We are a group of volunteers who started a non-profit organization in 2009 to advocate lighting the world-famous Hollywood Sign and other landmarks with solar power as symbols of support for renewable energy.

By signing this petition you indicate your support for lighting the Hollywood Sign with solar power one night a year--the night of the Academy Awards--and your support for renewable energy as a powerful engine for economic growth, national security and our enviroment.

Our plan to light the Hollywood Sign will have no adverse affect on the natural habitat in Griffith Park, where the Sign is situated, or the surrounding neighborhoods. Because LED lights create a directional, focused light and not a spherical light field, they will cause no light pollution, nor will they 'bounce' into nearby homes.

The lightweight system we have designed consists of: 

#1- One mobile solar array parked on the road above the Sign

#2 - One extension cord

#3 - Eighteen lightweight ground-mounted LED lights

The set-up and the removal of the solar equipment will take a matter of hours. The system and the production will be completely noise-free.

Residents in the vicinity of the Hollywood Sign are, understandably, sensitive to tourist and sightseeing traffic on their streets. This is the primary reason the Hollywood Sign is not currently lit at night, and it is why our plan calls for lighting it, as a symbolic act, only one night a year.

A traffic abatement plan will be worked out with the LAPD and the neighborhoods closest to the Sign. Our plan includes a PR campaign to let people know the best view of the lighted Sign will be from the commerical areas of Hollywood, not from the residential areas in the Hills.

Because Solar The Sign is funded by sponsorships and private donations, we can do this at no cost to taxpayers.

Over the past two years, we have spoken to most of the people who can influence the fate of the Hollywood Sign, including L.A. City Councilman Tom LaBonge (in whose 4th District the Sign sits), Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the Hollywood Sign Trust, the L.A. Rec and Parks Dept., the L.A. Dept. of Water & Power, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, local merchants, neighborhood associations, and many residents in the vicinity of the Sign. We have received overwhelming support and encouragement.

Ultimately, however, this decision is a political one, with many voices having veto power. This is why we need you to sign this petition--to express what we have heard over and over again, that this idea should transcend politics and personal interests. As one resident who lives near the Sign said to us, "It's time."

The Solar The Sign Team

BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

Mike Bonifer, Executive Director

Shaheen Sheik, Legal Counsel

Virginia Kuhn, Secretary

Roger Rogers Oldenkamp, Vice Chair

Joseph Grzeskowiak, Treasurer

ADVISORS

Brian Hurd

T. H. Culhane

Ron Roecker

Kristen Parrinello

Deep Patel

VOLUNTEERS

Rudy Sanchez

Andy Sternberg

Yu-ann Wang

Jeffrey Brick

Georgie Thomas