City did its due diligence regarding sign ordinance

I would like to set the record straight regarding last week's Acorn article on the Agoura Hills sign ordinance.

Over the past three to four years I have been on two committees dealing with lighting and signs and the process was lengthy for both. In each case we dealt with issues that I felt needed to be addressed in order to give the planning director and planning commission more flexibility in approving different types of lighting as well as types, sizes and colors of signs.

In August 2003 the city council gave staff direction to begin the process of reviewing the existing sign ordinance and from March 2004 to September 2004 five sign committee meetings were held.

In July 2004 the staff held a workshop to discuss revisions to the proposed ordinance for a number of businesses that could be affected by the revisions. Chamber of Commerce President Alex Soteras was in attendance and according to the notes taken at the meeting, no comments were made by him.

Between October 2004 and February 2005 there were five planning commission meetings held that dealt with the sign program that was being proposed, as well as two city council meetings that also dealt with the sign program. Certainly with these meetings and the aforementioned committee meetings the Chamber had many opportunities to give input to the process.

The sign ordinance was adopted by the city council on May 11, 2005 and we have many instances where new sign programs are being requested for the various centers and buildings.

While everyone did not get everything they wanted-myself included-there were enough compromises that the planning commission and the city council felt that the overall result was appropriate and that the existing business owners as well as future ones could be the beneficiaries of this new ordinance.