Fast food drive-thru signs a disgrace in T.O.

It was a surprise to see the photograph of the McDonald's in the April 12 Thousand Oaks Acorn since the big "beef up" signs that are on top of the menu boards were nixed by the planning commission last year.

I can testify as chair of the Thousand Oaks Planning Commission at the Oct. 9, 2006 hearing that the planning commission was told the superfluous signs would be removed.

I was particularly annoyed to read that Councilmember Andy Fox thinks "we carry aesthetics to the extreme in this community" as he ignored his own planning commission recommendations and instead approved supersized signs for fast food restaurants.

Thousand Oaks has set standards that are deteriorating under his influence.

If you don't want to see huge signs and castlelike structures going up around town, let the city planning staff know by telephoning (805) 449-2323, faxing to (805) 449-2350 or e-mailing CommunityDevelopment@ toaks.org.
Janet Wall
Thousand Oaks