Glare from Fountain Valley sign could affect Costa Mesa homes
A 74-foot electronic billboard proposed for a parcel near the 405 Freeway in Fountain Valley is raising concerns about its potential impact on homes across the Santa Ana River in Costa Mesa.
Clear Channel Outdoor has applied for permission to build the nearly eight-story “electronic message center” on city-owned land at 10955 Ellis Ave., which is near Euclid Street and the 405.
The structure, to be paid for by the international advertising corporation, would contain two back-to-back, 672-square-foot, light-emitting diode (LED) displays that form a “V” shape.
The sign would replace another Clear Channel billboard off Edinger Avenue, also near the river, that doesn’t contain LED displays.
The Fountain Valley Planning Commission has canceled a tentatively scheduled Feb. 11 review of the proposed sign and has not set a new date. Comments about the proposal still may be sent to fvproud@fountainvalley.org.
The City Council, which will receive the commission’s recommendation, has the final say on the project.
It is unclear how much revenue the sign would generate for the city, though other municipalities have received around $150,000 annually, said Matt Mogensen, Fountain Valley’s interim city planning and building director.
The area around the sign’s proposed location contains a reservoir, sanitation treatment plant and other commercial and manufacturing facilities.
The sign is not expected to affect Fountain Valley residences, according to a draft environmental report submitted in October.
Costa Mesa homes are a different story. The sign, as proposed, would pose “significant and unavoidable” effects on the State Streets homes about 600 feet to the southeast, according to the report.
Houses near Moon Park, particularly on Alabama Circle, California Street and Nevada Avenue, could be affected.
“While the proposed sign does not block any views from the street or the park,” the report states, “it does change the visual character of the area by introducing a commercial presence in a designated open space area with no other development in the background. At night this sign would also be prominent because the illuminated sign would stand out prominently against a dark sky in the background.”
Any light and glare emitted toward the Costa Mesa homes would be “less than significant,” the report states. The homes would be susceptible to around 0.03 foot-candle, or 3% of the light from a single, wax candle.
Citing concerns on the State Streets, Gary Armstrong, Costa Mesa’s director of economic and development, suggested in November that any illuminated portions of the sign be no higher than 31 feet. He recommended that the sign be lighted only from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. He also suggested that city officials consider relocating the sign.
In recent years, Costa Mesa residents have opposed LED displays, which are banned citywide but have been approved on a case-by-case basis.
In 2009, after hearing concerns from State Streets residents, city planners lowered the height of LED displays for South Coast Collection so light didn’t spill across the 405 and into the neighborhood.
A similar change was implemented for Metro Pointe last year, after it too requested freeway-visible LED signage.
Similar concerns were raised about light spillage onto residences, so the pylons were lowered to 40 feet — a dimension in line with restrictions placed on South Coast Collection.
The LED displays for South Coast Collection and Metro Pointe were permitted to promote only tenants of the respective centers, not for general advertising. Fountain Valley’s sign will be permitted to showcase outside advertisers through Clear Channel.
In 2010, plans for LEDs at The Triangle entertainment complex were scrapped altogether amid resident complaints about their aesthetics and effects on the downtown community.
