Signs of trouble looming over big sign

Monday, Feb. 5, 2007 | 7:13 a.m.

In the adult entertainment business, size does matter.

At least that's true of a proposed new sign for the strip club Deja Vu - Little Darlings, on Western Avenue between Charleston Boulevard and Sahara Avenue.

The owners of the club say the new roughly 34-feet-by-36-feet sign is needed to replace an existing placard that is outdated. The new LED sign would be used to flash messages and images to motorists driving on the adjacent Interstate 15.

While the owners say that visibility is the major purpose of the new sign, it also may be the biggest obstacle to getting it approved by the Las Vegas City Council.

Nearby residents, who see nothing little or darling about the proposed sign, fret about the possibility of hundreds of square feet of salacious images eight stories in the air creating an X-rated gateway to their community. City officials and others worry about distracted drivers plowing into each other.

The council must approve a zoning variance because the sign is larger than the 720 square feet permitted on the property.

Two weeks ago Councilman and Mayor Pro-Tem Gary Reese convinced the council to delay action until Wednesday on the variance and a site development plan that would have cleared the way for the new sign. In passing the issue on to the council, the city's planning commission had unanimously approved both the variance and site plan.

"The existing sign has a reader board and I don't mind that, but what I don't want is these scantily clad blondes and brunettes on the screen," Reese said. "I don't feel it's properly safe for drivers to be going down the freeway and see that."

Attorney Jay Brown, who represents the club owners, insists they do not intend to use graphic displays.

"There are not going to be any naked ladies on the highway, we wouldn't do that," Brown said.

The sign will be used primarily to advertise information about the club, Brown said, adding that there may be an occasional picture of a woman's face, but nothing more.

Area residents, though, worry that once the sign is constructed it will be very difficult to restrict the content.

"Once it goes up, free speech comes into play," said Stephen Grogan, president of the Scotch 80s Home Owners Association.

Grogan said the sign, which would be 80 feet above ground, does not belong so close to residential neighborhoods. Scotch 80s is directly across I-15 from the club.

Brown, though, notes that he also lives in Scotch 80s, adding that if he thought the sign would be visible from the neighborhood, he would have difficulty backing it.

"The last thing I want is neighbors knocking on my door saying their kids can see that sign," Brown said.

Darryl Shock of Vision Signs, the company that would install the new sign, said a survey showed that very little of the new sign would be visible from the neighborhood.

"You will basically not be able to see the sign from that neighborhood," Shock said. "I'm not saying there isn't any house that can't see a little piece of the top of the sign, but the club name will be above the LED display and the most anyone could see is the top part of that."

If the sign were closer to the ground, it would not be visible from the interstate, which is elevated in that area, Shock said.

Shock also contends that the sign's size is, well, oversized - inaccurately so - in the variance request.

The sign covers 1,235 square feet, but because it is double-sided, it is listed as being 2,470 square feet. The lower figure, he argues, is accurate.

The sign's size and height, Shock said, would be consistent with other signs in the area.

Even Reese acknowledges that he is not troubled by the sign's size.

"There are plenty of other signs in the area that size," he said. "That's not the issue."

If the issue is driver distraction, that seems an odd question in a city where other clubs and casinos already display suggestive signs along local highways. In addition, that concern is not listed as a consideration in the variance request.

Which seems to bring the debate back to size - where, perhaps, it belongs.