Elk Grove Planning Commission OK's Billboard Revision, Turns Moore's Request Away

In a somewhat ironic turn of events, the local fast food and gas station operator who started his pursuit to change Elk Grove's highway sign ordinance a year ago this month, has seen the possibility of the changes he sought becoming increasingly unlikely to happen.

By a unanimous vote at last night's meeting, the Elk Grove Planning Commission approved a series of changes to the city's highway ordinance that will among other things allow property owners who are adjacent to Highway 99 and I-5 and are allowed by right to have billboards, to locate businesses on their sign for that are not adjacent to the freeway.

Gil Moore, the local fast food and gas station operator, had sought changes that would have allowed non-freeway adjacent business to locate billboard near the freeway. Moore said having the highway sign on Highway 99 for his proposed development at East Stockton Blvd and Sheldon Road was critical in his desire to place a McDonald's restaurant at his site.

Under the proposed changes, while freeway adjacent developments can locate non-adjacent businesses on their billboard, they are not compelled to do.

In a letter send by Moore's representative John Hodgson to the planning commission, Hodgson suggested several things on behalf of his client including the idea that the city might want to compel highway billboard owners to allow non-adjacent on their billboard.

"Address the ownership issue of off-site signs by directing the entity that constructs the freeway monument sign be required to provide signage to other off-site businesses at a reasonable cost," the Email read.

During public comment Hodgson and McDonald's representative Susan Green also respectively suggested that the city allow Moore to buy one of surplus lots the city owns near the Highway 99 and Sheldon Road interchange and or have the city build a billboard for Moore and other non-freeway adjacent businesses. The commission rejected those ideas.

Green did say she approached an unspecified property owner about locating the McDonald's sign on their eventual billboard but was rejected.  "If I was a property owner I would say the same thing," she said.  

Moore's request drew criticism from representatives from Winn Communities and AKT Investments. Both entities, which own freeway adjacent property said they paid premiums for the property and it would be unfair to grant Moore the right for a highway billboard. Winn representative George Carpenter also said if the city allowed Moore to buy one of the remnant lots it would in effect visually block one of their billboards. 

While the city council can overturn the planning commission recommendation, it was the council who following their Jan 23 meeting sent the overall proposal to the planning commission for their review. It is not known when the matter will be heard by the council.

During her comments Greensaid that should McDonald's and Moore fail to get a highway sign, the two parties would likely have to renegotiate their agreement regarding locating a restaurant at the proposed fast food and gas station strip center.