Signs Advertising Tenants Rejected

The city’s Planning Commission has denied a request by owners of a local office building to place signs advertising their tenants on the outside of the building--signs that commissioners said would violate the city’s design guidelines.

Owners of the building at 200 N. Westlake Blvd., near the intersection of Thousand Oaks Boulevard, wanted city permission for four signs on the building’s exterior. City planners initially recommended that commissioners approve the plan, which would have spelled out tenants’ names in brushed metal letters silhouetted at night by hidden, white lights.

But after researching Thousand Oaks’ architectural guidelines, planners changed the recommendation and advised commissioners to deny the request during their Monday meeting. The guidelines, as approved by the City Council in May 1995, specifically prohibit such signs on office buildings, commission Chairman Forrest Frields said.

“I didn’t think [the signs] were intrusive,” he said. “The lack of consistency there got to me.”

Commissioners voted unanimously against the request.