| This thesis explores how public policy impacts historic commercial sign conservation practices in Hollywood, a City of Los Angeles commercial regional center. The findings conclude that there are significant loopholes that jeopardize historic commercial sign resources. The recommendation is for the City of Los Angeles to adopt a new historic sign program, modeled from the Tucson, Arizona Historic Landmark Sign program, as a best practice to conserve historic commercial signs. historic commercial signs.;Like in other cities, the demolition threat of a particular sign, or character defining features of a sign, brings this issue to light. In this case, the Vogue Theater Marquee digital conversion in 2015 prompted an intensive review of existing policies. The premise of this thesis was to ferret out the loopholes, and outdated policy language, that thwart historic sign conservation efforts in Hollywood. The findings resulted in a recommendation to adopt a new historic sign program that is separate from the historic building designation. This is essentially a stand-alone program which differs from the existing sign conservation practices in Hollywood.;This stand-alone program is like other ordinances in that it will require a municipal zoning amendment, but it will also incorporate different elements that in total will offer a separate and distinct historic designation process for commercial signs administered through the Los Angeles Department of City Planning's Office of Historic Resources (OHR). The program elements include a separate commercial sign survey, a sign designation application, a sign registry, a sign treatment plan, and a financial incentives plan for conserving; a) historic signs on historic buildings, b) historic signs on non-historic buildings, and c) freestanding historic signs. A stand-alone program should also outline a revenue sharing economic strategy for new signs on historic buildings. |
