The Sacramento County Planning Commission on Monday unanimously approved a use permit and design review for a new monument sign at 5070 Hillsdale Boulevard for the Scandia Family Fund Center.

William Ty Larson, who said he and his father helped build Scandia about 50 years ago, told commissioners the site needs a new sign to show the public the facility is maintained and safe. "We actually need the sign," Larson said, adding the monument is not intended for advertising but to reassure families and drivers.

Commissioners asked about the removal of a magnolia tree and concerns raised during the CPAC review about light pollution. Larson said the magnolia must be removed for the sign location but that landscaping across roughly four acres includes replacement plantings. On lighting, Larson argued that adequate parking-lot illumination improves safety and that making the area darker could increase crime risk: "You make the parking lot darker. It just makes it more of a crime scene," he said.

A technical question about jurisdiction prompted clarification from George Sellsler, owner of Electro Vision Advertising, who stated the proposal is an on-premise sign and not an off-premise billboard requiring a Caltrans Outdoor Advertising (ODA) permit. "This is an on premise sign, so Caltrans does not have jurisdiction over it," Sellsler said, and the commission retains permitting authority.

No members of the public offered comment on the project. After brief favorable remarks from a commissioner who called Scandia a Sacramento institution, the commission moved and seconded the item. The clerk recorded a unanimous vote in favor of the staff recommendation and the permit was approved.

The planning commission did not set additional conditions beyond the standard findings and approvals reflected in the staff recommendation; no appeals or next steps were announced on the record at the meeting's close.