AGOURA HILLS : Shell Oil Gets OK to Build Carwash

The Agoura Hills Planning Commission has agreed to let Shell Oil Co. build a carwash and mini-mart at its station on Kanan Road in exchange for voluntarily removing its 70-foot pole sign.

Many local businesses refuse to abide by the controversial 9-year-old city ordinance banning pole signs and have sued the city.

But Shell representatives say they want to settle the issue amicably.

“We are trying to create a win-win situation for the city and for Shell,” Larry Turner, an area real estate representative for the company, told the commission before its vote Thursday.

Turner said Shell believes the agreement makes more sense economically, because it would avoid costly lawsuits.

Shell officials are hoping the added revenue generated by the carwash and mini-mart will make up for an anticipated 30% drop in business when the sign comes down, but there are no guarantees.

Opponents of freewayl signs say such pole signs are unsightly and spoil the scenery, while many business people who have the signs say they would lose much of their business from the freeway if the signs came down.

When the city banned pole signs nine years ago, it gave owners seven years to remove them.

Voters that November backed the ordinance by a 3-1 ratio.

Ten businesses--Chevron, Unocal, McDonald’s, Texaco, Burger King, Denny’s, Jack In The Box, Lumber City, Roadside Lumber and Fence Factory--filed separate lawsuits against the city in May.

In response, a community group in Agoura Hills led a boycott against the businesses. Some of the businesses declared the boycott a failure and vowed to continue their fight to keep the signs.

Jerry Jackson, executive director of the Malibu-based Sign Users’ Council of California, which has been fighting against sign ordinances, said he had mixed feelings about the city’s agreement with Shell.

“We want to wish Shell Oil all the success with what they did,” he said. “But we would like to have Shell Oil come back a year from now and tell us if they are happy. If a carwash and food mart will create more revenue than a freeway sign, then we are very happy for them.”

He said his organization will continue working to help business people who want to keep their pole signs.

Earlier this year, Jackson credited the group with helping to defeat Assembly Bill 487, sponsored by the city of Agoura Hills, which would have strengthened the city’s ordinance against pole signs.