Wildomar billboard ban extended

By: AARON CLAVERIE - Staff Writer
Plans for sign on Elks Lodge property won't be affected | Saturday, March 15, 2008 1:02 AM PDT ∞

WILDOMAR ---- Billboards will not be allowed to sprout along a stretch of Mission Trail in Wildomar that has been designated a scenic resource.

The county Board of Supervisors this week voted 5-0 to extend for one year a ban on billboards within 500 feet of Mission Trail between Palomar Street and Malaga Street to protect the area's viewsheds.

When Wildomar incorporates as a city July 1, its City Council will adopt all of the county's ordinances, including the billboard ban.

County Planning Director Ron Goldman, in his report to the board, said the billboards can serve as dangerous distractions to motorists and they conflict with the community's efforts to revitalize the area, a mix of construction-related businesses, empty lots, homes on substandard lots and the Mission Trail Library.

The board's action doesn't affect a previously approved plan to erect a billboard on property owned by the Lake Elsinore Elks Lodge Post 2591, county officials said.

The post's building at Mission Trail and Waite Street was destroyed in a fire late last year. Post officials are counting on the revenue produced by the billboard to help with rebuilding costs.

The proposed billboard, which has not yet been built, was approved last year as part of a settlement between the county and a Dallas-based billboard company.

The billboard company, as part of its search for new locations, noticed that a stretch of Mission Trail wasn't covered by what was intended to be a Wildomar-wide ban on billboards that had been passed by the county in 2007, said Dave Stahovich, chief of staff for Supervisor Bob Buster.

The billboard company, represented locally by Rich Feferman of San Diego, promptly peppered the county with multiple applications to dot the corridor with signs, Stahovich said.

Instead of fighting with the company in court, the county struck a deal to allow a smaller, more environmentally agreeable billboard on the Elks Lodge property.

"We limited the size of it, how tall it would be and it had to match the building at the Elks Lodge," Stahovich said.

The company agreed to abandon all of its other applications and move forward at the Elks Lodge site, supported by members of the community who wrote letters and spoke at public meetings, he said.

Buster said Thursday that allowing the billboard at the Elks Lodge turned out to be a blessing. The lodge will be able to use the revenue produced by leasing the land to the billboard company to help rebuild the lodge building.

"Little did we know how important this is would be for the Elks there," he said. "This is an important step for an important nonprofit institution."

The leader of the local Elks Lodge post, Robert Becker, said the anticipated revenue, thousands of dollars each year, will be a big help.

"Traditionally, the dues is what supports our lodge. We haven't increased dues, but costs have continued to escalate, just like the cost for running a home does," he said. "Any kind of an income we can generate helps the Elks stay afloat."

The Elks Lodge has been meeting in the nearby Trevi Entertainment Center in Lake Elsinore while it works to rebuild its post building.

Contact Aaron Claverie at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2624, or e-mail aclaverie@californian.com.

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