San Carlos preps for new electronic billboard

But for the owner of a specialty car repair shop, a city requirement to remove the static Clear Channel billboard on his property at 171 Industrial Road to make way for the new sign does not sit well.

Mike Keynejad, owner of Eurotech Complete Auto Care at 171 Industrial Road, said in 2002 he purchased the property for nearly $4 million, $1 million more than he would have otherwise paid because of the revenue he expected the sign to generate. He said he has counted on income from the billboard to offset the some $22,000 he pays in property tax each year, and has been frustrated in the months since plans to remove the billboard were set in motion last year.

A city policy limits the number of billboards in San Carlos and requires those looking to create a new one to remove one before they can begin construction. As the owner of the billboard on Keynejad’s property, the decision is Clear Channel’s as to which sign the company decides to take down to make room in the citywide billboard cap, City Planner Lisa Costa Sanders explained previously.

Though Keynejad is now focused on building a 30-foot-tall, illuminated sign advertising his business once the billboard on his property is removed, disappointment with the city’s rules lingers.

“The city should not compete with the residents,” he said. “They should protect the businesses, not … compete with them.”

More than 10 years ago, Keynejad said his application to build an LED sign on his property was denied by the city. But in the years since, he’s noticed several other LED billboards go up along Highway 101 in several Peninsula cities and near the billboard on his property, which is close to the city’s border with Belmont and unincorporated San Mateo County. When the Planning Commission approved his application to build the 30-foot sign in the existing billboard’s place, Bruce Qualls, a representative of Clear Channel, said the company would pay rent to Keynejad until its lease with him ends in May of 2021.

The digital sign at 815 American St. would be the city’s second agreement with Clear Channel. In 2013, the city entered into a lease agreement with Clear Channel to operate a digital billboard on city-owned land at Bransten Road, according to a staff report.

San Carlos will pay an annual rent of $100,000 to the lessor of the property at 815 American St., and is set to receive 30 percent of the annual advertising revenue from the proposed billboard with a minimum annual payment of $200,000. The city will also receive one guaranteed advertising spot on the new sign four times a year, according to a staff report.

Though Mayor Bob Grassilli acknowledged the decision to relocate the billboard was Clear Channel’s, he expressed empathy for Keynejad’s situation. He was grateful the new billboard would be the last one allowed under the city’s cap, noting the rule is aimed at ensuring the city’s stretch of Highway 101 isn’t lined with billboards.

Grassilli also noted the new digital billboards could play a small role in an ongoing effort to boost the city’s revenue after it struggled to maintain services during the recession. He looked to the billboards, as well as a new auto dealership and several new hotels, as among the revenue streams that could prepare the city better for a future economic downturn.

“This is going to be a buffer for us to try to weather the next storm,” he said.

In other business, the council will discuss whether to add a second restaurant to its on-street dining pilot program for Laurel Street restaurants. In 2016, city officials approved an application for Town restaurant at 716 Laurel St. to build a temporary parklet on street parking spots, and chose not to expand the program in 2017 after residents lodged concerns about the availability of downtown parking during construction of a mixed-use development at Wheeler Plaza. Now that the parking garage at the Wheeler Plaza project has opened to the public, councilmembers are revisiting a discussion about whether to extend or expand the program.

The council meets 7 p.m. Aug. 27, at City Hall, 600 Elm St.

anna@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200 ext. 106