Panel Backs Marquee for Arts Plaza : Thousand Oaks: Commission recommends a 240-square-foot electronic sign, estimated to cost about $165,000.

Thousand Oaks theater commissioners, reasoning that a massive, modern building requires a massive, modern sign, have recommended that a billboard-sized electronic marquee stand outside the new Civic Arts Plaza.

If approved by the City Council, the 240-square-foot sign would announce events taking place in both the performing arts and government portions of the $64-million complex. But commissioners emphasized that the messages would remain in place for days at a time and would not flash every few seconds.

With an estimated price tag of $165,000, the marquee would cost more than the controversial copper curtain, a flat sculpture designed to cascade down the eastern wall of the auditorium’s 10-story tower. Building the marquee would cost nearly as much as the combined salaries of the performing arts center’s executive director, technical production manager and box office manager for the upcoming year.

Because of the cost, the executive director, Tom Mitze, asked commissioners to consider a sign with movable letters--similar to those announcing high school football games--instead of an electronic board. The low-tech version would cost only $55,000, he said.

“That’s a huge difference in price,” Mitze noted. “And I think the movable letters would be a more acceptable style for Thousand Oaks because there are precedents.”

But all seven members of the Civic Theaters Commission rejected that argument. Responsible for advising on Civic Arts Plaza policies, they endorsed the sleeker electronic board for placement on Thousand Oaks Boulevard.

“I cringe at spending an extra $110,000, but I don’t want to use antiquated technology,” Commissioner Larry Janss said. “The City Council will certainly hear from people who are opposed to electronic signs, but that’s their problem.”

The council is scheduled to hear the issue Feb. 8.

Despite unanimous support for the electronic reader board, one commissioner--GTE West President Larry Sparrow--voted against the proposed marquee because of its size.

City codes restrict signs on commercial parcels the size of the Civic Arts Plaza to a maximum of 48 square feet. The proposed marquee would be five times larger. Even for larger parcels, the maximum size allowable by law is 150 square feet.

Just last month, the City Council rejected a proposed Thousand Oaks Auto Mall message board that would have flashed advertisements and announcements three stories above the Ventura Freeway. Instead, the council allowed only a small electronic board displaying time and temperature.

“I believe very strongly that government imposes rules and government must follow those rules,” Sparrow said. “We must adhere to city codes. It would be inappropriate for the city to do something it does not allow other citizens to do.”

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But Sparrow’s argument did not convince the other commissioners, who said a regulation-size sign would look puny and unbalanced in front of the bulky building.

Furthermore, Commissioner Virginia Davis said, the City Council has already waived a handful of municipal codes for the Civic Arts Plaza and other public buildings, such as the teen and senior centers and the main library.

“The city has made it very clear about all government buildings that they are different and can do differently,” Davis said. “We have put a state-of-the-art theater in here, and we need a sign that reflects that.”