La Verne : Cinema Project Delayed

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge John Zebrowski has ordered the city to make further environmental studies before allowing construction of a 12-screen cinema complex on Foothill Boulevard.

The judge’s decision is a victory for pharmacist Bob Mastro, head of the Small Town Preservation Committee, and three residents who sued to block a plan by Edwards Theatre Circuit Inc. to build a complex with nearly 3,000 seats.

Theater opponents contend the project is too large and would bring crowds and traffic to La Verne. Their attorney, John Murdock, said the ruling will force the city to rescind its approval of the project. “It’s a very significant victory for the people,” Murdock said.

But city officials say the theater would have no more seats than existing multiscreen complexes in Azusa and Montclair. City Manager Martin Lomeli said the judge apparently didn’t understand the city’s environmental analysis. Lomeli said the ruling doesn’t mean the project is dead.

In addition to the lawsuit, the Small Town Preservation Committee is circulating petitions to put an initiative on the Nov. 6 ballot that would prohibit construction of theaters with more than 1,000 seats.