Residents, Group Read Signs Differently : Oxnard: Two take up paint and brushes to protest an oil-waste dump, but an association says the action violates its bylaws.

Battle lines have been drawn between two Oxnard residents who have erected signs to protest an oil-waste dump in their neighborhood and a homeowners association that removed the signs because they violated the group’s bylaws.

The Oxnard Shore Community Assn. said Friday it painted over a sign on a fence in the Oxnard Dunes neighborhood that read “Our Home Toxic Dump,” and Thursday removed a billboard that read “Toxic.”

The sign and billboard were designed to bring attention to the oil-waste dump that was found in 1985 beneath the 100-parcel subdivision.

Ernest Paxton said four men working for the association painted over the sign that his mother, Lynda Paxton, had painted several months ago on a fence adjoining her house. He accused the association of vandalism and said he would call an attorney to challenge the association’s actions.

By midafternoon, Paxton had repainted the sign on the fence.

Toni David, president of the association, said her group hired a contractor to paint over the sign in the 4700 block of Dunes Street because the sign violated the association’s bylaws and because it prompted complaints from residents.

Under the same bylaws, she said the association hired workers to enter the 1010 Canal St. property of Steven Blanchard Thursday to remove a large billboard depicting a skull and crossbones and the word “TOXIC.”

Blanchard and Lynda Paxton are among 175 residents who filed a $3.5-million lawsuit in 1986 against 120 defendants, including developers, real estate agents, oil companies, previous landowners and landfill operators.

Tom Conway, a real estate agent and association member, said the signs were removed not because the association opposes the lawsuit but because other residents have complained about the signs.

“We don’t want to create conflict among our own members,” he said.

Blanchard said he was assaulted when he tried to take photographs of workers removing the billboard he had erected on his roof.

He said one of the workers punched him in the arm when he tried to take a photograph and then threatened to run him over when he tried to block the workers from leaving.

Blanchard said he reported the incident to police and plans to call an attorney to discuss his legal options.

David said she asked an Oxnard police officer to go to Paxton’s residence to make sure there were no further confrontations when the sign on the fence was removed.

Lynda Paxton said she believes she is not part of the association and does not have to abide by its bylaws.

She also criticized Oxnard police for allowing the association to remove her sign.

“I feel honestly as though we are living in a police state,” she said.

Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury said state law does not give an association the right to remove signs on private property. The association, however, can gain that right through a contract with the association’s homeowners.

The association has such a contract, known as the homeowners’ Conditions, Covenants and Restrictions, David said. The contract gives the association the right to enter a residence and remove any sign that violates the bylaws, she said.

In August, the association sent Blanchard and Paxton letters asking that the signs be removed within 10 days, Conway said.

David said that after several complaints from residents, the association’s board of directors voted Oct. 15 to remove Blanchard’s billboard and Paxton’s sign.

Removal of the sign is allowed under a bylaw that prohibits residents from posting any sign on the property, with the exception of small signs that read “For Sale,” “For Rent” or “Open House,” Conway said.

But Conrad G. Tuohey, a Santa Ana attorney representing Lynda Paxton in the lawsuit, questioned whether the association had the right to take such actions.