Council Delays Vote on RV Sign

Angry residents tried to persuade the City Council this week to scrap a proposal that would allow electronic signs along the San Diego Freeway.

Responding to the outcry but not promising anything, council members told the 140 protesters who crowded City Hall that they will delay a vote on the matter until Nov. 5.

The proposal is part of a complicated settlement agreement between the city and Mike Thompson’s Recreational Vehicle dealership.

The dealership says it was promised a lighted board for its lot at 10480 Talbert Ave. when it opened in 1993. City officials dispute that but said they want to avoid litigation with a business that provides hefty sales tax revenue.

A settlement, however, would require the council to lift a long-standing ban on electronic boards, possibly igniting interest from other businesses.

The settlement also would require the city to pay $100,000 to build Thompson’s sign. Frank DeGelas, who owns the RV lot, said boosted sales taxes will cover construction costs within five years.

“I am promising that it will increase sales tax to offset their investment,” DeGelas said. “If it fails, I will personally give them the balance.”

The lot provided about $250,000 in sales taxes to the city last year, DeGelas said.

Still, residents said they don’t want a large, brightly lighted sign hawking RVs at the city’s gateway.

“Personally, it disgusts me,” resident Leston V. Trueblood said. “The best way I can describe it is as legalized electronic graffiti.”

The tenets of the ordinance would be strict, and the sign, with 121 square feet of message space, would be dwarfed by others in Orange County.

Huntington Beach’s auto sign along the the San Diego Freeway boasts about 400 square feet of lighted copy, and Irvine Auto Center illuminates the El Toro Y with 370 square feet of message space.

Signs also would be limited to vehicle dealerships along the freeway. Thompson’s is the only existing business that would qualify.