AGOURA HILLS : Group to Step Up Boycott on Pole Signs

Encouraged by community support for a boycott against 10 businesses attempting to keep their pole-mounted advertisements by suing the city of Agoura Hills, a community group has pledged to increase pressure on the businesses.

“We want to spread the word as widely as possible,” said Les Hardie, a member of Citizens Against Pole Signs. “We want to encourage people to show their disagreement with the pole sign businesses by not patronizing them.”

After Chevron, Unocal, McDonald’s, Texaco, Burger King, Denny’s, Jack in the Box, Lumber City, Roadside Lumber and the Fence Factory filed separate lawsuits against the city last month, charging that the ban on tall signs along the Ventura Freeway will hurt their profits, some residents called for a boycott.

On Sunday, nearly 50 residents protested in front of the businesses, urging people not to patronize them. But some of the businesses said the boycott is not likely to affect sales.

“I can’t see it having any negligible effect,” said Rick Stull, a material salesman at the Fence Factory. “If people need fencing, they’ll come here anyway. If anything, it will draw attention to us.”

The city outlawed pole-mounted advertisements nine years ago, saying they spoil the scenic view of the foothills and gave merchants seven years to remove them. In November, voters sanctioned the ban by a 3-1 ratio.

Businesses argue that the signs are necessary to attract the freeway travelers they say they rely on for profits.

But CAPS Chairman Ron Kapla said the boycott’s goal is to make the businesses lose customers from the community.

“If enough people do it, (businesses) are going to have to look at their bottom line and realize something happened,” he said.