SANTA ANA : Oversize Billboard Decision Postponed

Despite the Planning Commission’s recommendation, Councilman John Acosta Tuesday night asked the council to allow construction of three billboards at least twice the maximum legal size.

But after protests from council colleagues and city residents, Councilman Daniel E. Griset called for a postponement of the vote, now set for Feb. 5.

Griset said Acosta’s proposal was “gutting community standards” and called billboards “an environmental hazard, a piece of clutter in a busy city which we don’t need.”

Acosta replied: “I think you speak with forked tongue. In the last election I saw your face on all the billboards you call clutter.”

Santa Ana’s city code limits billboards to 35 feet in height and 300 feet square.

The three proposed billboards near the Costa Mesa and Garden Grove freeways all exceed the height restriction by several feet and are at least twice the size in square footage.

One of the billboards, proposed for 2701 S. Grand Ave., would be 65 feet tall and three times the allowed square footage. The other two billboard locations are at 800 E. Dyer Road and 1969 S. Ritchey St. Regency Outdoor Advertising is proposing two of the billboards. J.K. Consulting Services is proposing the third.

In reports to the City Council, the Planning Commission recommended against a total of nine oversize billboards, including these three, saying they would distract drivers and hurt the area’s appearance. The council is expected to vote on the other six billboards at future meetings.

Resident Mark LaFont told the council Tuesday, “If a poll was taken among Santa Ana residents now, nobody would accept these kinds of billboards.”