Board Votes to Alter City Sign Ordinance

Planning commissioners have decided to amend the city’s stringent sign ordinance to avoid a collision with the 1st Amendment.

The commission voted unanimously Monday to eliminate provisions that restrict wording on commercial monument signs in Thousand Oaks.

“It was the right thing to do,” said Haider Alawami of the city’s planning department. “It was all they could do, because we really can’t tell property owners what they can say.”

The issue surfaced several years ago when Scott Bailey, owner of Signature Signs in Newbury Park, grew frustrated at the city’s procedure for obtaining permits to spell out anything other than the name of a shopping complex.

“Their unconstitutional policy was affecting my business,” he said. “I was sick and tired of always having to file these applications, spend my money and waste all this time to get a sign.”

Landlords, he said, were being forced to rename plazas in order to identify big-name anchor tenants.

Bailey contacted a lawyer and later alerted the city to his complaint.

The city relented, but not without retaining some control over the signs.

Commissioners also voted to place more stringent standards on the construction and appearance of signs by restricting height, total square footage, letter size and color.

The matter will next move to the City Council, which is expected to give the amendment final approval.

“The 1st Amendment thing was easy to fix, but making sure those signs are tasteful was the important thing,” said Commissioner Dave Anderson. “But I think we struck a balance where everyone will be happy.”