At the start of the public-comment period Miss Lewis (Speaker 8) asked the Escalon City Council to address an unshielded, two-sided LED sign installed at United Methodist Church, 2000 Jackson Avenue. She said the sign has been bright, flashing messages and is directly shining into her home for about 2–2.5 years.

"When the sign was first installed…they initially had it at 75% [brightness]…there's a parishioner that has control over the entire LED scribe," Speaker 8 said, describing repeated conversations with the church and with City staff that, in her view, produced limited results. She cited municipal code 17.42.03 (prohibited signs) and municipal code 17.42.01 (sign regulation) as potentially violated and said Caltrans restrictions are relevant because of the sign’s proximity to the highway.

Speaker 9 (City Manager) and other councilmembers acknowledged the complaint and said staff would pursue follow-up, including potential code or enforcement options and the possibility of placing the matter on a future agenda. Multiple councilmembers and staff asked Miss Lewis to continue communications with city staff and to provide documentation of prior contacts and the sign’s effects.

What’s next: staff acknowledged the issue and indicated they will follow up with the church and with code-enforcement staff; Miss Lewis said she will send documentation to the city manager.


Speakers

- Speaker 8 — Miss Lewis, resident (first ref: SEG 885)
- Speaker 9 — City Manager (first ref: SEG 119)


Authorities

- Municipal Code 17.42.03 (prohibited signs) — cited by Speaker 8
- Municipal Code 17.42.01 (sign regulations) — cited by Speaker 8


Clarifying details

- Location: United Methodist Church, 2000 Jackson Avenue (as stated by Speaker 8).
- Duration: Speaker 8 said the sign has been an issue for roughly 2 to 2.5 years and that she had at least 10 conversations with the church between August 2023 and April 2024.


Provenance

- topicintro: SEG 885
- topfinish: SEG 1016