Agoura Hills City Council puts business sign ordinance back on display





Garish business lighting, temporary notices plastered on windows and walls, “opening soon” signs displayed for months and other issues related to business signs once again came under the scrutiny of the Agoura Hills City Council at its Jan. 9 meeting.

Most commercial businesses in Agoura Hills have complied with the city’s sign ordinance since the planning department embarked on an education campaign about the do’s and don’ts of signage; however, temporary window-sign provisions and neonlike displays continue to vex the enforcement team.

The purpose of the review, said Doug Hooper, assistant director of community development, is to find more effective methods of enforcing sign rules.

Hooper said the planning department has been successful in educating the business community about their sign laws through last year’s distribution of 300 brochures, but some ambiguities in the law remain.

Watch the window ads

“The issue in enforcing the window-sign provision of the sign ordinance is not only that window signs are prevalent but also that they are generally temporary and transitory in nature, thus requiring continued monitoring,” said Mike Kamino, director of planning and community development, in his report to council members.

Neon lighting is banned in Agoura Hills, but other bright lighting, including fluorescent and LED, has the same dramatic effect as neon and isn’t currently regulated under the law, Hooper said.

Mayor John Edelston said the intent of the law was to ban neon and neonlike signage.

“It’s that garish, bright light that we’re trying to restrict,” said Councilmember Bill Koehler.

“LEDs jump out at you pretty blatantly,” said Councilmember Denis Weber.

Councilmember Dan Kuperberg said he’d like the city to enforce the ordinance “without going nuts.”

The city doesn’t have the tools to measure the difference in intensity between neon and LED lighting, Kamino said.

Illuminated window signs advertising specific products are banned in the city, but “open” signs are not specifically addressed in the ordinance. The planning department wants to allow any illumination of “open” signs except for neon.

Visual clutter

Informational signs have also caused confusion. Typical information signs include hours of operation, credit card information, contact numbers and names of owners or associates. Generally these signs are viewed by pedestrians. Problems arise when temporary signs with the same information are posted in conjunction with permanently painted information signage. Hooper said such doubling up creates a “cluttered visual effect.”

Another issue facing business owners and code enforcement officers is the number of signs per window allowed under the law. Currently, only one sale sign can be displayed per window pane, covering no more than 25 percent of the pane. Some businesses use interior banners spanning several windows.

Display or just a sign?

Some window displays are not clearly defined as signage, but code enforcement officers say they have the same visual impact as other clearly banned displays. Restaurants display menu items; art galleries showcase art on their windows, and retail businesses hang interior banners visible to pedestrians, Hooper said in the report.

“In order to apply consistency and fairness amongst neighboring businesses, all window displays can be considered uniformly as window signs,” Hooper said.

Nonprofit groups’ signs were also reviewed at the meeting. Temporary signs displayed in shopping centers, on school railings and in buildings that face the street have proliferated in the city. The sign ordinance prohibits outdoor advertising displays but allows two temporary advertisements of charitable events in the city to be displayed on any commercial or residential lot. Some nonprofits also display information about their events on interior business windows.

Edelston suggested limiting the number of days such signs can be displayed prior to an event.

‘Opening soon’

“Future development” and “opening soon” signs were also discussed. With a permit, the law allows for the display of futuredevelopment signs. One sign per street frontage is allowed, and the size of the signs often varies based on the size of the parcel. The signs must be removed once the building is up, but when two or three years pass and construction has not been completed, the signage moves out of the code’s temporary category, Hooper said. “Opening soon” sign specifications are not included in the ordinance at all.

Kamino said grand-opening banners are allowed to be displayed for 30 days.

“It’s long been a struggle and balancing act for businesses to advertise their wares versus clutter that leads to visual blight,” said Koehler.

Kuperberg said more leeway should be given to business owners in regard to the number of signs allowed in a window. “More business owners follow rules if they are given flexibility,” he said. “Temporary banners are the most offensive to me.”

Council members agreed that 30 days prior to a business opening was enough time for an “opening soon” sign to be displayed.

Neither business owners nor Chamber of Commerce officials attended the meeting to comment.

Weber asked code enforcement officer Mike Gonzales how business owners react when he comes by to discuss signage.

“Generally, they’re pretty much positive,” Gonzales said.


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