Council hears extensive public debate, continues Hollywood & Highland signage ordinance

The Los Angeles City Council on June 13 heard more than two hours of testimony on a proposed ordinance to allow an expanded signage program for the Hollywood & Highland (Trizicon) development, including off-site ‘‘overlay’’ signs and high-technology digital displays, then agreed to carry the matter to second reading next week.

The proposal would exempt the project’s proposed signs from many existing LAMC sign provisions and the city’s interim billboard restrictions while tying the project to a future Hollywood Entertainment District overlay. The Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee recommended the ordinance with a caveat that Trizicon’s signs must later conform to any adopted overlay rules.

Opponents said the ordinance as written amounts to a project-specific exemption that could permit large, third‑party advertising facing commercial corridors and, potentially, the nearby freeway. John Murdock, attorney for the Hollywood Heights Association, told the council, “This ordinance is basically an exemption…you’re allowing for exemptions from existing law for a particular project which is normally considered spot zoning and it’s unconstitutional.” Residents said lighting and rooftop signs could overwhelm nearby homes and that mitigation agreements limit sign heights.

Developers and redevelopment officials urged approval so the project could move forward. Kip Rud of the Community Redevelopment Agency described three sign elements in the plan — tenant signs, an off-site sign program along Highland and Hollywood boulevards, and a ‘‘media initiative’’ of high-technology signs — and said the board had approved the package. David Malmoth, Senior Vice President of Development for Trizicon, said the signs were ‘‘integrated with the design’’ and included “precise square footages, exactly where signs will go.”

Planning staff explained that the Hollywood overlay district that will set citywide standards for creative signage is not yet adopted and that the ordinance before council is an interim approach so Trizicon can install signage necessary for project construction and leasing. Planning staff said the Planning Commission had proposed content limits (for example, limiting non‑entertainment content to a percentage of sign area), but the ordinance before the council did not include those content restrictions as drafted.

Councilmembers pressed for clarifications about whether the off-site signs could be rented to third-party advertisers unrelated to the project and about whether any signs would face the residential hills. Frank Eberhard of the Planning Department said tenant signs and marquees are site‑specific, while the ‘‘off-site’’ elements could carry advertising that “may not, in any way comply with our city's billboard laws.” Russ Joyner, vice president and general manager of Hollywood & Highland, said there were no signs proposed to face north toward the Hollywood Heights and that “with the exception of the project identification sign on the top of the hotel, there's no additional signage being proposed for the top of the hotel as well.”

Multiple neighbors and neighborhood associations said notice and process were inadequate and asked the council to delay action until the incoming 13th District councilmember could participate. Councilmembers and staff agreed to carry the ordinance to next Wednesday for second reading; the council president noted the item will return after the newly elected councilmember is sworn in so that member can take part. The council also asked that the director of planning findings, rather than the Planning Commission findings tied to a development agreement not before the council, be used for the record.

The council did not adopt the ordinance at first reading; the public hearing was closed and the matter was continued for a subsequent vote.

Questions remain about content limits, a formal lighting plan, and whether existing mitigation agreements with neighborhood groups constrain rooftop and west‑facing signs. Council and staff said those issues must be documented in the record for the second reading.