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Both sides say they won with sign ruling
By AMY WIMMER, Times Staff Writer SOUTH PASADENA -- This little city's great big billboard already has prompted novelty T-shirts and hours-long public meetings. Now a state administrative law judge has stepped into the fray. In a decision that reached City Hall Monday, Judge T. Kent Wetherell II ruled that Dan Calabria, the city resident who tried to keep the Department of Transportation from permitting the city's large new mural and identification sign, has no standing to complain about it. Nevertheless, the judge agreed with Calabria, writing that DOT did not follow its own procedures when it allowed the unusual mural and city identification sign to be erected in a median in the city's center. Now, both sides are trying to understand what will become of the sign. City Attorney Linda Hallas said Tuesday that the DOT likely will accept the judge's recommendation to toss out Calabria's complaint because he had no standing to make it. She thinks that will put an end to the issue. Calabria, on the other hand, has latched onto the judge's other recommendation. In his ruling, Wetherell wrote that he "directs the city to remove the sign unless it obtains a variance or waiver" from the DOT. Calabria also takes the issue one step further. He said in a legal filing that DOT could accept liability for the sign if it grants such a waiver. DOT officials did not return phone calls seeking comment Tuesday. Some residents resented the city's plans to build a mural, partly because it would replace dense foliage, including trees that had been dedicated in memory of deceased residents. The mural was designed by a Midwestern artist who, some residents complained, knew little about the Gulf Coast and used Pacific Ocean sealife in his mural. Calabria took his complaints through official channels, complaining that the DOT wrongfully allowed the sign. The judge ruled that Calabria, a resident of Pasadena Isle who often drives past the new sign, did not prove that he "is substantially affected in a manner different than the general public at large." As a result, Calabria "lacks standing" to seek review of the DOT permit. But the judge also had problems with the sign. Among his concerns, Wetherell wrote that: -- The sign fails to meet several of the requirements outlined in the Traffic Engineering Manual, which DOT uses to issue such permits. -- The sign is not located near any city entryway. In fact, the sign is located close to the city's geographic center, even though DOT rules state that permitted signs must be located close to entrances. -- The DOT issued to South Pasadena an "exception" that allows the city to place its sign somewhere other than an entrance. But DOT did not follow its own procedure for granting an exception.
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From the Times South Pinellas desks |
