Santa Clarita Takes Aim at Signage

Standing at the intersection of Sierra Highway and Soledad Canyon Road in Santa Clarita, Ken Pulskamp looks around and doesn't like what he sees.

What he sees are signs, everywhere: Billboards, posters, placards, mini-mall signs crowded with the names of multiple businesses, signs advertising hamburgers, auto repairs, dental work and yard sales.

"If I asked you to count all the signs you saw right here, you'd still be here a half an hour from now," said Pulskamp, Santa Clarita's assistant city manager.

Once Santa Clarita was incorporated in 1987, the City Council moved to ban new billboards and passed other laws regulating signage. However, at least a dozen billboards remain from the time when the area was governed by Los Angeles County.

Now, to help the city advance in its war on unsightly signage, Pulskamp and his colleagues in the city manager's office have come up with a novel idea. They have suggested that the city consider purchasing several large billboards around town with the ultimate goal of tearing them down.

Under the plan, the city would lease the signs until it recovers its purchase price, then take them down. So far, only one billboard is being considered. If the program is successful, however, more could follow.

"They're ugly," Pulskamp said. "The city looks better without a lot of billboards cluttering up what many of us feel is a beautiful valley."

Pulskamp said that the possibility of the city purchasing the billboard arose during a discussion with the owner of a large sign on Sierra Highway. Based on his initial reviews of the cost of the billboard--about $100,000--and advertising rates, Pulskamp said he estimates that it would take six to eight years for the city to recoup its investment.

"The city has for a long time been interested in taking down billboards," Pulskamp said. "This is a way to do that without costing the taxpayers any money."

The City Council has yet to sign off on the billboard purchase, but last week it indicated its willingness to consider the idea by unanimously approving $3,500 for an appraisal. Once the appraisal has been completed, the city manager's office will prepare a report for the council's consideration.

Already, though, council members have expressed conflicting views on the proposal's merits.

"I'm not in favor of leasing it out," said Mayor Jan Heidt. "I'd rather we just purchase it and tear it down.