No changes made to La Cañada sign ordinance

A years-long debate on whether electronic message centers perform a community service or are a potentially distracting nuisance was settled Monday night after a heated discussion among a divided La Cañada Flintridge City Council.

Council members opted not to amend the city’s sign ordinance to allow for electronic reader board signs larger than 4 square feet at two Foothill Boulevard private institutions, St. Francis High and Flintridge Preparatory schools.

Laura Olhasso, Dave Spence and Jon Curtis said they wanted to keep the current sign ordinance, while Mayor Mike Davitt and Mayor Pro Tem Don Voss spoke in favor of amending it to grant a 2012 request from St. Francis for an electronic monument sign.

The council majority, backed unanimously by the Design Commission, said the signs were not in keeping with the city’s design directive, intended to support development which is “visually pleasing, which preserves and enhances the semirural character of the local environment, and which protects the scenic qualities of the community.”

“I don’t think what’s being proposed meets that statement at all,” said Councilwoman Laura Olhasso. “For (the Design Commission) to come back with unanimous opposition to this is something I sit up and pay attention to.”

Opponents also claimed rezoning to allow only two businesses to install electronic signs might be perceived as spot zoning and could potentially open up the city to lawsuits from other businesses, schools and organizations seeking similar concessions.

That was something about which both Spence and Curtis expressed concern.

“(The amendment) is discriminatory because it is focused on such a small geographic area that you’re favoring certain businesses and not allowing other businesses to take advantage of these reader boards, if you feel that’s an advantage,” Curtis said.

Another consideration was the potential safety hazard of having possibly two electronic signs installed in a high-traffic area with crosswalks, pedestrians and parents dropping off and picking up school children.

Thirteen people spoke in the public hearing with residents and design commissioners weighing in against St. Francis officials and supporters, who claimed a modest electronic sign would inform the school community and public at-large about campus news and events.

St. Francis President Fr. Tony Marti said the school hosts theatrical productions and events open to the public and would like an easier, more attractive way to advertise them than the 13-foot pole sign currently installed on Foothill Boulevard.

“We promise we would do a very beautiful monument sign,” Marti told the council. “And, as you know St. Francis, throughout all the projects we’ve undertaken, we have done a great job in keeping everything beautiful and keeping everything done well for the city of La Cañada.”

Mayor Pro Tem Don Voss said he didn’t feel the school’s request was out of line with the city’s design standard, since a 7-foot monument sign would have a lower profile than the pole sign, and argued amending the ordinance to allow such a narrowly defined zone would stem possible proliferation.

Voss also said the fact that electronic message centers are already allowed in the current ordinance proves the city does not deem them an inherent nuisance or safety hazard. He called allowing St. Francis to engage the community with a modest sign while ensuring the removal of an unattractive one a win-win situation for all.

“This will not negatively effect our semirural nature, it will enhance it,” he said. “I can’t imagine why we would not allow St. Francis to do this.”

When it seemed clear which way the resolution was shaking out, Davitt, the last to speak, cited instances in which zoning was changed for the benefit of a single private entity to all parties’ satisfaction but conceded the council would have to agree to disagree.

“We share a common feeling for our city to make it a better place,” Davitt said. “We interpret this differently, but we have the same objective overall.”

After nearly two hours, with no action taken or required, the council moved on to the next item in the evening’s agenda as the council chambers cleared.