Van Wagner Communication, Inc. v. City of Los Angeles

This appeal concerns the revocation of appellant’s permit to erect a billboard on a comer lot in West Los Angeles. The appeal presents a question of law concerning the applicability of a city ordinance requiring a 600-foot space between off-site signs of a particular size “that are located on the same side of the same street.” (L.A. Mun. Code, § 91.6218.4, subd. (4) (spacing ordinance).) In this case, the proposed sign would be within 600 feet of an existing sign which is around the comer and on a different street. We conclude, as a matter of law, that because the two signs are located on different streets, the spacing ordinance does not apply to these particular signs. Accordingly, the trial court erred in upholding the administrative decision to revoke appellant’s permit. We reverse in part and affirm in part with directions.

Administrative Proceedings

On July 1, 1996, the City of Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (Department) issued a permit authorizing appellant Van Wagner Communications, Inc., to erect the disputed off-site sign on the northeast end (at the intersection of Bentley Avenue and Little Santa Monica Boulevard) of a comer lot. Around the…