Scaled-Down Auto Mall Sign OKd : Thousand Oaks: A 20-foot-high project is approved over electronic message board. Dealers will discuss whether to proceed.

After a marathon six-hour public hearing, the Thousand Oaks City Council on Wednesday approved a scaled-down version of a new auto mall sign instead of a proposed 28-foot-high electronic message board.

The council voted 3 to 2 to approve a subdued version of the sign, proposed by Councilwoman Judy Lazar. Mayor Elois Zeanah and Councilwoman Jaime Zukowski dissented.

“I have a strong feeling we can make people say, ‘Hey, look at that auto mall sign. It’s attractive, it’s different,’ ” Lazar said after proposing her redesign early Wednesday morning. “We can stand out by being different rather than being the same with an electronic reader board.”

Auto dealers have said a bigger, flashier sign is needed to grab the attention of passing motorists and instantly communicate the message that 36 dealers are in one setting.

But residents opposed the glitzy appearance of message boards, which display a constantly changing selection of advertisements and community announcements. Auto malls in Ventura and Oxnard have message boards.

Lazar proposed allowing a 20-foot-high sign in the same place as the existing sign, instead of several feet closer to the freeway as the dealers had proposed. Only the time and temperature could be displayed on the sign--if an electronic portion is included at all.

Zeanah and Zukowski said the auto dealers should be required to reapply if the project was going to be substantially changed.

“I do not think that the council should be in the business of trying to redesign applicants’ projects,” Zeanah said.

The Auto Mall dealers association planned to discuss today whether to build the version of the sign approved by the council. If they proceed, the council would have to review any new plans to make sure they comply. But a public hearing would not legally be required, said City Atty. Mark Sellers.

Proponents said they spent nearly one year and $100,000 developing plans for the message board sign. In October, the Planning Commission denied the project, but the auto dealers appealed the denial to the City Council.

On Wednesday, some auto dealers expressed disappointment with the council vote.

“We don’t know what (the new design) is going to look like,” said Susan Mejia, executive vice president of the Silver Star Automotive Group, a partnership of four dealerships in the auto mall. “Is it worth it to spend the money on a new sign, if people aren’t going to be able to see it from both sides of the freeway?”

The glaring nature of a message board towering over motorists was exactly what the sign’s opponents were fighting, they said. Many feared approval of the sign could clear the way for similar large, electronic signs.

Resident Suzanne Duckett addressed the council with a warning for dealers that many residents would take their car-buying business elsewhere if the sign were approved despite its inconsistency with city design standards.

“A lot of people will become irate if this sign goes up,” Duckett said.

Some opponents testified they are not opposed to a more visible sign, but would prefer a sign that is tastefully designed and not too big.

“I hear voices in the community saying ‘Let us serve ourselves well by working this out,’ ” resident Mary Margaret Thomes told the council.

Cathy Schutz, who represented a group of homeowners in the Westlake Village neighborhood of Thousand Oaks, said after the meeting that she was undecided about the compromise plan approved by the council.

The auto dealers should be recognized as an important part of the business community, she said. But, Schutz added, “They have a little bit of an obligation to come up with something that will pacify the community.”