MISSION VIEJO : Mall Sign Approved Despite Objections

Over objections from Laguna Hills officials, the City Council has approved signage for a planned store in the Freeway Center shopping mall, which is under construction.

The two cities disagreed whether a six-foot sign to be perched atop the proposed Thieves Market retail store is a wall sign or a roof sign, the latter being prohibited under a Mission Viejo planning ordinance.

The sign will go on a 33-foot-tall triangular structure to be constructed on the rooftop.

Laguna Hills is upset about the sign, believing it will be big and highly visible to the hillside residents near the development.

“We understand they see that as a wall,” Laguna Hills Planning Director Michael Thiele said. “But it’s right on top of the roof and their code clearly prohibits any sign above the visible roof line.”

However, Mission Viejo planners and the City Council said the proposed six- foot sign was clearly a wall sign and plans for the Thieves Market retail store were unanimously approved Monday.

The sign would represent the Western boot and clothing store and is part of a 290,000-square-foot outdoor mall in Mission Viejo next to Laguna Hills at Pacific Parkway and Cabot Road.

The mall has been a legal battleground in the past for the two cities, with Laguna Hills fighting for some control of the development, which sits next to Nellie Gail Ranch, an upscale housing tract.

The cities settled their lawsuit by agreeing to let Laguna Hills have advance plans for all stores in the mall and participate in the approval process.

Thiele said Laguna Hills is concerned that Mission Viejo’s ruling on Monday would set a precedent for the rest of the development.

However, Mission Viejo officials assured Laguna Hills Monday that future applications would be looked at “on a case-by-case basis,” Councilman Joseph Lowe said.