AGOURA HILLS : Hearing Over Tall Signs Is Wednesday

A group of business owners who sued the city of Agoura Hills to keep their outlawed pole-mounted signs standing will have their day in court Wednesday.

A hearing is scheduled at 9 a.m. in Van Nuys Superior Court, said Robert Aran, one of the attorneys representing the 12 businesses.

Aran said that under California’s Business and Professions Code, the business owners have the right to keep their tall signs because they draw customers from the freeway. They would lose that business if the signs were dismantled, he said.

“These particular businesses are locationally disadvantaged, and they cannot continue to communicate with the public if they comply with the applicable city law,” said Aran.

The city banned pole signs in 1985. In a referendum later that year, voters supported the ban 3 to 1. A city initiative that would have overturned the pole sign ordinance lost overwhelmingly last November.

The signs were to have been removed by March, 1992, but several businesses refused and began filing separate lawsuits earlier this year.

The issue has created hard feelings between opponents of freeway signs, who say they spoil the scenery, and many of the business owners who have them. The opponents have tried to organize boycotts against the businesses that filed the suits, but apparently have met with little success.

Agoura Hills City Atty. Greg Stepanicich could not be reached for comment.

According to Aran, the city argues that the state code deals with height and size restrictions. Therefore, Aran said, the state code does not apply in this case, because the city wants to remove the signs altogether, not regulate their size or height.

“Their position is illogical and renders the state’s expressed policy meaningless,” Aran said.

The firms are Chevron, Unocal, Burger King, Texaco, Lumber City, Fence Factory, Roadside Lumber and Hardware, McDonald’s, Denny’s, Jack-in-the-Box, Horse Trailers International and a Mobil service station.

City Council Member Denis Weber said the ordinance is “a local-control issue” that has the support of most residents.

“We’ve just got to take a stand that they all need to come down, and this is just the first step as far as I’m concerned,” he said.

The issue has been heating up in other cities as well. In Calabasas, the Planning Commission recently ordered two businesses, Calabasas Mobil and Red Robin restaurant, to remove their pole signs within 90 days.

The signs violate a city ordinance prohibiting signs taller than 60 feet, the commission ruled. The two were invited to apply for permits for 42-foot signs.

They have the right to appeal the Planning Commission’s decision to the City Council.

Despite the hard feelings, one recent case was settled amicably.

In May, Agoura Hills officials announced an agreement with Shell Oil Co. in which the company would take down a 70-foot pole sign in exchange for permits to build a car wash and mini-mart.