of clarity is particularly concerning for a development project that imposes huge impacts on the community and environment."
The Grove is owned by Rick Caruso, former mayoral candidate and frequent critic of the use of CEQA to delay or sink projects.
Opponents have long said that the Television City project would increase traffic to the area, causing backups on the streets that would affect nearby neighbors and businesses.
The complaint alleges that by approving the project, the city violated CEQA, state housing law and a local measure requiring bus and bike lanes along certain sections of city streets.
"These coordinated lawsuits are an unfortunate but predictable abuse of CEQA to stop the Television City studio plan," Hackman Capital Partners Senior Vice President Zach Sokoloff said in a statement.
Sokoloff pointed to the lengthy review process the project underwent to gain approvals from the city, including revisions in 2024, and noted that "at every step of the City process, the TVC Project was unanimously approved."
Sokoloff said the company is committed to "keeping Hollywood in Hollywood," and underscored that the modernization project at Television City would help that effort.
The Grove is not alone in suing to overturn the city's approvals. Community groups Beverly Wilshire Homes Association and Save Beverly Fairfax have their own complaints, as does the entity that owns the Original Farmers Market, which is next door to The Grove.
"The Grove strongly supports the entertainment industry," Caruso Senior Vice President Chris Robertson said in a statement. "But we all need to be good neighbors, and without changes, this project will create additional traffic, parking problems, pollution and other harmful impacts in our community."
