City Council Committee Delays Vote : Ban on Encino Billboards Loses Ground

Proponents of a tough sign-control ordinance for Ventura Boulevard in Encino suffered a setback Tuesday when a Los Angeles City Council committee shelved it for further study.

“I’m disappointed, but I remain optimistic that what we’re talking about can be accomplished,” said Cindy Miscikowski, chief deputy to Councilman Marvin Braude, who has led the fight to control signs in Encino, which is in his district.

Miscikowski’s remarks came after the City Council’s Planning and Environment Committee delayed a vote on the proposed ordinance for Encino to study how it compares with a proposed citywide sign-control ordinance scheduled to come before the committee in May.

Asked if she feared the action is an effort to kill the Encino ordinance, Miscikowski replied, “I’m worried that it might be.”

Proponents Need Boost

Backers of the proposed ordinance need the support of the committee to counter expected heavy lobbying by the billboard industry before it reaches the full council.

That industry favors the proposed citywide sign-control ordinance, which would restrict the location of billboards. The Encino measure would ban new billboards.

“We are opposed to this patchwork process,” Pilar Perry, assistant Southern California regional manager for Foster & Kleiser, a large billboard company, told the committee.

Ken Spiker, the city’s former chief legislative analyst and now a lobbyist for the billboard industry, argued that separate laws would create confusion.

Major Contributor

The industry has been a major contributor to council members’ campaigns and has thwarted previous efforts to ban billboards.

Braude urged the committee to approve the Encino ordinance, saying it represents a compromise supported by business and homeowner groups.

Gerald Silver, president of Homeowners of Encino, urged the committee “not to degrade the Encino plan by the watered-down city proposal.” He pointed out that a number of other communities in Los Angeles, including Universal City and Warner Center, ban billboards.

The proposed Encino ordinance would force the removal or modification of 40% of the signs on Ventura Boulevard within five years, Braude said.