THOUSAND OAKS : Giant Banner Sought for Civic Arts Plaza

To help passing motorists who mistake a state-of-the-art auditorium for a towering office building, the Thousand Oaks City Council will consider hanging a giant banner on the half-built Civic Arts Plaza.

Councilmen Alex Fiore and Frank Schillo are recommending that a banner 60 feet long and 6 feet high be hung atop the southern wall of the auditorium’s fly tower, bearing the message: “Civic Arts Plaza--For Information, Call 496-8688.”

The banner’s size would dwarf the standard signs permitted under the Thousand Oaks municipal code. The city’s design guidelines restrict all businesses to 20-foot banners except the Auto Mall, which is allowed a 30-foot advertisement for special events.

But in a memo to the council, Fiore and Schillo argued that a regulation-size banner would not be appropriate on the massive tower, which rises 10 stories high. “A 20-foot banner on the face of a 125-foot stage tower would look more like a Band-Aid than a banner,” they wrote.

And Helene Ross, publicity chairwoman for the grand-opening committee, wrote a letter supporting the banner on the grounds that the city has “invested years of energy into this project, and funds, and a simple means of identification seems to be much needed.”

Price quotes for the banner range from $482 to $1,461. The council will vote on the issue at Tuesday’s meeting.

Also Tuesday, the council will vote on the official logo for the Civic Arts Plaza’s two-month grand opening ceremony starting next fall, which coincides with the city’s 30th birthday.

After reviewing 55 designs submitted in a logo competition, a citizens committee has recommended two winners. One, featuring two dancers cavorting under an oak tree, would be used for posters and large-sized reproductions. The other, a fluid drawing of a single dancer, would be used on stationery and other items requiring small-scale reproductions.