THOUSAND OAKS : Sign Promoting Civic Arts Plaza Approved

The way Helene Ross figures it, $275 can buy an awful lot of publicity.

As chairwoman of a committee in charge of drumming up support for Thousand Oaks’ Civic Arts Plaza, Ross has drafted a long and ambitious publicity program, from radio spots to a cable broadcast to a slick brochure.

But her most visible effort may be the most low-tech--and the least expensive.

The City Council this week approved Ross’ request to install a 23-square-foot purple and teal sign on Thousand Oaks Boulevard counting down the months until the performing arts center opens this fall. The publicity committee will foot the bill of $275.

With its logo of a leaping dancer and its slogan “The Countdown Begins,” the sign will “stimulate interest in our wonderful plaza,” Ross said.

Although the sign meets the city’s size guidelines, it will violate a rule limiting developers to one sign per construction site.

The Civic Arts Plaza site already has one sign, a billboard identifying it as a redevelopment project and listing all five council members. In addition, a trailer bearing the construction management firm’s name, Lehrer McGovern Bovis, is visible from Thousand Oaks Boulevard. And a 60-foot-long banner identifying the building hangs on the tower facing the Ventura Freeway.

Still, City Council members agreed that the Civic Arts Plaza presented a special case and agreed to allow the countdown sign. Mayor Elois Zeanah cast the only no vote, arguing that the countdown placard should replace, rather than stand next to, the redevelopment agency billboard.