Contact Our Costa Mesa Officials-info below
Distracted Driving Awareness Month is April
No Coincidence!
A recent Giant Billboard Proposal lowers Giant Billboard by 5 feet and may be more distracting
Current View from 1901 Newport
One never-ending nightmare. That's what a grassroots effort opposing giant LED
billboards at Triangle Square feels like.
Eleven years ago residents rallied to
oppose a very bad idea to put just one LED sign at 19th and Newport.
Residents
prevailed and the owner pulled the proposal. Unfortunately, the son of that
project reared its ugly head a year ago with a new TS owner proposing THREE
GIANT LED SIGNS at the 3 TS intersections. The reason? The signs alone would
revitalize and bring customers to the ailing center.
Mercy! How to fight this unsafe, ugly idea
during COVID? We can't march to City Hall and speak in person at planning
commission meetings, which have been continued numerous times. Even if the PC nixes the idea, due to a Development Agreement, the City Council must still hold a public hearing and vote.
A small team
organized in 2020, met on Zoom, and started speaking during planning commission Zoom
meetings and lobbying planning commissioners.
We are not Las Vegas or Times Square. We let
commissioners know over and over during public comments that "no way, no how" would this plan fly with many Costa
Mesans. We made flyers and encouraged Costa Mesans to call and send emails.
Safety and aesthetics are the main concerns. It's utterly insane to
think that drivers at these 3 busy intersections, 19th and Newport, Harbor at 19th and Newport at Harbor, won't be distracted by the flashing signs. People are ignoring the fact that where the 55 ends at 19th is one of the busiest intersections in OC.
Harbor at Newport Blvd from Courtyards
Also, we've very concerned about Third Party advertising which means the owner could advertise ANYTHING sold in Costa Mesa. Use your imagination. The sky is the limit. Pardon the pun!
We've given planning
commissioners and City planning staff evidence that current data proves the signs
would be a dangerous distraction.
For reasons unknown to us, the owner asked for a continuance to April 12 for the Planning Commission public hearing which the Commission
approved this week.
There is no real financial benefit for the City when
compared with the risk of loss of life and property and cost for police and
paramedics to attend to the accidents. More headaches with more accidents, and
risks to drivers, walkers and bike riders.
Data clearly shows
this kind of advertising is not effective and poses risks to life and property. How can the California Department of Transportation approve such an idea? Boggles the mind!
Are we
utterly insane to think that a Development Agreement giving the City 25 percent
of the advertising revenue, due after the first three years, is a good deal? Who is negotiating on behalf of
the residents? It is a BAD plan. What if TS goes BK? What happens with a new owner?
Does the owner really think these giant
billboards will rescue TS from bankruptcy? The 30-year-old owner has given us, the residents, the taxpayers, a "pig in a poke".
Any pretense of an outreach to residents whose opposition was not heard, was a joke. Those closest to TS on
19th and Fullerton, did not receive invitations.
After nearly a year, why do we continue to oppose this idea? Because it stinks to high Heaven and does not compliment our City's quiet, small town image.
How does Mayor Foley's recent election to the BOS affect this project? I'll have to write about that later.
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