Vote on Hyundai sign delayed

Ellen McCarty

FOUNTAIN VALLEY -- City Atty. Alan Burns asked the City Council on

Tuesday to delay its vote on Hyundai’s sign permit until Oct. 5. Burns

said he wanted to research the sign code and ensure that the proposed

576-square-foot sign would comply with the law, which does not permit

billboards.

Keith Duckworth, vice president for Hyundai Motor America, agreed to the

delay. Duckworth has guided the sign proposal through two years of

negotiations with the city, including the planning commission’s approval

of the sign on May 26.

During a public hearing at the meeting to consider an appeal of the

permit, he said that he supported the city’s efforts to ensure that the

large glass-and-steel sign not only would comply with the law, but also

with Fountain Valley’s aesthetics.

“We haven’t taken this lightly,” he said. “I have my share of sweat

equity in this project.”

Duckworth said that Hyundai’s building at 10550 Talbert Ave. is unique

because of its size and proximity to the San Diego Freeway, and because

the sign would draw attention to the international corporation’s

headquarters, not products for sale.

“If you’re worried about setting a precedent, this site cannot be

reproduced anywhere in the city,” he said. “The sign would face no

residents or businesses except the city yard and would only be seen from

the 405 Freeway.”

The Hyundai team showed the council a computer simulation of the Hyundai

building as it is viewed by freeway drivers, with and without the

16-by-36-foot sign, during the day and at night. The starkness of the

empty wall facing the freeway motivated Hyundai to enhance the building

with a window displaying a rendering of a car, Duckworth said.

Proportional to the size of the building, which occupies 18 acres of

land, the sign code allows for a 720-square foot sign, but Hyundai

reduced the size to please the city, he added.

“We made six major concessions to the city,” Duckworth said. Hyundai also

will allow the city to monitor and regulate the intensity of the sign’s

lights, remove any message considered offensive to the public and

withdraw the sign’s permit if Hyundai ever sells the building.

Even so, some Fountain Valley residents weren’t satisfied.

“If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and sounds like a duck, it is

a duck,” resident Leston Trueblood said at the meeting. “This is a

billboard folks, in my opinion. I think it will change the complexion of

Fountain Valley.”

Trueblood then said that, since the city leases Hyundai cars, perhaps

city officials consider Hyundai a more favored company than other

Fountain Valley businesses, a comment that drew heat from both Hyundai

and city officials.

“We provide vehicles without reservation not only to Fountain Valley, but

to the Red Cross and other organizations,” Duckworth said. “I take strong

exception that there is something nefarious or wrong about our support of

the city.”

Councilwoman Laurann Cook agreed.

“Hyundai has been a good neighbor to the city, but I brought this issue

forward after the planning commission approved the sign,” she said. “We

want to do what is right for the city, not win or lose Hyundai’s favor.

If losing their favor was a concern, it was the last thing on my mind.”