Simi Gets Word Out on Development Plans : Signs About Hearings Get Credit for Increased Public Participation

When Simi Valley City Council members began to hear grumblings from local residents about feeling left out of development issues, they decided to go beyond the legally required public notices and get the word out in a big way.

They began requiring developers to post 4-by-8-foot signs on proposed building sites giving the time, date and location of public hearings for the projects.

The idea has gotten high marks from officials, activists and even developers, who are responsible for the average $175 to $300 cost of the signs and their posting and removal.

Ed Sloman, who fought for a building moratorium in effect in Simi Valley, said of the sign requirement: “It definitely works. Most people do not see the notices in the newspaper . . . it isn’t enough.”

City and state laws require that notices be mailed to residents within 300 feet of proposed development sites and that newspaper notices be published 10 to 14 days before public hearings.

The Simi Valley law, passed in 1982, says signs must be posted at least 11 days before a hearing, said Jim Arnold, director of the city’s Community Development Department, and the rule is strictly enforced. Pictures of the signs are taken on the day they are supposed to be up, Arnold said.

If there is no sign, Arnold said, or if it has a misprint about any of the facts, the hearing is continued until the sign has been posted or modified.

The sign’s location is also strictly enforced, Arnold said. It must be at least five feet inside the property line in residential zones and at least a foot inside the property line in commercial and industrial areas.

So far, Arnold said, the signs have worked well in increasing resident participation in the city’s development.

“It’s really fair to the public,” Arnold said. “It’s what open government is all about.”

Mayor Elton Gallegly said resident participation is even more crucial now, while the city decides about projects that were submitted before the building moratorium took effect Oct. 21.

“We want every citizen in this community to be aware of any changes to be made in their neighborhood,” he said.

The City of Moorpark apparently had the same idea when it incorporated in 1983 and adopted the sign policy.

Moorpark requires developers to post 4-by-8-foot signs on the property site at least 10 days before a public hearing and to leave the sign up until seven days after it.

Diane Eaton, assistant planner in the Planning Department, said the city also posts 8 1/2-by-11-inch signs in the Post Office, City Hall and library 10 days before the hearing.

Thousand Oaks is also looking into the possibility of using large signs, said Maria Prescott, a staff assistant in the city’s Planning and Development Department.

“Thousand Oaks has very active homeowners associations,” Prescott said. “They want to know about the notices. People are interested who don’t live within 300 feet of the area.”

Thousand Oaks requires three 12-by-18-inch signs on three-foot-high stakes on the property targeted for development.

The idea of large signs has also attracted the attention of Agoura Hills, said Mayor Pro Tem Fran Pavley, and that city is discussing it.

“This way, it wouldn’t be after the bulldozers start working that people start protesting,” Pavley said.

She added that, during her November political campaign, one of the main complaints from local residents was that they felt left out of development issues.

Developers say the signs are good for business.

“We have a very aware community now,” said Elaine Freeman, a developer whose proposal to build a controversial 300-unit condominium project in Simi Valley’s Hopetown will be heard by the city’s Planning Commission on Wednesday. “If they aren’t informed, it causes more controversy than if they were informed,” she said.

Harold Geer, a Simi Valley developer, agreed. “Sure, you must have the signs up. The people must know,” he said.

Nearly 300 people heard seven hours of emotional testimony last week at a City Council hearing on a 22-unit condominium project Geer wants to build.