Big Sign Would Set Another Bad Precedent For Elk Grove

Developer says lack of huge sign is a "stumbling block" to fast food, gas station development At the last Elk Grove City Council...

Developer says lack of huge sign is a "stumbling block" to fast food, gas station development

At the last Elk Grove City Council meeting developer Gil Moore pitched his idea for a big sign on Sheldon Road near Highway 99.




Moore said his 13,000-plus square foot development has run into a "stumbling block" - city ordinances blocking an offsite monument sign.

After watching the video, this whole deal is like a houseguest who has overstayed their welcome - its beginning to smell real fishy.

To start with this was first brought to the public's attention on March 28. Low and behold, in less than six-and-half business days, the item was on the agenda with a staff report.

It is possible that the planning department staff rushed this report through, but it seems like unlikely. Could this have been wired ahead of time?

As for dangling the carrot that the project will create up to 180 full and part time jobs, are we as a city going to permit ourselves to be whored out for 180 fast food jobs for some huge sign that creates a big eyesore? Lets hope this is not the type of development that the city is paying Randy Starbuck a six-figure income to attract to our city.

Will the developer really not go forward without the big sign in place? Really?

This sounds like an idle threat. The monument sign would probably allow them to collect bigger rents and if they don't get it, it would be surprising if they pulled the plug on the project.

Interestingly, the huge offsite Broadstone sign along Highway 50 in Folsom was cited as an example of how their sign might look. That sign had to be fully netted because it instantly became a pigeon magnet.

Not only would we have a some huge sign become a sort of landmark telling people they have "arrived" in Elk Grove, it has the added benefit of becoming a roosting spot for pigeons.

Do we really care if McDonald's and Arco have a 10 percent higher profit margins because their name is blasted from some overbearing monument sign? Who is the sign ordinance designed for anyway - residents of Elk Grove seeking a relieve from our existing visual blight or franchisees of big multi-national corporations?

As a side note, there is a sign posted on the site that discloses the Arco AM/PM seeks an off-site alcohol sales license. Great just what we need - a gas station along Highway 99 selling quarts of beer and Thunderbird.

Nothing says class when you enter a city than having an AM/PM selling booze. We're sure CHP, the ABC and MADD are supportive of this.

Not matter how you try to spin it, this sign is a bad idea plain and simple.

We hope the city council can stick by the ordinances and not grant Moore the exception that is his "stumbling block." Doing so would be yet another in a long series of exceptions being made for developers.

And that is a bad precedent.

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18 comments

Anonymous said...

Still doing research, but you can count on one Council vote right off the bat. Gil Moore contributed $10,000 to the Detrick campaign (see page 4)( http://www.elkgrovecity.org/documents/agendas/attachments/campaign-disclosures-statements/2011/Form-460-Detrick-Steve-campaign-statement-01-01-11-to-06-30-11.pdf)

Anonymous said...

oops, make that page 12 of the economic statement. (Page 4 was another curious contribution--Elk Grove Sports Center L.P. located on Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood for a $1,000).

Anonymous said...

Well, just found another one. Gil Moore contributed $1000 to Hume. Not as much as Detrick got--guess some votes cost more!

(page 11) (http://www.elkgrovecity.org/documents/agendas/attachments/campaign-disclosures-statements/2011/Form-460-Hume-Patrick-campaign-statement-07-01-11-to-12-31-11.pdf)

Anonymous said...

Found another one--$5,000 to Gary Davis.

(pg. 4)
(http://www.elkgrovecity.org/documents/agendas/attachments/campaign-disclosures-statements/2011/Form-460-Davis-Gary-campaign-statement-09-16-11-to-12-31-11.pdf)

Anonymous said...

Found another one. $1000 to Jim Cooper.

(pg. 6)
(http://www.elkgrovecity.org/documents/agendas/attachments/campaign-disclosures-statements/2011/Form-460-Cooper-James-campaign-statement-01-01-11-to-12-31-11.pdf)

Sarah Johnson said...

This is disgusting! Once more, an out of town developer is whining about wanting to change a law so it will put more money in his pocket. All this "crap" about bringing jobs is simply a smokescreen. Fastfood /gas station jobs are not the kind of job creation we are seeking. This makes me SICK! I am just so upset about what Elk Grove is becoming. Just another non-descript town along Highway 99.

Capt. Benjamin L. Willard said...

Thanks Anon for posting the links to the contributions.

Not surprisingly the city council is selling its soul for cash. City council members get the cash it needs to perpetuate their political ambitions, the developer gets it variance so they can erect a huge sign and we the people of Elk Grove get yet another eyesore.

Hey, two out of three ain't bad, right?

Transparency Project said...

Dig a little deeper Mr./Ms. Researcher and you will find that Gil Moore Oil, around that same time, gave another $10k to Elk Grove Mayor’s Fittest of Elk Grove when Steve Detrick was Mayor as Title Sponsor.

The event director was Detrick’s son Brian, who paid himself a portion of that $10K as his part of his fee. A bit of a conflict here and there was no disclosure as well.

So that’s $20K and counting to the Detricks. Detrick is having another fund raiser this month. I wonder how much more Gil Moore is “contributing” for Detrick to champion this change in the sign ordinance; an ordinance he once fought to firmly uphold as EGCAPP Chairperson?

Never mind, there was no money involved when Detrick was EGCAPP Chairperson!

Anonymous said...

Thanks Anon, didn't happen to see anything from Pulte/Del Webb did you? Seems they got their agreement rescinded on putting in the park for "another" 3-4+ years. By then they will have finishedc building, left town for greener pastures and left the community with a water logged field of weeds & jack rabbits. Just another half-finished, half-baked city project.

Now back to the topic....I have a much better idea "start a competition [among businesses] on who can put up the tallest, most obscene sign on the highway." Maybe dip into that "incentive money chest" for some prize money.

Anonymous said...

Maybe it is time to look at someone other than Gary Davis for Mayor. It seems we need to take a broom to this council and it needs to start with the Mayors race. Corrupt politicians who do the bidding of their campaign contributors need not be rewarded by being our City's first elected Mayor.

Anonymous said...

As usual, we finally stepped over the line when the friends and family start getting thrown under the bus with undocumented accusations.

As for the sign, lets start a competition [among businesses] for who can put up the biggest, most obscene sign on the highway. We can dip into that "incentive" bankroll for the prize. We can call if "GET YOUR KICKS.....ON EG's HWY. 99."

Mr. Researcher said...

(Regarding Transparency Project's post) It seems that the more we dig, the stinkier it gets, sort of like a cesspool. Hey, let's describe this as cesspool politics!

Okay for a little more background..according to a May 14, 2000 article in the Sacramento Business Journal, Gil Moore has 40 gas stations, 29 of them in San Diego, 6 in Sacramento, and others in Galt, Lodi, and Livermore. Several of them are paired with a Wendy's, which he owns, and they plan to open a Chevron in Placerville with a convenience store and Del Taco, which he owns. At the time, he planned to also open a Chevron with a Del Taco in College Town on Howe Avenue.

He is also the majority partner of New West Fast Foods, which manages the Wendy's and Del Taco businesses. According to the article, the businesses are broken down to two separate companies mainly for liability and tax reasons".

In the article, he states that he also does about $30 million a month in in wholesale petroleum distribution business, with 85 percent of his receivables from California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Arizona GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS.

Anonymous said...

So it begs the question, who.where does the City buy its gasoline from for its fleet vehicles?

Anonymous said...

Actually I like this sign business. We could have a contest for the businesses who could put up the biggest and most obscene sign on Hwy. 99. Call it "GET YOUR KICKS....ON HWY 99." Could dip into that "Incentive" wallet for the prize. Bet Walmart would love that challenge...just think of all the conveniences they could cover.

Anonymous said...

Do we want to grow, stay the same, go backwards? That is the question.
We will have the same problems eather way. So how do we pay for them. Well I guess groth and more taxes will do the trick

Anonymous said...

This current issue has nothing to do with growth of businesses in Elk Grove. The land is zoned travel commercial; so Mr. Moore is acting within the zoning code. The issue here is his request to amend the sign ordinance.

Those of us who live off of Sheldon Road knew that once the Interchange was completed a gas station would be on the horizon.

However, if you ever go to Winco and take look at Chevron Station this is on the corner of Sheldon and Lewis Stein, it is always busy. No extra signage there and that station is doing just fine.

And by taking a look at the ABC applications in photos here, the ABC had denied most of the recent requests due to over saturation of liquor licenses in Elk Grove. If these are denied, Mr. Moore will have to appeal to the city council.

That would be two major exceptions in which he would need favorable votes from the council. EGN is right; something is very fishy!

And will leave the word “whore” alone; except to say priceless!

Capt. Benjamin L. Willard said...

I don't know if this is the last word on this posting, but it will be interesting to see what happens at tomorrow night's council meeting.

So crack a beer and get a bowl of popcorn ready to watch all the posturing. And we all thought civics was boring in high school!

Anonymous said...

As someone who lives in the area that would be directly impacted by this proposed project, I think the developer should go ahead and follow through on his threat to abandon his plans. My neighborhood does not need another fast food restaurant and liquor store, nor any of the things that come with them.

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