Vons to Appeal Sign-Size Limit in Montebello

Officials of a Vons supermarket under construction on West Whittier Boulevard will appeal to the City Council a stipulation of an outdoor sales permit in order to erect an “Aztec-looking” sign which the Planning Commission has said is too big, a store spokeswoman said.

Vons will ask the City Council on Nov. 24 to remove the permit’s requirement that the store submit a sign plan to the commission because the 1,225-square-foot logo designed for the market’s Mexican decor is more than twice the size proposed by the commission as the maximum for business signs on the boulevard, said Sue Lawmaster, the store’s marketing director.

If the council throws out the requirement, it would be the second time in about two months that the council has overruled a Planning Commission decision regarding the supermarket. In September, the council approved a zoning change, which the commission opposed, that would allow Vons to sell goods outdoors.

But the permit granting outdoor sales orders the supermarket, among other conditions, to submit a sign plan to the commission. “The only one we couldn’t live with was the sign (plan),” Lawmaster said. “It would be like changing a window size in your house. It’s more than the cost of the sign.”

The commission, which has been working on a proposal to limit the size of business signs to about 580 square feet, has used the suggested limit as a guideline for the Vons store, city planner Paul Deibel said.