Dealers Stick With Design of Auto Mall Sign : Thousand Oaks: Representatives hold four-hour meeting to discuss concerns. Alternate plan is rejected.

Though faced with strong community opposition, Thousand Oaks’ auto dealers decided Wednesday they will stick with the original design of a controversial Auto Mall sign that the City Council will consider next week.

Representatives from the city’s 11 auto dealers met for four hours to discuss community concerns about the proposed 28-foot-high electronic message board and to consider possible alternatives, said Chuck Cohen, the attorney representing the dealers.

But in the end they preferred to make no changes to the sign that would be located along the Ventura Freeway adjacent to the auto mall.

“The bottom line is that the dealers really believe that the sign they have presented to the city is a good one, and that it is aesthetically pleasing,” Cohen said. “They really like what they have.”

He said the auto dealers did consider one alternative design by a local architect that would have made the sign significantly shorter in height and featured a waterfall instead of an electronic message board.

“But they decided this would not be compatible with existing buildings within the Auto Mall area,” Cohen said.

A majority of the City Council has expressed reservations about the proposed electronic sign, which has stirred protests from the community. Residents have complained that the “Las Vegas-like” sign would insult the city’s aesthetic values.

Cohen said a new attention-grabbing Auto Mall sign is needed to make the mall more competitive and to help establish a stronger identity for it. The Auto Mall contributes more than $2 million in annual sales tax revenue for the city.

“Every month that goes by without a new sign, another community takes advantage of the marketplace,” he said.

Councilwoman Jaime Zukowski said the sign’s height, bright lighting and electronic message board do not meet the city’s design guidelines. She said she believed the auto dealers still had an opportunity to come up with a creative solution to satisfy their needs and to address the concerns of the community.

“This doesn’t mean that people do not appreciate the contributions the Auto Mall makes to the economic health of the community,” Zukowski said. “It’s just that people are proud of their community, and they want to be proud of their Auto Mall too.”

Zukowski said the sign issue is a very sensitive subject with residents because it would be located at the entrance to the city along the Ventura Freeway.

“If it wasn’t such a prominent location, I think it would be a very different” situation, she said. In addition to Zukowski, Mayor Elois Zeanah and Councilwoman Judy Lazar have also expressed concerns about the sign’s height and message board.

The City Council will hold a public hearing on the issue at its meeting on Tuesday, beginning at 5 p.m.