Fountain Valley council to vote on controversial LED sign next to Costa Mesa

The controversial electronic advertising sign proposed to be built off the 405 Freeway will be considered by the Fountain Valley City Council Tuesday.

Following significant protest from nearby Costa Mesa residents, Fountain Valley’s Planning Commission voted in August not to recommend a 30-year deal for Clear Channel Outdoor’s light-emitting diode (LED) sign at 10955 Ellis Ave., a city-owned parcel just off the 405 Freeway that contains a large water reservoir.

After not gaining support at the commission, Clear Channel made some alterations to its plans for the V-shaped sign that they hope will appease residents.

The proposed changes include reducing the height from 79 feet to 65 feet, moving the sign 200 feet west of the original proposed location and angling the southerly display screen 25 feet toward the freeway, according to Layne Lawson, director of public affairs for Clear Channel Outdoor.

Clear Channel is also proposing to plant mature trees to screen the view of the sign to Costa Mesa neighbors.

“It all helps to mitigate those perceived impacts,” Lawson said.

The project’s environmental report stated that the sign poses “significant and unavoidable” visual effects on northwest Costa Mesa homes, specifically within the State Streets neighborhood near Moon Park. Fountain Valley residents are not expected to be impacted.

The city stands to gain $150,000 annually from the agreement with incremental increases each year and a one-time payment of $60,000 for two small digital displays to be purchased and installed at the Fountain Valley Recreation Center and Sports Park. Clear Channel also agreed to take down three other non-LED billboard in Fountain Valley over the next several years.

If approved, the sign would have restrictions on what could be advertised. Smoking tobacco products, marijuana or hemp, sexually oriented businesses or products and local or regional political causes or candidates would be prohibited from being displayed, according to the city staff report.

Even with the suggested changes, some Costa Mesa residents continue to harbor concerns about the sign.

Karla Stagman, who lives on Alabama Circle in Costa Mesa, said she will attend the meeting Tuesday alongside her neighbors in an attempt to stop the billboard, which she likened to an LED sign found on the Las Vegas strip.

“It’s going to be ugly and tacky,” she said. “You wouldn’t see something like that in Newport Beach or Irvine, so why put one in Fountain Valley where it’s going to shine on our little neighborhood detracting from our view. We want to keep our neighborhood the way it is.”

If the City Council approves the sign, Clear Channel Outdoor would have to apply for a permit from Caltrans because the sign is located adjacent to the freeway.