County Counsel Reviewing Patticakes Mural Decision

County lawyers are attempting to determine whether a mural at a local bakery is in fact a mural, or actually a wall sign.

The mural at , at 1900 N. Allen Avenue depicts various desserts and coffee, and earlier this month, owner Mike McLellan received a visit from a county inspector, who said the .

Now county counsel is examining whether the full-wall painting constitutes a wall sign or a mural, said John Gutwein, a spokesman for the county planning department.

Gutwein said he could not comment further on the case until he counsel makes a determination, and declined to specify what the outcome of the counsel's decision would mean for the mural.

However, county codes that were cited in the letter sent to McLellan refer specificially to codes restricting the use of advertising in signs rather than murals, so the decision to definitely rule it a mural rather than a sign could potentially mean that the decision to rule it as a violation of code could be overturned.

McLellan addressed the Altadena Town Council on Tuesday night on the issue, along with several community supporters.  He said that the county has told him that their rules on advertising  are so stringent it would prevent him from depicting any sort of food on the mural, even if it was an item he doesn't sell.

"They told me that if a piece a pizza was on there it could be construed as something that would be sold in the store. … that is how hideously ridiculous this thing is," McLellan said.

One of his supporters asked the Town Council to intervene in the case, and McLellan said that county planners had told him that the council could help him.  McLellan also noted that he has gotten 667 signatures in support of saving the mural from a petition in his store.

Town Council chair Gino Sund pointed out, however, that the Town Council does not have the power to make any ruling on county code.

"In terms of us having the power to change this, we really don’t," Sund said.

County codes limit the amount of space a sign on a business can devote to advertising.  In Patticakes' case, the mural depicts desserts similar to the products inside the store but does not list prices, products names, or anything else about the specific desserts inside.  McLellan lists it as 51 feet wide and 14 feet tall.

In the weeks since Patticakes has received the notice, two county planners, along with Gutwein, have all declined to speak in detail about the case with Altadena Patch, or to even explain the county code on sign advertisements in detail.

The mural has been up on the side of the building for about six months, according to McLellan.  He said that wall of his store, which faces Allen Avenue, used to get hit with graffiti and was generally not too appealing before he hired local artist Bill Madrid to paint it. 

County planners told him two local neighborhood residents had called to complain about it.

The letter the county sent said that by leaving it he could subject himself to a fine of more than $2000.  County planners have told him that a hearing on the issue would cost him more than $8000 and be nonrefundable even if the ruling went in his favor, McLellan said.

On the plus side, McLellan said, his business has seen a moderate uptick in customers since the mural case has been publicized.