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City approves controversial Toyota sign at Wrigley; battle to continue

A plan to install a controversial Toyota sign above the left-field bleachers at Wrigley Field was approved by the Chicago Department of Zoning and Land Use Planning, but a battle before the city's Landmarks Commission looms.

A plan to install a controversial Toyota sign above the left-field bleachers at Wrigley Field was approved by the Chicago Department of Zoning and Land Use Planning, but a battle before the city's Landmarks Commission looms.

The plan calls for a red Toyota sign to sit 38 feet above the left-field bleachers. In response to complaints about the original sign proposal, the Cubs scaled things back, deciding to paint the supports green and technically put it inside the ballpark, as opposed to attaching it to the outside of Wrigley Field.

That decision really gave the city no say over the sign, according to officials with the Chicago Department of Zoning and Land Use Planning; a 2005 agreement gives the city jurisdiction over the ballpark exterior, not the interior.

But that same agreement also means the city's Landmarks Commission has a say in the ballpark, and opponents of the sign are expected to make their case there. The opponents are in two camps: one camp doesn't want to see any changes in the old ballpark, while the other camp is comprised of rooftop-seating owners and don't want views of the ballpark impeded. 

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