AGOURA HILLS : Sign Backers Hoping to Raise $10,000

Supporters hope to raise about $10,000 for a direct mail campaign touting a controversial ballot measure that would allow many tall, pole-top signs in Agoura Hills to remain in place, a spokeswoman said Thursday.

“We have a need to reach out for educational purposes,” said Linda Harmon, political consultant for Concerned Tax Contributors. “I don’t think most people are aware of how this city is run: on the sales tax revenues from businesses.”

CTC, an organization of local merchants and others opposed to a city ordinance requiring the removal of the signs, some of which are nearly 100 feet tall, contends that businesses will suffer unless their measure is approved.

The group also opposes a ballot measure sponsored by the City Council, which would limit the signs to 35 feet tall. Council members and many residents have argued that the signs are an eyesore set against the backdrop of the city’s scenic, rolling hills.

CTC has spent all but $1,500 of the $60,000 that it raised for its cause during the past two years, according to records filed with the city clerk last month. About two-thirds was paid to Harmon, records show.

The overwhelming majority of the contributions to CTC are from fast-food restaurants and gas station chains, and several local business owners. The group, which mounted a petition drive to place its measure on the ballot, raised more than $10,000 between Jan. 1 and June 30 of this year, including $4,000 each from Unocal Corp. in Los Angeles and Denny’s in South Carolina.

So far, supporters of the City Council-sponsored measure have not raised any money for their campaign, according to papers filed with the city clerk.