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Opposition to over-sized sign has Lawndale taking notes
by Jason Dietrich
This Thursday, North Redondo and Lawndale residents will meet with Lawndale city staff to discuss further tests before allowing a zoning change that would permit the construction of a 115-foot flashing billboard on the Redondo/Lawndale border.
Residents fear that the sign, designed to attract the attention of motorists passing on the 405, will glare into their windows and have a negative impact on their property values.
"My biggest concern is that the sign just doesn’t belong in this area. Around here we seem to be downscaling and restricting the height on signs. If you drive around the whole South Bay area, there is nothing of that height," said North Redondo Resident Jackie Melton.
At the meeting, residents and Lawndale staff will brainstorm ways to figure out what kind of impact such a mammoth sign could have. Before most residents were aware of Lawndale’s plan, a crane was erected at the site of the proposed zoning change, a triangle bounded by Inglewood on the west, Manhattan Beach Boulevard on the South and the 405-freeway to the North and East. Some neighbors want to see the crane again, this time hoisting a canvas that showing the size and angle of the sign that could be constructed.
"We did talk with their staff about out concerns. Their staff expressed their openness to working with us. We’ll talk again after the meeting," said Randy Berler, senior planner for Redondo Beach.
In late June the Lawndale City Council proposed an ordinance that would allow the construction of a sign as large as 48 feet wide by 70 feet high at the suggestion of sign developer Electabrite Media Inc. which owns property in the affected area.
A sign that big is nearly five times as big as a typical roadside billboard, which measure about 48 feet wide by 14 feet high. The designs for the sign that were shown to Redondo staff included two tri-vision panels, sections of which rotate to display different advertisements, as well as a 1000 square foot section that could flash electronic messages.
The Lawndale planning commission had approved a staff report stating that a 115-foot sign would not have a negative impact on the environment.
A group of North Redondo Residents led by Councilman John Parsons appeared at the Lawndale City Council meeting to protest the zoning change and claim that the sign would negatively impact the surrounding neighborhood. Residents who attended Lawndale’s city hall meeting on the sign were sent a letter informing them of the special sign meeting this week.
The impact meeting will be held Thursday, July 13 at the Lawndale Elementary School District Office located 4161 w 147 street at 7:00.ER