VENTURA : City to Debate Auto Center Sign Proposal

A request by local car dealers to allow an electronic message board on a 69-foot sign for Ventura Auto Center will be considered by the Ventura City Council next Monday.

The auto center is considered vital to the city’s economic well-being because car dealerships, most of which are at the center, are the city’s largest single producer of sales taxes, city Planner Ann Chaney said.

The dealers requested the sign to improve their competitive position with other centers in the county. Of particular concern is the Oxnard auto center, which has an electronic message board and in the past two years has lured away two Ventura dealerships.

Other proposals to be discussed at the Jan. 28 City Council meeting include increasing the size of the identification sign facing the Ventura Freeway from 45 feet to 65 feet, and providing a cohesive design for new signs at dealerships that face Leland Street.

The city’s planning staff is recommending approval of all of the car dealers’ proposals.

However, the message board proposal is opposed by the Ventura Planning Commission, which voted 5 to 2 against it last month. The majority of the commissioners said the sign would be an eyesore and a traffic hazard. There was no evidence that it would attract more customers than the current sign, they said.