City Panel Approves Murals for Vans Store

The front of the , across from the Pier Avenue intersection, will soon display two large murals—one depicting athlete Tony Alva riding a skateboard and the other showing surfer Joel Tudor riding a wave.

The Hermosa Beach Planning Commission agreed unanimously Tuesday night that the proposed artworks endorse a lifestyle and not a product, qualifying them as murals, which allows the store to display them.

Under the municipal code, a mural is “a pictorial representation not specifically identifying goods or services offered on the premises.” 

The murals wouldn't be allowed on the Vans storefront as proposed if the panel had decided that they served as advertising.

“If they do have a guy’s name identified and graphics with a logo… then, yeah, it would be an ad,” said Commissioner Peter Hoffman at Tuesday's meeting.

The mural-versus-advertising debate Tuesday was a moment of déjà vu as, not too long ago, commissioners voted on a similar display request.

Spyder Surfboards, which also sits on PCH, began to mount on the outside of its store in November.

In that case, commissioners , and not a mural, because it included a Quiksilver logo. Spyder Surfboards sells Quiksilver products.

Also, “on the Kelly Slater thing, I know who he is,” Chairman Kent Allen told his fellow commissioners Tuesday before pointing at Vans' proposed images.

“I don’t know that this is some big famous star or not,” he said about the images. “I didn’t know that we were looking at the image of the individual associated with the product.”

Vans was first issued a sign permit in August 2007 for three displays, totaling 110 square feet, on its PCH building. City staffers cited the store last year for displaying two unpermitted window displays, totaling 151 square feet (see accompanying staff report under photos).

Combined, the total signage at the time was 261 square feet, which exceeded a city limit of 210.

With the commission approving the store’s murals, the business can exceed the 210-square-foot limit of signage as it removes and replaces the unpermitted displays.

The Planning Commission's decisions may be appealed to the City Council.