The Upland City Council on Oct. 13 introduced an ordinance and adopted a resolution to amend the Colonies at San Antonio specific plan to replace two permitted secondary freeway pylon signs with two double‑sided digital billboards.

The change would allow two 672‑square‑foot digital billboards (14 feet tall by 48 feet wide per face) up to 65 feet above the elevation of the 210 Freeway, replacing two secondary pylon signs that had been permitted to include smaller LED electronic message centers. The council found the amendment exempt from CEQA under Guidelines section 15162 and approved the first reading of the ordinance and a companion amendment to the Colonies Crossroads master sign program by unanimous vote.

The item was presented by Robert Dahlquist, the city’s development services director, who said the proposed billboards would replace two secondary pylon signs that had been permitted to contain electronic message centers. Dahlquist described the locations: one in the Chick‑fil‑A parking area in a triangular 2,000‑square‑foot island and the other in a planted area near the Starbucks and Shell station. He said the amendment would add a new subsection K to the specific plan establishing 11 regulations for billboards, including: removal of two existing legal nonconforming billboards citywide for every new digital billboard relocated through an agreement; message‑change timing no more frequent than every six seconds; prohibition on blinking or moving characters; automatic dimmers that maintain a brightness no greater than 0.3 foot‑candles over ambient light at 250 feet; and the city’s right to place public service announcements on the boards as needed.

Residents and environmental advocates spoke during the public hearing. Natasha Walton, who identified herself as a wildlife biologist and Upland resident, urged council members to vote no, citing concerns about light pollution, effects on wildlife and night‑time views of the San Gabriel Mountains. Walton questioned staff’s reliance on a 2002 program environmental impact report and asked for a supplemental EIR to account for changes in LED technology and population growth since 2002.

Lois Sigging Dieter, who identified herself as an air‑pollution engineer and co‑founder of Inland Valley Advocates for the Environment, also asked council to deny the amendment and said the change conflicted with the general plan’s view‑protection policy. Both speakers said the public did not have easy access to the cited EIR documents.

Dan Richards, a co‑managing partner of Colonies Crossroads, spoke for the applicant. Richards described the shopping center as a 400‑acre power center with more than 1,100 homes and over 5,000 residents tied to its trade area, and said the center employs about 2,000 people and generates significant city revenue. Richards said Caltrans standards prevent billboards from blinding motorists, and he endorsed Dahlquist’s staff recommendation.

Council members asked questions about the noticing radius, the EIR addendum and the technical details of sign height and brightness. Dahlquist said the city mailed notices to property owners within a 500‑foot radius (staff later clarified it was a 1,000‑foot radius around both sites) and that the program EIR for the specific plan and a 2012 addendum had analyzed LED message centers; staff concluded the amendment did not create new significant impacts. Dahlquist also noted two minor editorial changes to the ordinance recommended before second reading: deleting bracketed area dimensions in Table 7H that only applied to the electronic message centers on the secondary pylon signs and changing a reference in maximum height from 95 feet to 65 feet above freeway elevation.

Council Member Carlos Garcia moved to introduce the ordinance and Council Member James Breitling seconded; the first vote to determine CEQA exemption and introduce the ordinance passed unanimously. The council then adopted a resolution approving the amendment to the Colonies Crossroads comprehensive sign program; that vote also passed unanimously.

The ordinance and resolution require a second reading and any relocated or removed legal nonconforming billboards will be subject to the relocation agreement and the new subsection K standards in the specific plan. Staff said the agreement related to removal and relocation will return to council for approval.

The amendment text and graphics, including the new billboard elevations and the master sign program map, are available in the council agenda packet; staff told speakers the original program EIR and the 2012 addendum are public records and available upon request at City Hall. The council’s action introduced the ordinance by title only and set the process in motion for final adoption.