Lodi SPARK committee approves 70-foot electronic pylon sign at 1255 South Beckman Road

The Lodi City Site Plan and Architecture Review (SPARK) Committee voted unanimously on March 11, 2026, to approve a 70‑foot, double‑faced freeway‑oriented electronic pylon sign proposed for 1255 South Beckman Road, the dealership site that houses Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram brands. The motion, made and seconded from the dais, passed 4–0 after staff and the applicant answered questions about design, safety review and brightness controls.

Cynthia, planning staff, told the committee the sign includes a 376‑square‑foot electronic message board with a 114‑square‑foot logo cabinet and is sited on the northern corner of the dealership parcel. She summarized a six‑year approval history: a prior variance and a development agreement (DA) that was approved by the Planning Commission and city council, permitting up to two freeway‑oriented electronic signs in Lodi under specified distance and design limits. "It's essentially a giant television," Cynthia said, describing how the electronic display will appear from the freeway.

During public comment, Mike Smith (representing North Main Street) urged staff and the committee to consider the operational impacts of other, unrelated redevelopment nearby, asking that projects avoid forced early business closures. "He wants to continue operating as long as he can while this project takes place," Smith said, asking the city to allow phased work and to consider roll‑out cans instead of a dumpster to reduce pavement damage.

Committee members pressed staff and the applicant on several technical points. Member Dickens asked whether safety and traffic impacts were fully reviewed; Cynthia said public works and multiple city departments reviewed the proposal through several revisions and that outstanding engineering and utility easement issues had been addressed. Neil Duffy, an account executive with Aerosign Company representing the sign vendor, described automatic dimming controls: "The brightness of the sign will be dictated by the time of day...it's guided by sensors and it'll be approximately 20 to 25% of the brightness during the day," he said.

Staff and members also read limits from the development agreement: daytime brightness is constrained to 7,500 lumens per square meter and nighttime brightness drops to 500 lumens per square meter, with a photo sensor required to dim the display when ambient light levels fall. The DA also limits off‑site advertising in the current sign configuration; staff said that if off‑site advertising were to be allowed in the future, additional approvals and CALR (advertising regulator) review would be required and the city would receive a share of revenue as specified in the DA.

After discussion the committee approved the site and architectural review, finding the project exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines §15332 (Class 32 infill exemption). Members voted to approve the project as conditioned; the chair subsequently confirmed that the packet's Attachment E (conditions of approval, including dimming, landscape requirements and standard building permit conditions) would be incorporated and called a revote, which passed 4–0.

Next steps for the project include submittal and review of building permits and the required construction inspections; staff said the approved DA and the standard permit reviews will govern final sign construction and operational limits. The committee also received brief updates on other items (possible Sacramento Street council action, Lakeside Lake House building‑permit progress and pending litigation related to a food‑truck/shipping‑container site) before adjourning at 5:58 p.m.