Planning Commission recommends City Council allow two digital billboards at Colonies at San Antonio, votes 5–1

The Upland Planning Commission voted 5–1 to recommend that the City Council approve an amendment to the Colonies at San Antonio Specific Plan and the Colonies Crossroads comprehensive sign program to allow two double-sided digital billboards to replace two permitted secondary freeway pylon signs.

Staff described the proposal as an amendment to Section 7.7 of the Colonies specific plan to add a new subsection authorizing billboard-style outdoor advertising with specific regulations. The proposed billboards would be 672 square feet per face (48 feet wide by 14 feet tall) and up to 90 feet above freeway roadway elevation; message changes would be limited to no more frequently than once every six seconds, blinking or removing characters would be prohibited, and billboards would be required to include automatic dimming to maintain illumination at no more than 0.3 foot-candle over ambient light at 250 feet. Staff also said the amendment builds in a requirement that a ratio of existing removed, nonconforming billboards would offset new digital billboards; staff said four previously removed billboards would count toward that ratio.

Planning staff noted the amendment would replace two secondary pylon signs that had been allowed to include electronic message displays with larger double-faced billboards; staff said the change is consistent with analysis in the 2002 specific-plan EIR and subsequent amendments and that the item is recommended to be found exempt from CEQA under the cited authority in the staff report.

Commissioners raised traffic-safety and visual-impact concerns, and asked whether Caltrans approval was required; staff and the applicant confirmed Caltrans is the permitting authority for off-site freeway advertising and that Caltrans review had been part of the long negotiation history. Commissioner Borger asked whether message boards might distract drivers at nearby signalized intersections; the project team said sight-distance and illumination studies had been done and said a Federal Highway Administration study of digital signage had found no measurable safety increase at comparable sites.

Dan Richards, co-managing general partner for the Colonies center, urged support and said major tenants had asked for LED signage to advertise seasonal and promotional activity. Richards said the owners have worked with Lamar for many years and that the center’s tenants would be prioritized for advertising time; he also said Caltrans approval had been obtained. Todd Porter representing Lamar said the southern billboard location reads to road grade and described sight-distance and siting considerations. A resident, Natasha (Tasha) Walton, opposed the amendment citing light pollution, wildlife impacts and neighborhood character: "Our birds are dying and they're not making it to where they're supposed to go," she said.

The planning commission’s motion recommended that the council adopt the specific-plan amendment and approve an amendment to the comprehensive sign program to allow two double-sided digital billboards of up to 672 square feet per face and up to 90 feet above the freeway, and included an amendment to remove an extraneous sentence from the proposed new subsection K1 in the staff draft. The motion passed 5–1; the record shows one commissioner opposed. Planning staff will forward the recommendation to the City Council for final action.

The revised sign rules proposed in the amendment would also permit the city to place public-service announcements on the billboards as time allows at no charge, and include other operational limits described in the staff report.