George Lucas stirring up a rebel alliance against his building on historic farmland

[~~whimsy~~]

Luke Skywalker would be proud. A rebel alliance has formed in the hills north of San Francisco to fight a perceived Evil Empire.

The alliance is a group of Marin County homeowners. Their phantom menace is George Lucas, the world-renowned filmmaker whose Star Wars Trilogy sky-rocketed him to acclaim and fortune.

The plot is simple: Lucas wants to expand his filmmaking empire in the quiet valley that has been home to his Skywalker Ranch for three decades, building a 270,000-square-foot digital media production compound on historic farmland known as Grady Ranch. Neighbors say the massive structure will constrain their lifestyle with additional noise, traffic and harmful environmental impacts on the pristine countryside.

But the plot thickens. Other neighbors say Lucas has been a stellar neighbor and a steward of the land who has protected massive swaths of agricultural acreage from housing developments, while bringing jobs and tax-paying residents to the community.

It will all play out before what is likely to be a wide audience at the Marin County Planning Commission meeting on Feb. 27.

Residents of Lucas Valley Estates, a subdivision of 174 midsize to upscale homes about a half-hour drive north of the Golden Gate Bridge, are leading the charge against Grady Ranch. They believe the latest Lucas compound is simply too big for Lucas Valley, named for a 19th century rancher and no relation to the 67-year-old filmmaker.

"This is really the last gateway of historic farmland up here," said Liz Dale, an economist who specializes in land policy. "This is a nonsensical location."

The neighbors say Lucasfilms Ltd. pulled a stealth move on them, quietly taking a master plan that was passed in 1996 by the county supervisors, and then presenting a revised plan before the planning commission in December with what they say was little public notice.

That plan includes a 51-foot-tall, mission-style compound with two 85-foot towers, two indoor sound stages as well as an outdoor stage of nearly 7,000 square feet. There will be screening rooms, guest housing for visiting production teams, a general store and cafeteria for employees, as well as a 4,000-square-foot wine cave for private tastings and storage of the wine and olive oil produced on the working ranches.

Lucasfilm hopes to have the necessary permits in place and break ground by next year, with construction taking 18 months to two years.

"When the plan was passed in 1996, everybody had George Lucas stars in their eyes and whatever he wanted, they were happy to give," said Rachel Kamman, a water resources engineer who lives in another nearby subdivision.

"They wanted him to stay in Marin County," she said. "We still want him to stay in Marin County; people value his job, we value his industry, the creativity, and people think it's reflective of this county. But this is a big-boxed, outsourcing facility with significant unmitigated environmental impact."

Lucas' other projects include Skywalker Ranch and Big Rock, all adjoining the Grady compound. Combined, they comprise some 6,100 acres of grassy knolls, valleys and steep hillsides. Yet 95 percent of that land remains undeveloped and protected.

More here:
http://hosted2.ap.org/CARIE/7f780b0...cas Ranch/id-1db7165e92f64852b1d806245c914648

Soon he will build Jabba's Palace for his home away from home...

 

[sherri blake]

Re: George Lucas stirring up a rebel alliance against his building on historic farmla

Damn, that would be a site to see

 

[LeyaFalcon]

Re: George Lucas stirring up a rebel alliance against his building on historic farmla

Why does he need all of that? So he can make more awful movies like episodes 1 2 and 3?? 4 5 and 6 will never be topped!

 

[ralph furley]

Re: George Lucas stirring up a rebel alliance against his building on historic farmla

red tails sucked

 

[PirateKing]

Re: George Lucas stirring up a rebel alliance against his building on historic farmla

Why does he need all of that? So he can make more awful movies like episodes 1 2 and 3?? 4 5 and 6 will never be topped!

Episode 3 was alright.

 

[Hypergalaxy]

Re: George Lucas stirring up a rebel alliance against his building on historic farmla

1: I thought he retired. 2: I thought he said he believed the world was ending this year? So why does he care about building anything?


As far as I am concerned he can build a fucking airport hanger in my backyard if he makes episode 7.

 

[LukeEl]

Re: George Lucas stirring up a rebel alliance against his building on historic farmla

He needs to cut this shit and restore his legacy by making a decent live action Star Wars tv series. And no fucking Jar Jar Binks, focus on the Old Republic vs. Sith, oh and have Mandoloarians as well those guys kick ass.

 

[FreeOnes_Anders]

Re: George Lucas stirring up a rebel alliance against his building on historic farmla

Historic farmland... So its about 20 years ago that it was last in use?