Bay Area Community Sign Proposal Stirs Controversy

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and countless other sayings underscore that something maintains no more value than what someone ascribes to it. Pleasant Hill, CA – a suburb with approximately 33,000 residents in San Francisco’s East Bay area – is embroiled in conflict over the potential redevelopment of DVC Plaza, with its proposed, 67-ft.-tall, main-entry sign, serving as the discord’s focal point.
DVC Plaza had previously been home to a now-vacant Kmart, and had fallen into disrepair. Merlone Geier Partners, the real-estate development firm that purchased the property, plans the towering sign to be installed on Chilpancingo Parkway to make the 19-acre property more visible to motorists on Contra Costa Parkway and I-690, according to the Contra Costa Times. The article states that Merlone Geier offered the Pleasant Hill planning commission two options: a 67-ft.-tall sign that includes Pleasant Hill’s tree-laden logo, or a 63.5-ft.-tall sign without it. In either case, the sign contains changeable-color lighting.
Preferring to include civic branding, the Commission approved a use permit in October for the sign – a variance that contrasts sharply with the town’s ordinance, which limits signs to 8 ft. above grade.
Planned facility amenities include retail stores, restaurants, a dog park and a trail that links two adjoining streets.
A local organization, Pleasant Hill Citizens for Responsible Growth (PHCRG), opposed to DVC Plaza’s redevelopment and the sign, made an incendiary statement about the Commissions’ motive prior to the proposal’s August study session: “The fact that [Pleasant Hill government] staff recommends granting the developer’s wishes … shows the city’s desperation for cash needed to pay skyrocketing pension liabilities.”
PHCRG and others opposed to the sign have been granted an appeal to reconsider the decision, with the vote scheduled to take place on Monday evening. At presstime, the result of the appeal wasn’t known.
Sprawl and overgrowth do exist. But, there’s a middle ground between overcrowding and congestion, and desolation and stagnation. Groups such as PHCRG tend to scapegoat signs as emblems of the destruction of community character. Cityscapes are constantly evolving, and those who cling to outdated notions of how communities should look ultimately harm their hometowns.
Here’s hoping the Pleasant Hill Commission continues to embrace their city’s growth and revitalization.