Countywide : Film Studio May Consider Move

20th Century Fox officials said Thursday that the company may move its film studio to Thousand Oaks or Valencia if plans to expand in Century City fall through.

Oxnard and Camarillo have also expressed an interest in attracting Fox and the 4,400 employees who would work at its expanded facility.

Fox wants to enlarge facilities at its 53-acre lot in Century City but faces opposition from neighbors who predict increased traffic problems, David Handelman, Fox senior vice president, said.

City hearings could begin by December on the company’s bid to add 750,000 square feet of production offices to its complex, which now has 1.1 million square feet of offices, sound stages and storage rooms, Handelman said.

The studio is in an area zoned only for residential use. Fox’s current activities are allowed because it has operated since 1927 and predates current zoning restrictions, Handelman said.