The city of Santee appears close to granting permission for a used car dealership to install a nearly 90-foot high electronic billboard near the junction of the SR-52 and SR-125 freeways, after determining that the proposed project “could not have a significant impact upon the environment.”

The Toyota Certified Center on Mission Gorge Road in western Santee plans to install a 19.5-foot wide by 16.5-foot tall sign, which would be mounted on a 70-foot pole and largely be consumed by a video screen for car advertisements. Decorative tile would cover the first 21 feet of the signpost.

The “no significant impact” designation comes after findings from the environmental review team conducting the study found the property to be in a commercial zone where such signage would not be uncommon, that the 52 freeway alongside the sign’s proposed location is not designated as or considered for designation as a “scenic highway,” and that the sign’s orientation would minimize impacts on local residents’ views of the hills beyond the dealership.

The review states that travel lanes on the 52 sit about 29 feet higher than the land on the dealership itself, but artist renderings provided by proposed builder Young Electronic Sign Company seem to indicate the sign wouldn’t be of significant height, even with its base being another 40 feet above the roadway.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jul/12/49069/