Officials Rethink Measure on Yard Signs

Homeowner groups have risen to challenge a proposal by L.A. planners that would allow residents who run businesses out of their homes to place signs advertising their work on their front lawns.

The plan circulated for weeks, angering some homeowners who feared that the new standards would mar the look of residential neighborhoods. They pointed out that a growing number of people operate businesses out of their homes.

But on Thursday, as the Planning Commission was about to hold a hearing on the matter, officials said they were pulling back the proposed ordinance to address concerns about ads on front lawns.

Critics said they were pleased that the city was rethinking the proposal but would reserve judgment until the new draft was released. City planners did not specify what the new rules would say but vowed to take into account the reservations of community groups.

“I don’t think it will be controversial at all,” said Jane Blumenfeld, a city planner.

Under the original plan, anyone who held a city business license would have been eligible to erect a single sign of up to 9 square feet in their yards or multiple signs adding up to a total of 12 square feet.

Currently, no signs are allowed for home-based businesses.

City officials began considering a new sign ordinance after a 2004 Superior Court ruling that found the city’s current regulations to be “content-based” discrimination and an improper restraint on commercial speech.

The lawsuit was brought by a spiritual advisor who wanted to put up a sign stating: “$10 for a psychic reading, come on in.”

Currently, city law allows signs in residential and agricultural zones for certain uses but not for others. For example, signs advertising produce grown on residential lots are allowed but those pushing home businesses are not.

Initially, city attorneys had proposed a strict interpretation of the court ruling and advised planners to rewrite the ordinance to make it more all-encompassing -- and less likely to result in more lawsuits.

That caused consternation among neighborhood groups that envisioned signs for accountants, paralegals, electricians and notary publics springing up on front porches and lawns.

“So instead of eliminating all business-related signs on residential property, the city is considering expanding regulations to allow more types of business signs in residential zones than is now permitted. This is wrong-headed,” wrote Gerald Silver, president of Homeowners of Encino, in a letter to the Planning Commission.

“Residents are now bombarded with advertising from every angle and location,” Silver added. “We oppose business signage of any kind in residential areas ... the only exception might be temporary real estate signs.”

But recently, the city attorney’s office told planners that it had reviewed the legal issues and now thought the city could impose different sign restrictions for various sections of town.

City officials said they were considering rules that might allow signs in areas zoned for residential-commercial use but restrict them in single-family home areas. A third set of rules might apply to areas zoned for multiple-family housing, such as apartments.

The debate comes a decade after the Los Angeles City Council moved to regulate and license a large part of the underground economy by permitting businesses to operate out of residential homes. As part of the regulations, the city adopted standards prohibiting excessive noise, traffic, signage and other changes that could ruin the character of neighborhoods composed of single-family houses.

At the time, the city estimated there were about 300,000 illegal home-based businesses operating in Los Angeles.

At a public hearing on the sign issue Thursday in Van Nuys, residents expressed relief that the department was going to take another stab at writing the proposed ordinance.

“I would suggest you do anything you can to make sure there’s enabling legislation that can definitely enforce it,” said Gordon Murley, president of the Woodland Hills Homeowners’ Assn. “Right now there are very small signs allowed in residential neighborhoods, and it must remain that way.”